Proyecto Helicoide at Seoul Biennale

Celeste Olalquiaga, Director of Proyecto Helicoide and Downward Spiral co-editor, exhibition at the 2019 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.

At a moment when cities are increasingly unequal and segregated it asks if they can continue to be perceived as collective spaces and what tools or strategies can be used to transform cities into collective spaces. (E-flux)

Learn more about the “Cities Exhibition”. Proyecto Helicoide > Infrastructure > Caracas, Venezuela.

#ICYMI Olalquiaga in CNN:

Once hailed as the would-be icon of Venezuela's fast paced modernity, El Helicoide's downward spiral sadly represents the collapse of a national dream built on untenable social divisions.

One can only hope that both country and building will rise from their current situation and meet the challenges of a country whose vast oil reserves still hold an unfulfilled potential. For this to happen, justice must be served for the country's political prisoners, but also for its ever-present masses of urban poor. (CNN: “El Helicoide: The futuristic wonder that now sums up Venezuela's spiral into despair,” 2019).

Folleto El Helicoide de la Roca Tarpeya: Centro Comercial y Exposición de Industrias, 1956.

Learn more and download the table of contents of Downward Spiral: El Helicoide’s Descent from Mall to Prison.

#URDownwardSpiral

Learn more about Proyecto Helicoide, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the architectural, cultural and social value of El Helicoide de la Roca Tarpeya in Caracas, Venezuela.

Terreform Urban Research Receives Graham Foundation Grant 2019

Terreform has received a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts for its imprint, Urban Research.

The Chicago-based Graham Foundation has released a list of organizations that will receive its coveted Production and Presentation Grants to pursue architecture-related projects this year.

In line with the Graham Foundation’s mission to “foster the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture,” awardees will receive assistance with production-related expenses for a variety of undertakings that aim to enrich architectural discourse, including films, publications, exhibitions, and lectures. Final decisions were made on the basis of four criteria: originality, feasibility, capacity, and potential for impact.

More from The Architect’s Newspaper.

See list of projects UR (Urban Research) 2019.

Anas Awad, "The Merchandise Tunnel," illustration, 2019. In "UR13: Open Gaza: Four Tunnels" by Bin Al-Sirhid (Pseudonym).

Urban Research (UR), the imprint of Terreform, publishes progressive books about cities and their futures.

Michael Sorkin at the Green Living Room - West Woodlawn

Michael Sorkin presented at the soft opening of the Green Living Room in West Woodlawn, Chicago. Located in 6431 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, the Green Living Room is the result of the work and dedication of Naomi Davis, founder of community nonprofit, Blacks In Green, which:

“serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable-villages in communities owned and populated by African Americans. In these places, every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, and neighbor dollars circulate to reduce greenhouse gases.”

— “Woodlawn’s new coffee shop teaches residents about sustainability, green neighborhoods” by Margaret Tazioli, Curbed Chicago.

Photographs by Blacks in Green. See more here.

“Davis doesn’t take the “living room” title lightly; the muti-purpose space is open to the public and designed to feel like a second home for West Woodlawn residents. Given Davis’ background in theater, she added a stage for performances, live broadcasting, mini concerts and film nights. The Green Living Room also holds a cafe with free wi-fi, computers with low to no-cost green economy curricula, and information on resources and job opportunities.”

— "Chicago Green Jobs Group Gets Official Headquarters" By Emily Nonko, Next City

Sorkin shared his housing design and collaborative journey with Davis at the opening.

NAOMI DENISE DAVIS: SURTHRIVE! in the cities where an entire acre is impossible to find -- consider the BIG: Blacks in Green BIG Urban Homestead plan and our "House As Garden" design that adapts to common Chicago lot sizes. Our award-winning design is by internationally renowned Michael Sorkin Studio, and we previewed it to standing room only at our #HardHatHappening on 8/31. From fruit/nut orchard and vegetable sanctuary to water reuse and of course solar, we're building a "living building" affordable to the black middle-income purse. Groundbreaking and breaking ground in 2020 -- visit us #TheGreenLivingRoom for info on how to own your own green 4-flat in the 'hood...and start building your family health and wealth!!

From public post below:

Learn more about Terreform’s work with BIG and Chicago on our South Side Stories project page.

Support Blacks in Green.