PLACES

IX Annual Congress: Cuban Cultural Center

Cooper Union
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PLACES : BELMONT FREEMAN

Havana: Nostalgia Is a Dangerous Business

"For the most part, the architectural press has perpetuated the myth that nothing of value has been built in Cuba in the last 50 years and that Havana is a city in a time warp that can and should be preserved intact and restored to its pre-revolution state." So argues Belmont Freeman in a critique of the literature on Havana architecture and urbanism — a literature that strongly influences U.S. impressions, given the longstanding travel ban. Freeman ranges widely, from rigorous and politically sensitive works of scholarship to the lavish picture albums of romantic ruins that fascinate foreigners and appall Cubans. We're pleased to be featuring his review just in advance of the Ninth Annual Congress of the Cuban Cultural Center of New York, the theme of which is "Cuban Architecture: A Historical Legacy." 
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CHANGE OBSERVER : KATE ANDREWS

Dori Gíslason

Halldór Gíslason, known by most as Dori, is a project leader and teacher in the Faculty of Design at KHiO, Oslo's National Academy of the Arts, Norway. With an extensive career in architecture and teaching, Dori is currently located in Maputo, Mozambique, on a special mission to support both the establishment of the first higher education academy of art and design in the country, the Instituto Superior de Artes e Cultura (ISAC), and a number of social design action projects, both directed at innovation, entrepreneurship, design and gender equality. Kate Andrews spoke to Dori as he landed back in Maputo.
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CHANGE OBSERVER : WILLIAM DRENTTEL

Bellagio Design Symposium: Participants

Bellagio Design Symposium, April 12-14, 2010, sponsored by Winterhouse Institute with support from Rockefeller Foundation, involved 21 participants — curators, educators, designers, writers, and representatives of NGOs and foundations. This the complete list of participants.
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CHANGE OBSERVER : ALLAN CHOCHINOV

Bellagio Design Symposium: Core77 Report

"Everything in Moderation: Reflections on Furniture, Volcanoes, Design, Social Change and the 'Museum,'" by Allan Chochinov. This report on the Aspen Design Summit, reprinted on Change Observer, is courtesy of the author and Core77.
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CHANGE OBSERVER : WILLIAM DRENTTEL

Bellagio Design Symposium: Call for Participation

Reasons Not to Be Pretty: Symposium on Design, Social Change and the "Museum" was a symposium sponsored by the Winterhouse Institute and held at the Rockefeller Bellagio Center, Bellagio Italy, April 12-14 2010. This is the initial information posted as a call for participation.
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CHANGE OBSERVER : ERNEST BECK

Aspen Design Summit: CDC and Healthy Aging: "5over50" Funding Proposal

At the Aspen Design Summit, the CDC Healthy Aging Project developed an aggressive goal: to double the current number of adults 50 and over who have received a set of recommended preventive health services. Post-Aspen, this concept paper was developed in April 2010 as part of an effort to seek funding for a pilot "5over50" project.
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CHANGE OBSERVER : ERNEST BECK

Aspen Design Summit: Rural Alabama – Engine Project: March 2010 Workshop Report

Following up on the Aspen Design Summit, a workshop held in Birmingham in March 2010. Team members presented ideas from the Summit to 40 potential partners, focusing on how new resources and design services could spur local social innovation and community development projects across Alabama to combat poverty. This is their report.
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PLACES : TIMOTHY BEATLEY

Green Metropolis

"Most Americans, including most New Yorkers, think of New York City as an ecological nightmare, a wasteland of concrete and garbage and diesel fumes and traffic jams, but in comparison with the rest of America it's a model of environmental responsibility. In fact, by the most significant measures, New York is the greenest community in the United States." So argues journalist David Owen at the start of his latest book, Green Metropolis. Urban planning professor Timothy Beatley reviews the book here, finding much to agree with, but also questioning whether New York, and especially Manhattan — in so many ways a compelling exception in the American experience — can really provide a model for the greening of U.S. cities. 
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OBSERVATORY : ERIC J. HERBOTH

Eames the Typeface

A look at the new Eames Century Modern typeface, designed by Erik van Blokland, and developed by House Industries in collaboration with the Eames Office.
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OBSERVATORY : ERIC BAKER

Today, 05.08.10

Here are Today's images.
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CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE

Climate Change Chocolate

While environmentalists debate the ethics and effectiveness of carbon offsets, designers work to make them appealing.
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OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE

PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2008

Mythologies of Placemaking

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