Monthly Archives: October 2011

TheAtlantic.com interviews Fran Tonkiss on LSE Cities Programme

31 October 2011

Julia Levitt reports on the LSE Cities Programme, the centre’s dedicated teaching arm, and interviews Academic Director Fran Tonkiss on the challenges and opportunities involved in it: “The key skill is to be able to communicate across disciplinary divides,” says Fran Tonkiss. “We also take a very broad definition of design. It’s about designing institutions and policies as much as it is about designing built form.” Read the full article and interview on TheAtlantic.com.

Urban@LSE presents Alex Steffen: “The Hidden Future of Cities”

19 October 2011

Urban@LSE is excited to announce that noted urban futurist and two-time TED speaker Alex Steffen will be speaking in a special lunchtime guest seminar from 12-2pm this Friday afternoon, 21 October, Wolfson Theatre in the New Academic Building, LSE. It is open to the general public, but space is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Find out more.

Urban@LSE presents Alex Steffen: “The Hidden Future of Cities”

The Hidden Future of Cities, Alex Steffen, Urban Futurist

Friday, Oct 21, 12-2pm, Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

Urban@LSE is excited to announce that noted urban futurist and two-time TED speaker Alex Steffen will be speaking in a special lunchtime guest seminar at LSE from 12-2pm this Friday afternoon, 21 October. The event will be held in the Wolfson Theatre in the New Academic Building. It is open to the general public, but space is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Do you ever wonder whether we should be optimistic or pessimistic about the future? If you want more reasons to think things may still turn out for the better, urban futurist and two-time TED speaker Alex Steffen’s your man. Steffen uses real-world examples and big-picture research to show us that a brighter, greener future is ours to choose. His most recent work is Carbon Zero, a book describing cities that create prosperity not climate change, accelerating their economies while reducing their climate emissions to zero. The big open secret about sustainability work, he recently told Design Observer magazine, is not how bad things are. It is how good things can get.

Ricky Burdett comments on Berlusconi’s decision to oust head of Venice Biennale

17 October 2011

Burdett, who was director of the architecture biennale in 2006, commented to bdonline.co.uk on the PM’s surprising and widely controversial decision to replace Paolo Baratta as head of the Venice Biennale: “Baratta transformed the massive venue in Venice, bringing professionalism and verve to a fossilised bureaucracy…It is sad and depressing to see that local politics has once again won the day in a country that has so much to offer.” Read the full article (requires free registration).

BND.com: Living in the Endless City “pick of the bunch” at Frankfurt Book Fair

At the Frankfurt Book Fair, the biggest publishing event of the year, BND.com thinks that Living in the Endless City stands out from the crowd. “Sandwiched between the big international bestsellers are books that deserve a second look by estimable publishers or small presses without big marketing budgets,” and “beautifully photographed and written, both books are required reading for anyone who cares about this trend rapidly reshaping our planet.” Read the full review.

Three members of UA ‘family’ win prestigious awards

Jose Castillo – an Urban Age advisor – was awarded the Latin America regional Holcim bronze award for his Urban regeneration master plan, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The gold and silver awards went to Urban Age advisory board members Alfredo Brillembourg and Alejandro Aravena respectively. The Holcim Awards is an international competition that recognizes innovative projects and future-oriented concepts for sustainable construction on regional and global levels. Read more about the winners.