International Building Exhibition (IBA): Urban Redevelopment Saxony-Anhalt (East Germany) 2010

Within the framework of the IBA Urban Redevelopment 2010, town planners, architects, citizens and political and administrative representatives put innovative urban development tools to the test in 19 cities affected by demographic change. In doing so, all the cities address issues of specific relevance to them and develop their own unique profiles. While this does not cap the decline, it turns it to the positive with the aid of small, streamlined structures: Less is Future.

The Response to Demographic Change in Saxony-Anhalt
The demographic change presents specific social challenges and already impacts on politics, the economy and culture. Alongside growth regions, there will always be areas where population decline prevails, despite every endeavor. This coexistence is also evident in the cities; at the same time, structural reform is progressing in industry and the service society.

The Depart Foundation and the Istituto Svizzero di Roma (ISR) present

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE?
CRITICAL POSITIONS ON THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE

A symposium at the Istituto Svizzero di Roma, October 15–16, 2010,
curated by Reto Geiser

The first installment in a series of planned biennial symposia that aim to explore the productive intersections and overlaps between art, architecture, and design, this two-day symposium will bring together emerging and established voices to discuss the current state of Italian architecture.

As explained by the oraganizers: In the second half of the twentieth century, such singular figures as Aldo Rossi, Vittorio Gregotti, and Manfredo Tafuri, or collaborative practices such as Archizoom and Superstudio, not only shaped the architectural culture within Italy, but also took a prominent position on the stage of international discourse. Italian architecture gradually disappeared from the limelight as commercially driven forms of building replaced politically motivated manifestos and bold architectural visions in the advent of postmodernism. How has Italian architecture since developed? What does Italian architecture mean today? What is the background against which architecture is currently produced in Italy?

A multimedia walking tour celebrating the development of Melbourne’s Yarra River precinct since the 1980s will be launched by the Premier of Victoria at lunchtime today. Transforming the Yarra traces the story of the visionary work of architects, urban designers, planners and politicians in revitalising the Yarra River as a hub for recreation and culture.

Photograph by Tim Griffith

Architect Evan Walker became the state’s planning and environment minister in 1982. Another architect, David Yencken, was made head of the planning department. Together, they earned high regard as the visionary planners of the blueprint to realise the Yarra River waterfront’s potential.

Encouraging Melbourne’s confidence about the possibilities for urban change, Denton Corker Marshall’s innovative ideas for public spaces, plazas and promenades were a significant contribution to this vision.