Bükreş Blog: April 2006

parcul de la coltul strazii

Unele dintre blocurile de la 1989 erau in parte neterminate, inconjurate inca de maidane la marginea carora muncitorii din constructii locuiau in vagoane pe roti. Spatiul din jurul lor nu se asemana in nici un fel cu o gradina sau un spatiu verde. Uneori erau inconjurate cu un gard de fier si ingrijite de vreunul dintre locatarii cuprinsi de zel patriotic, care in fiecare primavara lua harletul si afana pamantul, fara sa planteze nimic.

Intre timp, cineva a hotarat ca vom intra in UE, locul in care spatiul public este conditionat de directivele verzi, ce protejeaza echilibrul dintre fondul construit si spatiile verzi. Primarii capitalei au observat subit ca in jurul cladirilor din oras exista mici gradini ingradite in fel si chip, care ar putea fi transformate in locuri de joaca si asa mai departe. Si in fata cifrelor care nu le ieseau cum trebuie, la un moment dat chiar s-au gandit sa introduca si sectorul Ilfov in perimetrul capitalei, pentru a echilibra situatia.

Pana ca asemenea fantasme sa devina reale, s-au apucat sa colonizeze orasul cu mici parcuri de colt de bloc. Prima fotografie este facuta pe Strada N. Golescu, in spatele Bulevardului Magheru. Al doilea parc este pe Calea Calarasi. Nu sunt tocmai gradinite de bloc de la periferie si poate de aceea se bucura de atentie, desi chiar si in zonele cele mai stranii din cele sase sectoare asemenea parcuri au inceput sa apara.

Sunt in general locuri confortabile, desi usor stangace in persistenta cu care isi anunta creatorii prin panourile asezate in ochii trecatorului si care toate spun acelasi lucru: primarul sectorului.. etc.

Aeroportul Baneasa

Aeroportul Baneasa este primul aeroport al Bucurestiului. In urma afacerilor mai mult sau mai putin dubioase din zona se pare ca in curand va fi inchis.

Bukresh citizen

Photographed on Lipscani.

Strada Arthur Verona

Pe strada Verona se vor intmpla lucruri mari... totul incepe cu un blog.

Blob Spotting

Igu (feeder.ro) a descoperit Blob-ul lui Andy de pe Dionisie Lupu.

Isus Vine

Isus Vine. Suntem in saptamana mare in care facem curatenia de primavara, mergem la biserica si la Supermarket.
Isus Vine. Noi, ortodocsii, ne pregatim sa facem o catedrala mare, una cum nu s-a mai vazut, una mai mare decat Casa Poporului, langa Casa Poporului.
Isus Vine. Noi, ortodocsii, ne pregatim sa facem o catedrala mare, una mai mare decat Casa Poporului si oricum mai mare decat Catedrala Catolica Sf Iosif pe care oricum o mascam cu un bloc de 19 etaje. Semneaza petitia impotriva constructiei blocului.

traffic, toned windows and identity

hello bukresh. Vlad invited me to contribute this blog and will try to in the time i will stay here. and maybe also the users and visitors of this blog can support me. i am from hamburg and will stay until june in bucharest.
my working field is the documentary film and i really would like to make one about bucharest next year. To describe the topic still very comprehensive and not elaborated: the film should be about bucharests patchwork architecture, the search for an identity, the urban planning (if there is any, i´m not sure), using of public space and of course how inhabitants, artists, architects and authorities are dealing with it.
i have been here the first time in 1993 and was coming nearly every second year. what i noticed about all the changes until now is still fascinating and deterring me similary.
a lot of time in the last three weeks i spent on walking and driving through all different parts of the city. one thing i realized on these trips is maybe a fact that didn´t changed: to be a pedestrian in bucharest is still sometimes very dangerous and when you try to drive a car according to the traffic rules, you might not arrive anywhere. all the more this guy on the very first foto i made deeply impressed me, driving his wheelchair with a remarkable speed on the tram line through calea mosilor, that i even could not follow him with the camera.

there are some other things beside the traffic with which i always have to acclimate in the first time i circulate through the streets. of course i won´t tell you something new, there have been a lot of discussions about billboards, but in hamburg for example, extremly large billboards are only mounted on scaffolds in front of buildings which are under construction. and maybe all together in hamburg you find so much of them like there are here only at piata unirii. i had a chat with my neighbor at calea mosilor. the way he endures the fact that he has to turn on the lights in the flat the whole day and not at all in the evening seems a bit freaky for me. he didn´t care a lot about it, the best thing for him is, that he likes to sit on his balcony now more then before, because there is not so many dust anymore. ok, that might be a way to handle it.
the day later we both watched the entering of our new nice neighbor on the opposite side of the road. but the most remarkable thing for me was that i met two other people another day later and when they asked me where i live, i just told them there where the cola light woman lives and they immediatly know where it was. interesting sort of mental billboard mapping a city.

i started to map the city for me by visiting the different quarters to get a better overview of all the types of architecture. first of all i wanted to know where alle the people are living, who are driving all these huge offroad cars with toned windows, consuming 25 liters and using their mobile phone all the time but not to talk to somebody but rather to revile the other end of the line. i followed them to pipera and now i know better what kind of standards they are seeking.

i finished making photographes there after getting hardly admonished by some security guys explaining me, that my definition of public space had nothing in common with theirs. after another attempt of taking some pictures on the main road in pipera i decided better to go home, after the false estimation of the speed of an approaching big car, with of course toned windows. i thought i have had approximative two minutes time to cross the street, but....
i think most of this guys with the toned windows are responsible for all this blindwall buildings you can find everywhere in the city, being built without any relation to the environment. for me there are a synonym for what i always thought of bucharest: it will always be on the way to find its (urban) identity and will hardly ever achieve it.

maybe no other city in europe had to suffer so much large-scale changes of his urban character, without being destroyed by heavy war losses. and after the forced artifical identity in the socialist period now the city is strangled by a maximum profit-oriented planning- and building policy and i will not ask what is worse.
all these questions about a lack of identity and all the discussions and arguments about it should be the area of conflict in which i will try to work out a concept for this film.
in the meantime i am not getting tired to cruise all different parts of the city and bukresh is not going to abandon me. i always find something what i didn´t see anywhere else before, even if it´s not from great value, like this, spotted in drumul taberei. buna seara.

3 bucati din epoca de aur

Cel mai interesant lucru la almanahuri mi se parea sa ajung cat mai repede la paginile de final, unde erau de obicei cateva cartoane subtiri de diferite culori care contineau cele mai frumoase poze. Uitandu-ma printr-un almanah al revistei Cinema, m-am impiedicat de un parfum si e o cofetarie asa cum erau doar atunci si n-o sa mai fie niciodata. Fluturasii sunt si acum pe peretele unei fabrici vechi de tot si se poarta ca intr-un insectar proletar de ani de zile. Iata ce a ramas dupa '89. Bucatele din inocenta unor oameni.

O alta petitiune.

Am primit de dimineata un mail de la o domnisoara care cerea ca linkul acesta sa fie publicat pe Bukresh. Cu siguranta ca avea dreptate. Semnatari cu speranta, uniti-ne.

http://www.petitiononline.com/VideaNU/

si textul mare era

Opriti distrugerea Bucurestiului.

Cumparaturi placute in numele Domnului Consum

Din EVZ aflam ca avem Program prelungit la hipermarketuri. Iubitele asezamante socioculturale nu dezamagesc nici anul acesta si rasplatesc populatia avida de cumparaturi cu program prelungit permitandu-le bunilor crestini sa sarbatoreasca asa cum se cuvine intoarcerea lui Jesus din morti. Sa speram ca viitoarea catedrala a mantuirii neamului va fi dotata cu supermarket nonstop pentru a imbina umilul cu placutul. Doamne ajuta.

Iata si un citat din articolul din EVZ:

Promotii de sarbatoare
Cateva fete imbracate cu fustite roz ofera cumparatorilor baloane si pliante. Zarva mare si zumzet mai ales la casele de marcat. Clientii se plimba printre rafturile marcate cu eticheta galbena "Promotie", privesc lista, iau produse si le pun in cos. La promotie se gasesc de toate: cozonaci traditionali (33.400 lei), iepuras din ciocolata (200 g, 78.900 lei), ulei de floarea-soarelui (24.900 lei), faina (5.900 lei), zahar (31.900 lei), cafea (500 g, 154.900 lei), bere la doza, vin spumant, detergenti, diverse articole vestimentare si produse electrocasnice.

[Stencilul a fost fotografiat anul trecut la coloane la Romana si autorii sunt NPK]

Lina de aur

pe Calea Victoriei

Workshopping Bucharest

Workshopping Bucharest
Maartje Dros
Anne Heinsbroek

Introduction:

A group of fifteen young designers and specialists from other fields will take part in a research trip to Bucharest in April 2006 together with architect and author, Wim Cuyvers. In the week that they will be doing fieldwork they want to establish more insight in the ways which public space manifests, how it is defined and how it projects itself on global and local developments. These participants will specifically perform the research in the city of Bucharest, because of the distinct differences of policies and legislation with those of the Dutch cities. The results of this research could offer more insight into how these local policies influence the development of public space.

Background of the participants:

The majority of the participants graduated between 2001 and 2005 at the Design Academy, Department of Man & Public Space. They are currently active in various fields of work and in different stages of their careers, most of whom have attended research trips as part of the studies organised by Wim Cuyvers. Visited places: Belgrade, Picos de Europa, Sarajevo, Tirana, The Hague, Hoek van Holland, and Brussels. Influenced by these experienced they all have a common belief that fieldwork is a significant method to conceive new definitions of public space. It would be of interest to compare the work that would come out of Bucharest with previous research trips. The schemes of each city will undoubtedly be clarified in the comparison and comment on their developments.

The aims of the workshop:

- To contribute to developments within the area of spatial design and to new definitions of public space
- To exchange ideas with Romanian students and experts on the use of the city, public space and current changes in Europe.
- To create awareness in the West-European design world about the inevitable European developments.
- To set up a network of young designers and experts and a platform for discussion.

continuare aici...

Monumentul lui ghildus, dezafectat si pus la pastrare

Primăria Capitalei a decis dezafectarea şi punerea la adăpost, pentru o vreme, a monumentului din Piaţa Revoluţiei, dezvelit la finele anului trecut. În locul ei vor apărea pomi şi clădiri noi. Cititi mai multe aici.

Nivelmentul fundamental Bucuresti

Remake readymade

O bucata din taraba de ziare de la coloane de la Sala Palatului seamana izbitor de mult cu readymade-ul lui Duchamp, Porte-bouteilles. O adevarata lectie de design de mobilier urban... :)

Tzeapa lui Ghildus atacata

Monumentul erorilor a fost atacat de cineva. In fotografie se vede clar ca un text sau un desen a fost sters de pe marmura ieftina cu care e placata scumpa tzeapa... Personal am sperat tot timpul ca cineva va face ceva sa-si arate dezgustul si dezacordul si va actiona intr-un fel vizibil mai degraba decat numai declarativ dar n-am nici cea mai mica idee despre ce s-a intamplat de fapt. Stie cineva despre ce este vorba?

Intrarea Ecaterina Teodoroiu

pe stanga

pe dreapta

A propos de intrari, uite un articol din EVZ

Intrarea Alfabetului

Photo taken by Mr Color on the occasion of his return from getting up in Ho Shi Min industrial estates. Gieeee!

Bulevardul Tudor Vladimirescu

Primim orasul de la cei dinaintea noastra ca pe un fel de mostenire. O mostenire care ne obliga la anumite gesturi, care ne restrange gama de comportamente.

Astfel s-a intamplat de exemplu cu Casa Poporului, pe care am primit-o cum am putut mai bine. Am transformat-o in domiciliu pentru puterea politica, cea religioasa urmand sa se instaleze acolo in putin timp.

Acelasi lucru s-a intamplat cu circurile foamei, transformate in temple ale consumerismului autohton de catre investitorii straini. Cladirile construite in vechiul regim si mai ales orasul pe care acestea incercau sa il configureze supravietuiesc in mod pervers in utilizarile pe care le dam astazi, impreuna cu zidurile respective pe care avem impresia ca le refolosim.

Insa ar fi inutil sa incercam sa scapam de aceasta mostenire. Si e greu de inchipuit ca am reusi. E totusi uneori dureros de ironic sa observi ca multe dintre initiativele de dinainte de 1989 sunt continuate astazi, chiar daca sunt indeptatite in intregime de ratiuni practice.

Asa se intampla cu Bulevardul Tudor Vladimirescu, ce intersecteaza Calea 13 Septembrie. Incomplet amenajat, bulevardul se oprea intr-un maidan de daramaturi, fara sa se continue in partea sudica a intersectiei.

Primaria a reluat lucrarile de amenajare, trasand cursul noului bulevard, sau mai degraba continuand niste planuri preexistente. In mod amuzant, o benzinarie s-a grabit sa isi amenajeze o filiala in marginea bulevardului in constructie, ramanand insa izolata in mijlocul unui camp de daramaturi.

Drumul si-a schimbat cursul si lucrarile au fost sistate la un moment dat, din cauza unui cetatean care si-a revendicat un teren ce era asezat chiar in mijlocul acestuia.

In partea vestica, drumul se invecineaza cu un spatiu enorm si pustiu, ramas asa dupa demolarile dinainte de 1989. Primaria are planuri mari cu zona respectiva, dorind sa construiasca aici o zona de afaceri.

Pana atunci, drumul ramane un sant adanc pana la brau, pe care localnicii il traverseaza cu greu, prin cateva locuri mai accesibile. Zona este destul de stranie, cu intersectia ei grandioasa ce se termina intr-un maidan, cu drumul ei sapat pe langa o benzinarie nefunctionala, cu stradutele cu case din partea de vest, care sfarsesc si ele in acelasi teren viran.