Vital Little Plans - book launch - Revision history

Designing Buildings at 06:48, 14 January 2021

2021-01-14T06:48:08Z

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	--[[User:Michael_Brooks\|Michael Brooks]]		--[[User:Michael_Brooks\|Michael Brooks]]

−	[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]	+	[[Category:DCN_Commentary]] [[Category:DCN_Event]] [[Category:DCN_News]] [[Category:DCN_Report]] [[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]

Michael Brooks at 17:52, 12 February 2018

2018-02-12T17:52:36Z

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	* The Architecture of Neoliberalism.		* The Architecture of Neoliberalism.
	* Will Self interview.		* Will Self interview.
		+
		+	--[[User:Michael_Brooks\|Michael Brooks]]

	[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]		[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]

Editor at 10:27, 29 September 2017

2017-09-29T10:27:47Z

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	* Owen Hatherley - Landscapes of Communism.		* Owen Hatherley - Landscapes of Communism.
	* Owen Hatherley interview.		* Owen Hatherley interview.
		+	* Richard Rogers - A Place for all People.
	* Social housing.		* Social housing.
	* The Architecture of Neoliberalism.		* The Architecture of Neoliberalism.

Editor at 14:22, 4 August 2017

2017-08-04T14:22:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:22, 4 August 2017
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	* Social housing.		* Social housing.
	* The Architecture of Neoliberalism.		* The Architecture of Neoliberalism.
		+	* Will Self interview.

	[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]		[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]

Editor at 15:26, 7 July 2017

2017-07-07T15:26:50Z

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	"But", he said, "her critique of Robert Moses and how his meat-axe sought to destroy everything that was good about New York was absolutely correct."		"But", he said, "her critique of Robert Moses and how his meat-axe sought to destroy everything that was good about New York was absolutely correct."

−	Ever the polemicist, Self countered by saying ~~that~~ that "to be fair to Moses, he did at least try and build some new social housing in New York!"	+	Ever the polemicist, Self countered by saying that "to be fair to Moses, he did at least try and build some new social housing in New York!"

	In response to an audience question about the legacy and future of high-rise towers post-Grenfell, Hatherley was unequivocal:		In response to an audience question about the legacy and future of high-rise towers post-Grenfell, Hatherley was unequivocal:

Editor at 15:26, 7 July 2017

2017-07-07T15:26:21Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:26, 7 July 2017
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	"But", he said, "her critique of Robert Moses and how his meat-axe sought to destroy everything that was good about New York was absolutely correct."		"But", he said, "her critique of Robert Moses and how his meat-axe sought to destroy everything that was good about New York was absolutely correct."

−	Ever the polemicist, Self ~~said~~ that "to be fair to Moses, he did at least try and build some new social housing in New York!"	+	Ever the polemicist, Self countered by saying that that "to be fair to Moses, he did at least try and build some new social housing in New York!"

	In response to an audience question about the legacy and future of high-rise towers post-Grenfell, Hatherley was unequivocal:		In response to an audience question about the legacy and future of high-rise towers post-Grenfell, Hatherley was unequivocal:

Editor at 15:24, 7 July 2017

2017-07-07T15:24:32Z

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	"Perhaps Grenfell", Self said, "marks the end of space and place being so commodified that they depart from the very notion of being the built environment at all."		"Perhaps Grenfell", Self said, "marks the end of space and place being so commodified that they depart from the very notion of being the built environment at all."

−	On the subject of Jane Jacobs, Self said she was someone "preoccupied with the city as unified phenomenon; a sense that we in Britain lack. We have a weary reverence for London, but we admire its innate anarchism, the failure of planners to impose their singular vision on it."	+	On the subject of Jane Jacobs, Self said she was someone "preoccupied with the city as a unified phenomenon; a sense that we in Britain lack. We have a weary reverence for London, but we admire its innate anarchism, the failure of planners to impose their singular vision on it."

	Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."		Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."

Designing Buildings at 15:21, 7 July 2017

2017-07-07T15:21:55Z

Editor at 14:49, 7 July 2017

2017-07-07T14:49:09Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:49, 7 July 2017
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−	[[File:Vitallittleplans280.jpg]]	+	[[File:Vitallittleplans280.jpg\|link=File:Vitallittleplans280.jpg]]

	On 5 July 2017, Designing Buildings Wiki attended the launch event of a new anthology of the urbanist Jane Jacobs' short works 'Vital Little Plans', organised by the Architecture Foundation.		On 5 July 2017, Designing Buildings Wiki attended the launch event of a new anthology of the urbanist Jane Jacobs' short works 'Vital Little Plans', organised by the Architecture Foundation.
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	Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."		Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."

−	[[File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg]]	+	[[File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg\|link=File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg]]

	Owen Hatherley - who [[Owen_Hatherley_interview\|Designing Buildings Wiki interviewed here]] in 2016 - began by saying that we should err away from the tendency to treat Jacobs' work uncritically, and bring it down from its pedestal. With reference to the event's location, he pointed out that Hoxton Lane and Hoxton Street do something that Jacobs says is impossible - a housing project and organic city side-by-side with "awful hipster cafes selling expensive juice", shopping arcade, etc.		Owen Hatherley - who [[Owen_Hatherley_interview\|Designing Buildings Wiki interviewed here]] in 2016 - began by saying that we should err away from the tendency to treat Jacobs' work uncritically, and bring it down from its pedestal. With reference to the event's location, he pointed out that Hoxton Lane and Hoxton Street do something that Jacobs says is impossible - a housing project and organic city side-by-side with "awful hipster cafes selling expensive juice", shopping arcade, etc.
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	=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===		=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===

−	~~<ul>~~	+	* British post-war mass housing.
−	~~<li>~~British post-war mass housing.~~</li>~~	+	* Garden cities.
−	~~<li>~~Garden ~~town~~.~~</li>~~	+	* Gentrification.
−	~~<li>~~Gentrification.~~</li>~~	+	* Jane Jacobs and garden villages.
−	~~<li>~~Jane Jacobs and garden villages.~~</li>~~	+	* Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture.
−	~~<li>~~Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture.~~</li>~~	+	* Owen Hatherley - Landscapes of Communism.
−	~~<li>~~	+	* Owen Hatherley interview.
−		+	* Social housing.
−		+	* The Architecture of Neoliberalism.
−		+
−		+
−	Owen Hatherley - Landscapes of Communism.~~</li>~~	+
−	~~<li>~~Owen Hatherley interview.~~</li>~~	+
−	~~<li>~~Social housing.~~</li>~~	+
−	~~<li>~~The Architecture of Neoliberalism.~~</li></ul>~~	+

	[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]		[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]

Editor at 14:48, 7 July 2017

2017-07-07T14:48:29Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:48, 7 July 2017
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		+	[[File:Vitallittleplans280.jpg]]
		+
	On 5 July 2017, Designing Buildings Wiki attended the launch event of a new anthology of the urbanist Jane Jacobs' short works 'Vital Little Plans', organised by the Architecture Foundation.		On 5 July 2017, Designing Buildings Wiki attended the launch event of a new anthology of the urbanist Jane Jacobs' short works 'Vital Little Plans', organised by the Architecture Foundation.

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	Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."		Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."
		+
		+	[[File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg]]

	Owen Hatherley - who [[Owen_Hatherley_interview\|Designing Buildings Wiki interviewed here]] in 2016 - began by saying that we should err away from the tendency to treat Jacobs' work uncritically, and bring it down from its pedestal. With reference to the event's location, he pointed out that Hoxton Lane and Hoxton Street do something that Jacobs says is impossible - a housing project and organic city side-by-side with "awful hipster cafes selling expensive juice", shopping arcade, etc.		Owen Hatherley - who [[Owen_Hatherley_interview\|Designing Buildings Wiki interviewed here]] in 2016 - began by saying that we should err away from the tendency to treat Jacobs' work uncritically, and bring it down from its pedestal. With reference to the event's location, he pointed out that Hoxton Lane and Hoxton Street do something that Jacobs says is impossible - a housing project and organic city side-by-side with "awful hipster cafes selling expensive juice", shopping arcade, etc.
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	Those seeking an introduction to Jacobs' theories and ideas, amassed over a career spanning over six decades and including forays into various other fields of interest, would do well to have a look through 'Vital Little Plans'. As well as her most famous 1958 essay 'Downtown is for People', it contains several other lesser-known pieces, all of which draw a fascinating picture of one of the built environment's most influential and inspired thinkers.		Those seeking an introduction to Jacobs' theories and ideas, amassed over a career spanning over six decades and including forays into various other fields of interest, would do well to have a look through 'Vital Little Plans'. As well as her most famous 1958 essay 'Downtown is for People', it contains several other lesser-known pieces, all of which draw a fascinating picture of one of the built environment's most influential and inspired thinkers.
		+
		+	'Vital Little Plans: The Short Works of Jane Jacobs' is published by Short Books Ltd. You can purchase a copy [http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/546445/vital-little-plans-by-jane-jacobs/9780399589607/ here].
		+
		+	= Find out more =
		+
		+	=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
		+
		+	<ul>
		+	<li>British post-war mass housing.</li>
		+	<li>Garden town.</li>
		+	<li>Gentrification.</li>
		+	<li>Jane Jacobs and garden villages.</li>
		+	<li>Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture.</li>
		+	<li>
		+
		+
		+
		+
		+	Owen Hatherley - Landscapes of Communism.</li>
		+	<li>Owen Hatherley interview.</li>
		+	<li>Social housing.</li>
		+	<li>The Architecture of Neoliberalism.</li></ul>
		+
		+	[[Category:Publications_/_reports]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:21, 7 July 2017
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	The event, at east London's Hoxton Hall, brought together in conversation two of the built environment's most forthright commentators - the Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Will Self and the critic/author Owen Hatherley.		The event, at east London's Hoxton Hall, brought together in conversation two of the built environment's most forthright commentators - the Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Will Self and the critic/author Owen Hatherley.

−	Self began by quoting the jazz writer Nat Hentoff - "symbolism and reality are often infused" - and reflected on how he had been thinking about this a lot in light of the Grenfell Tower fire. According to Self, London architecture ~~was~~ at a "critical point", ~~and referred~~ to architecture as ~~being~~ "a different kind of art, necessarily social - we can think in terms of there being moral and immoral buildings".	+	Self began by quoting the jazz writer Nat Hentoff - "symbolism and reality are often infused" - and reflected on how he had been thinking about this a lot in light of the Grenfell Tower fire. According to Self, London's architecture is at a "critical point", referring to architecture as "a different kind of art, necessarily social - we can think in terms of there being moral and immoral buildings".

−	He poured characteristic scorn on the 'pseudo-modernist' (to use Hatherley's neologism) architecture of the neoliberal period, with ~~the~~ cheap and ugly cladding, 'barcode' facades and parametricism. The clusters of new tall buildings containing luxury apartments, far from adopting the principle of 'form follows function', were more like 'form follows future productivity' - "which is why they all look so flimsy, they are almost transparent".	+	He poured characteristic scorn on the 'pseudo-modernist' (to use Hatherley's neologism) architecture of the neoliberal period, with cheap and ugly cladding, 'barcode' facades and parametricism. The clusters of new tall buildings containing luxury apartments, far from adopting the principle of 'form follows function', were more like 'form follows future productivity' - "which is why they all look so flimsy, they are almost transparent".

	"Perhaps Grenfell", Self said, "marks the end of space and place being so commodified that they depart from the very notion of being the built environment at all."		"Perhaps Grenfell", Self said, "marks the end of space and place being so commodified that they depart from the very notion of being the built environment at all."

−	On the subject of Jane Jacobs, Self said ~~that~~ she was someone "preoccupied with the city as unified phenomenon; a sense that we in Britain lack. We have a weary reverence for London, but we admire its innate anarchism, the failure of planners to impose their singular vision on it."	+	On the subject of Jane Jacobs, Self said she was someone "preoccupied with the city as unified phenomenon; a sense that we in Britain lack. We have a weary reverence for London, but we admire its innate anarchism, the failure of planners to impose their singular vision on it."

	Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."		Jacobs' most famous theories - the 'sidewalk ballet', 'eyes on the street', 'guardians and thinkers never meeting' - might now seem hoary, nonetheless said Self, "I can't think of any other urbanist thinker who comes so readily to mind when thinking about the phenomenology of the built environment."
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	[[File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg\|link=File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg]]		[[File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg\|link=File:Vitallittleplans2.jpg]]

−	Owen Hatherley - who [[Owen_Hatherley_interview\|Designing Buildings Wiki interviewed ~~here~~]] in 2016 - began by saying ~~that~~ we should err away from the tendency to treat Jacobs' work uncritically, and bring it down from its pedestal. With reference to the event's location, he pointed out that Hoxton Lane and Hoxton Street do something that Jacobs says is impossible - a housing project and organic city side-by-side with "awful hipster cafes selling expensive juice", shopping arcade, etc.	+	Owen Hatherley - who [[Owen_Hatherley_interview\|Designing Buildings Wiki interviewed]] in 2016 - began by saying we should err away from the tendency to treat Jacobs' work uncritically, and bring it down from its pedestal. With reference to the event's location, he pointed out that Hoxton Lane and Hoxton Street do something that Jacobs says is impossible - a housing project and organic city side-by-side with "awful hipster cafes selling expensive juice", shopping arcade, etc.

−	Hatherley went on to say that Jacobs' 1961 masterpiece 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' was indeed an attack on the conventions of built environment and city planning. "It's a composite of Le Corbusier's Cite Radieuse, Ebenezer Howard's garden cities and verdant new towns as 'overspill' from the metropolis, the City Beautiful movement"~~, he said~~.	+	Hatherley went on to say that Jacobs' 1961 masterpiece 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' was indeed an attack on the conventions of built environment and city planning; "It's a composite of Le Corbusier's Cite Radieuse, Ebenezer Howard's garden cities and verdant new towns as 'overspill' from the metropolis, the City Beautiful movement".

−	He characterised her transformation "from cranky freelancer to urban warrior" as ~~being~~ the result of encountering the slum more and more as a reality rather than an abstract concept.	+	He characterised her transformation "from cranky freelancer to urban warrior" as the result of encountering the slum more and more as a reality rather than an abstract concept.

	Self took Hatherley to task for trying to peg Jacobs as a Blairite figure, but Hatherley argued, "she was an advocate for neoliberal ideas like privatisation - the idea that the city was made up of guardians and traders who should never meet."		Self took Hatherley to task for trying to peg Jacobs as a Blairite figure, but Hatherley argued, "she was an advocate for neoliberal ideas like privatisation - the idea that the city was made up of guardians and traders who should never meet."
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	"...anyone who thinks the response to Grenfell is an argument against towers is a moron - that's like arguing that after the King's Cross fire we should stop building railways underground, or that after the Hillsborough disaster we should stop watching football in stadiums."		"...anyone who thinks the response to Grenfell is an argument against towers is a moron - that's like arguing that after the King's Cross fire we should stop building railways underground, or that after the Hillsborough disaster we should stop watching football in stadiums."

−	Those seeking an introduction to Jacobs' theories and ideas, amassed ~~over~~ a career spanning over six decades and including forays into various other fields of interest, would do well to have a look through 'Vital Little Plans'. As well as her most famous 1958 essay 'Downtown is for People', it contains several other lesser-known pieces, all of which draw a fascinating picture of one of the built environment's most influential and inspired thinkers.	+	Those seeking an introduction to Jacobs' theories and ideas, amassed during a career spanning over six decades and including forays into various other fields of interest, would do well to have a look through 'Vital Little Plans'. As well as her most famous 1958 essay 'Downtown is for People', it contains several other lesser-known pieces, all of which draw a fascinating picture of one of the built environment's most influential and inspired thinkers.

	'Vital Little Plans: The Short Works of Jane Jacobs' is published by Short Books Ltd. You can purchase a copy [http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/546445/vital-little-plans-by-jane-jacobs/9780399589607/ here].		'Vital Little Plans: The Short Works of Jane Jacobs' is published by Short Books Ltd. You can purchase a copy [http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/546445/vital-little-plans-by-jane-jacobs/9780399589607/ here].