good advice

good advice :

for example, Geoff Manaugh sounds the note:

We have more to learn from the fiction of J.G. Ballard … than we do from Le Corbusier. The good city form of tomorrow is a refugee camp built by Brown & Root; the world’s largest architectural client is the U.S. Department of Defense. More people now live in overseas military camps than in houses designed by Mies van der Rohe — yet we study Mies van der Rohe.

rest of the text here: http://www.ballardian.com/near-future-nic-clear-interview

as you Zhan now in Lyon, you may find interesting investigating 'traboules' - secret pasageways existing in old town, inhritance of silk trade.
those can serve as example of city fabic that is in paralels, for exaple 'traboules' were really handy for resistance against Nazis, during WW2, as these secret pasageways are difficult to map and therefore controll.

would be great if you could make some photos of that.

Myself I never been to Lyon, have a good stay there.

meantime there are some links to sites i found about 'traboules':
http://www.lyon.fr/vdl/sections/en/urbanisme/cours_traboules_lyon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traboule
http://www.lyontraboules.net/

this one is ineresting as it talks about Lyons oldtown replica that will build in Dubai:
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/lyons-dubai.html

Jonas

underground car park in Lyon

The city requires that 1% of the cost of the development of underground parking needs to be spent on public art. I went to a few of them and this one in front of the Theatre of Lyon is one of the more interesting ones. 

The structure in the middle of the square looks like a telescope that is aiming directly to the facade of the theatre. But when you look into it, you see this spinning mirror reflection of arched openings on multiple levels. 

The truth is that as opposed to looking straight ahead, you are looking into the parking space underneath of the square. 

Although this installation is mainly a tourist attraction than for the locals, I find the fact that it's some what hidden that makes it interesting. There is also something about inside/outside space in it.

Hi guys, sorry about the late posting. I haven't had internet for a while and even now the internet connection isn't the fastest. I will upload some videos once I get a decent connection. 

Zhan

regeneration in Leeds

Irena Bauman wrote a book How to be a Happy Architect(http://www.blackdogonline.com/all-books/how-to-be-a-happy-architect.html), in video taken by Guardian news portal she talks about problems of Leeds regeneration. Regeneration does not solve problems of poor communities; instead they are getting gentrified and pushed out of area. In her opinion credit crunch will give us all time to think.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/19/communities-irena-bauman-uk-architecture

her father philosopher Zygmunth Bauman taught sociology in University of Leeds, here I found text that he wrote for magazine Voices of resistance from occupied London
http://www.occupiedlondon.org/bauman

quote from that text-

The new migration casts a question mark upon the bond between identity and citizenship, individual and place, neighbourhood and belonging. Jonathan Rutherford, acute and insightful observer of the fast changing frames of human togetherness, notes that the residents of the London street on which he lives form a neighbourhood of different communities, some with networks extending only to the next street, others which stretch across the world. It is a neighbourhood of porous boundaries in which it is difficult to identify who belongs and who is an outsider. What is it we belong to in this locality? What is it that each of us calls home and, when we think back and remember how we arrived here, what stories do we share?



Jonas

Drifting around our site in Kings Cross

Water tower that is in our site can be seen sticking out behind Eurostar (http://www.eurostar.com/dynamic/index.jsp) train, one can take train to Paris from redeveloped station Kings Cross.


This photo is taken from terrace overlooking railway lands in beautiful Maiden lane estate that part of is to be demolished as planned by Camden council. website created by local community campaigners against this decision: http://www.maidenlaneestate.org/

Some interesting pictures of Maiden Lane estate can be found here: http://maidenlane.moonfruit.com


View of our site from Camley street. St Pancras cruising club was to be kicked out from their location, that is why the site is not easy accessible for wonderers, but I managed to take a picture of this car park, reaching through the fence from neighboring Camley street nature reserve

more about struggles in this area can be found in King's Cross railway lands group website: http://www.kxrlg.org.uk/

Wandering in neighboring tiny nature reserve that borders canal also as our site I was surprised to find a pink castle in one of ponds, dragged by the wind it was floating unattached to anything.

Camley street natural park website: http://www.opensquares.org/detail/index.html?../detail/Camley.html
in their office was a plan of the networking such parks around London


Next to our site is a park where is St Pancras Old Church that is believed one of oldest places of Christian worship in London and England

some Historical notes about it: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64866

And of course the canal with biggest redevelopment site in Europe that is on the other side of it.
Developers web address: http://www.argentkingscross.com/


Jonas