Cities for people according to the wills of Ian Gale

/ Urbanism /

Are we ready to apply the principles of the urbanist Ian Gale in the planning of Ukrainian cities? PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA sought the answer to this question at a panel discussion held at the beginning of February as part of the Interior Mebel 2020 exhibition. We have collected the most striking quotes that were heard during the discussion. Our speakers were: Lyudmila Beloded (Beloded Landscaping), Stanislav Demin (architect, urban planner), Tatiana Grigorova ("Bureau of investment projects — project management"), Viktor Zotov (ZOTOV&CO), Anna Iskierdo (AIMM), Nikolay Morozov (archimatika), Anastasia Ponomareva (Urban Curators), Yury Korolchuk (TOPIAR), Roman Romanets (AVR Development), Dmitry Makagon (BURØ).

POWER

Dmitry Makagon, Roman Romanets, Stanislav Demin, Anastasia Ponomareva, Viktor Zotov

Dmitry Makagon, BURØ

"Our city develops manually and depends on the political will of the leader. Omelchenko wanted to remove the tram — he removed it. Klitschko wanted to build a pedestrian bridge — and this project was implemented in an hour. The problem lies with the city's leaders, who represent ego development in the wrong vector."

Roman Romanets, AVR Development

"The evolution of transformations is simple: first you need an impulse from those in power, and then people begin to think about what it is possible to influence the urban space and the distribution of money from the budget."

Stanislav Demin, architect, urban planner

"The main legacy that we received from the "scoop" is not modernism and functional zoning, but the religion of power. People believe in power, rely on it, not on themselves. This is complete stupidity. Good power is the one that you can't see, that you don't feel, but it gives everyone the opportunity to realize it."

Klyde Warren Park is a new city park in Dallas, USA, created with funds from patrons. Photo: Joe Mabel. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Roman Romanets, AVR Development

"The position of the chief architect of the city is political. If politicians, when they go to the mayoral elections, would immediately form a team and explain who will do what for the next 5 years, it could qualitatively change the structure of power."

Anastasia Ponomareva, Urban Curators

"All work in public space is a struggle. Anyone who enters the public sphere must be ready for criticism. In Europe, it is considered normal when your idea is criticized even by "vandals". The main thing is the beginning of a dialogue, albeit a conflict.

"A common feature of almost all cities, regardless of their geography, economic viability and stage of development, is the lack of due attention to the people who use the city space"

 

Ian Gale

Stanislav Demin, architect, urban planner

"Initiative does not exempt from the necessity of thinking. Activists reclaimed 30-meter trees at the Hydropark. Well done Only trees grow on water pipes, their roots have already covered the pipes and during the wind they will be uprooted along with them. It is necessary to engage in the policy of disciplining activism."

Viktor Zotov, ZOTOV&CO

"Freedom is wonderful, but in today's architecture and urbanism, I don't have enough rules. This is an unpopular opinion."

 

SPACE

Yury Korolchuk, Anastasia Ponomareva, Anna Iskierdo, Lyudmila Beloded, Viktor Zotov

Yury Korolchuk, TOPIAR

"Utility services can be disbanded and move to open and transparent tenders for improvement services. Perhaps it is worth allowing developers to accept obligations and responsibility not only for the construction of objects, but also for the improvement of entire streets or microdistricts."

Anastasia Ponomareva, Urban Curators

"You can never evaluate grassroots initiatives based on the aesthetic principle. Procedural values ​​are much more important — uniting residents around an idea and turning them into active citizens."

Viktor Zotov, ZOTOV&CO

"There is "Theatre on Podol", there is "Monster on Podol". For me, the "monster on the Podol" evokes more emotions - there is nothing more desirable than the destruction of this house. Emotions are a request from pop culture."

"The natural starting point for designing cities for people is human mobility and sensory perception, as they form the biological basis for activity, behavior and communication in urban space"

 

Ian Gale

Anna Izquierdo, AIMM

"Gale very often gives the example of Copenhagen. We love quality architecture and are going to look at new neighborhoods. But have you noticed how uncomfortable it is?"

Yury Korolchuk, TOPIAR

"In order for a resident to have the opportunity to plant marigolds wherever he wants, it is necessary to first carry out a complete inventory and audit of city territories. In order to know for sure whether these chernobrivtsy will not turn out to be over important communications for everyone."

Viktor Zotov, ZOTOV&CO

"Decoration is evil. Quality criteria are important, but if there is a stench in Poznyaki, then no mural will save. It's better to invest money in sewer repairs."

Superkilen is a square and promenade in Copenhagen, the result of creative collaboration between BIG, Topotek 1 and SUPERFLEX. Photo: Iwan Baan

Lyudmila Beloded, Beloded Landscaping

"The problems of the environment that we are overcoming have been inherited by us. For decades, we fought for residential square meters, and no one thought about what was happening around the places for life."

Anastasia Ponomareva, Urban Curators

"For an urbanist, Kyiv is a magnificent city. Many challenges, work, there is something to think about. You have no idea how useless an urbanist feels in Amsterdam."

 

PEOPLE

Anastasia Ponomareva, Lyudmila Beloded, Dmitry Makagon, Tatiana Grigorova

Anastasia Ponomareva, Urban Curators

"The city is four sectors: citizens, professionals, government and business. We lack a culture of caring for public space. It is difficult to restore our people's faith that they can influence something and that this process brings pleasure."

Lyudmila Beloded, Beloded Landscaping

"For Gail, in his 12 criteria for a comfortable life in the city, landscaping is in the category of pleasures. The emotional component is important. When we talk about human comfort, we touch the sphere of emotions."

Poblenou Superblock is a pedestrian zone in Eixample, Barcelona, ​​Spain. Image source: © Ajuntament de Barcelona

Tatiana Hryhorova, "Bureau of Investment Projects — Project Management"

"We are unhappy with the lack of yards, parking lots, kindergartens and schools, but we still buy bad apartments. We have a culture of people who put up with the lack of quality in advance."

Dmitry Makagon, BURØ

"A person in high-rise buildings lives in a shell. He is making repairs in his apartment, but he is not interested in what is outside of it."

Lyudmila Beloded, Beloded Landscaping

"If a person has only one reflex working - saving, he will never admit to himself that the decision to buy a low-quality apartment is exclusively his personal decision and responsibility."

"Activity of life in the city is a relative concept. What is important is not the number of people, but the feeling that the place is inhabited and used"

 

Ian Gale

Tatiana Hryhorova, "Bureau of Investment Projects — Project Management"

"As architects, we strive to have everything comfortable, coherent and proportionate. If you look at the visualization of the project, everything is beautiful there. The pictures show smiling people. It is necessary to understand that the reality is different."

 

ARCHITECTURE

Viktor Zotov, Nikolai Morozov, Anna Iskierdo

Viktor Zotov, ZOTOV&CO

"Architecture is always like people. You see a terrible house - and the people there are the same."

Nikolay Morozov, archimatika

"I am talking about the fact that architecture is a reflection of our society, let's not forget that today our society is still in its infancy."

Viktor Zotov, ZOTOV&CO

"If an architect fulfills all the norms, all the points, he makes bad architecture. For me there are bad norms and there are good ones. I try to disrupt the bad in order to make good architecture."

"On narrow streets and in small spaces, we can see houses, their details and the people around them up close. Such a picture appears to us to be warm and benevolent"

 

Ian Gale

Anna Izquierdo, AIMM

"Back at the university, an architecture teacher told us about the quality of an interior with many sharp corners like this: "The only way to use this space is to sharpen pencils."

Nikolay Morozov, archimatika

"We have already struggled with decoration. There is a risk of going into the so-called box crisis - when only simple architecture, simple forms and solutions are born. We need to find a balance. But what is undeniably important is beauty."

Art museum of Finnish patron and collector Amos on Lasipalatsi square in Helsinki. Photo: © Mika Huisman. Image source: jkmm.fi

Anna Izquierdo, AIMM

"In architecture, as in art, there are no objective criteria. I am sure that if we are offered to choose the most beautiful of 100 projects, we will have different opinions. Architecture should evoke emotions."

Nikolay Morozov, archimatika

"Hate will always be. But the ego will be much smaller if the subject of discussion is high-quality architecture."