Tag Archives: architecture

Urban development check: can Karachi build castles on dung heaps?

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KARACHI: “We think we’re going to build castles on top of dung heaps? Karachi is a katchi-abadi city, a city of squatters, slums,” said Roland deSouza, an engineer and speaker at a seminar by the urban activist group SHEHRI-CBE.

On Thursday about 75 engineers, architects, city planners, students and journalists gathered at the Institute of Engineers Pakistan to ponder the implications of pending changes to the Sindh High Density Development Board Act 2010, passed last June by the Sindh Assembly. An advisory committee, appointed by the Karachi Building Control Authority and compose of architects and infrastructure personnel, opposed the Act.

Although high density refers to the number of people per square feet, high-density development is often shorthand for vertical development, or high-rises. The law gave the government permission to designate “high-density development” areas anywhere in Sindh. Architects and planners criticised the law for being vague and ignoring the problems that could result from indiscriminately placing commercial, highly trafficked buildings in residential areas.

Now lawmakers are attempting to clarify the Act with a set of rules and procedures which have not yet been voted into law. The rules would give the government permission to build anywhere in the city, with no height or size restrictions, no zoning boundaries and no sort of institutional approval process. Perhaps the government hopes to save time and avoid expensive bureaucracy. According to architect Husnain Lotia, a speaker and member of the advisory committee, President Zardari envisions Karachi as the next Dubai, with 100-storey buildings that would ignite the city’s depressed economy.

Keep reading.

Living Walls Conference Interview, Part 1

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A component in the all-around amazing time I had in Atlanta last weekend, I talked to Blacki Li Rudi Migliozzi and Monica Campana about Living Walls, a scrappy, grassroots conference of street artists, culture jammers, filmmakers, flash lecturers and even a Georgia Tech architecture prof. It’s all officially happening August 13-15. Artists are coming from all over the world (many will be in town as early as August 7, making this a weeklong event!) to paint, wheatpaste and discuss their work in terms of “urbanism”—or understanding the city at the level of the city. In Monica’s words, it’s “street art summer camp,” and EVERYONE is invited to participate. If you’re in Atlanta, come one and all—everything’s free and open to the public (check their website for scheduling details…also head over to Eyedrum’s website). If you’re not in Atlanta and want to participate, send art! Send a poster. Someone WILL put it up for you.

(Chris Stain, participating artist, NYC)

A huge part of why this conference is so exciting to me, being a born and bred Mississippi girl, is that it’s happening in the Deep South, where there is a notorious absence of street art culture, with the exception of some (often sloppy) graffiti. This isn’t to say that there is no street art or good graf, but the culture doesn’t have the history or virality of that in coastal cities.

Things may come to us slow as molasses down here, but eventually we do catch on and offer our own deep-fried, sunbaked perspective, and right now in Atlanta, there’s a contagious freshness and vibrancy in the alternative art scene. I noticed this in the gallery shows I attended last weekend, as well as in Monica and Blacki’s enthusiasm, in gallery conversations between exhibiting artists and non, and essentially everywhere I came into contact with this community. And Living Walls will only propel the scene. After a week of sanctioned and non-sanctioned getting up in Atlanta, by the city’s own artist and those visiting, Atlanta may end up looking like my old Bushwick neighborhood. Brooklyn (and everywhere!), welcome to the South! Can we offer you some cornbread and greens with your spraypaint?

For my interview with Monica and Blacki, head over to my Juxtapoz blog.

Art News Digest

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Italian researchers say they are but a ghostly whisper from identifying the 400-year-old bones of Caravaggio—just two more weeks and they should have the results of DNA tests. If they’ve found the bones, they might be able to determine the circumstances surrounding the artist’s untimely death. An exhibit of art and crafts made by Japanese detainees in World War II internment camps is showcased at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. Many of these works, some of which are by Isamu Noguchi and Henry Sugimoto, have never been publicly displayed before. At Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum, a gaggle of geese and goslings gave the Van Goghs a passing glance on their shortcut to the pond—through the museum lobby! A statement made by the new Supreme Court nominee a couple decades ago has concerned parties wondering if Elena Kagan has already ruled against art, and Lou Reed, former Velvet Underground frontman and photographer, was one of the curators of the third annual New York Photo Festival. Keep reading at ArtWeLove.com.