During the World Architecture Festival’s closing keynote speech, Canadian-Israeli architect Moshe Safdie criticized today’s urban planning and invited attendees and the larger community to “reflect that our planning tools are no longer adequate, that the way we have planned in the past is no longer effective,” Dezeen reported.
The festival took place in Singapore's Marina Bay Sands, which Safdie designed.
“The profession needs reorientation. I also think that our understanding of what urban design is all about [needs] reorientation,” Safdie added.
The 76-year-old sees skyscrapers and the privatization of public space to be the most problematic parts of modern city design. This privatization of the public realm leads to an erosion of urban connectivity, Dezeen wrote.
“The new typology is the superblock: a cluster of high-rise buildings of mixed use, sitting on a podium which is a retail mall. That’s the dominant typology of the mixed-use downtown area across Asia, across Latin America and emerging now in every part of the world.”
Dezeen has the full story.
Related Stories
| Jan 30, 2012
Hollister Construction Services to renovate 30 Montgomery Street in Jersey City, N.J.
Owner Onyx Equities hires firm to oversee comprehensive upgrades of office building.
| Jan 27, 2012
Caterpillar reports record sales and profit for 4Q and full-year 2011
Momentum carries into 2012 with sales and revenues outlook raised to $68 to $72 billion.
| Jan 27, 2012
Smith Seckman Reid opens two new offices
Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR), an engineering design and facility consulting firm, has opened two new offices, one in Chicago, the other in Washington, D.C.
| Jan 27, 2012
BRB Architects designs new campus center for Molloy College
Intended to be the centerpiece of the College’s transformation from a commuter college to a 24-hour learning community, the “Public Square” will support student life with spaces such as a café, lounges, study rooms, student club space, a bookstore and an art gallery.
| Jan 27, 2012
Columbia University’s New Core Laboratory aims for LEED Silver
Construction manager Sordoni Construction Co. along with the design team of Payette Architects and Vanderweil Engineers will provide design and construction services to renovate the majority of the existing Core Lab building to create the new Lamont Center for Bio-Geochemistry.
| Jan 26, 2012
Three dead, 16 missing in Rio buildings collapse
The buildings, one 20 floors high, collapsed on Wednesday night in a cloud of dust and smoke just one block away from the city's historic Municipal Theater.
| Jan 26, 2012
Siemens launches smoke detection knowledge center
New knowledge center web site demonstrates efficacy of smoke detection.
| Jan 26, 2012
Hendrick Construction completes Osso Restaurant in Charlotte
Designed by François Fossard, Osso's upscale interior includes tapered, twisted decorative columns and an elegant fireplace in the center of the lounge.
| Jan 26, 2012
HOK partners with USGBC on design of Haiti children's center
Passive design principles give form to a sustainable, restorative environment for the children of Haiti.
| Jan 26, 2012
American Standard names Gould as president and CEO
Gould succeeds Don Devine, who led the successful turnaround of American Standard Brands.