The UrbanUrban blog writes about the modernization of outdated housing stock using the example of Germany, where experts were able to prove that it was enough to spend only 30% of the amount required for the demolition and subsequent construction of new houses on reconstruction. At the same time, the reconstructed houses will meet the energy efficiency standard. Currently, 70% of buildings built in the 1970s and 1980s have been modernized in Germany. It is curious that the owner of the construction there is the owner, he himself decides on the composition of the measures and the conditions for their implementation. He also finances most of the work. For these purposes, he is granted a loan for 25 years at 3% per annum. In Russia, they are trying to solve the problem of dilapidated housing by financing capital repairs through the housing and communal services reform fund. But Khrushchev buildings are rarely reconstructed, and, as a rule, no one thinks about their energy efficiency. And this despite the fact that the existing stock of large-panel housing alone in Moscow is about 30 thousand houses, and throughout Russia - ten times more.
Georgia, on the other hand, is "ahead" of Russia in another indicator - in the pace of construction of modern public buildings designed by world-famous architects. Photos of the most unusual Georgian buildings of recent years can be viewed in the ru-architect LJ community.
"Archilenta" tells about an unusual office in Mitino near Moscow, designed by the architect Anton Mosin. The building was built on the initiative of a development company implementing the project of the microtown "In the Forest" and is a pneumo-frame structure made of plastic plastic material. The streamlined forms of the building in the plan form a trefoil in which offices, meeting rooms and demonstration boxes of the future apartments of the microtown are located.
Archiblog Shu writes about another office designed in Turin for the Domino agency. The architectural studio Marc, which was engaged in the conversion of a four-story building from the early 20th century into an office, not only restored all the premises, but also completely restored the historical building. As a result, walls, niches, beams and ceilings were opened. The only thing that the architects replaced was the floor slab on the first floor. Instead, they used a thin sheet of perforated metal that visually linked the floor to the basement. The rest of the changes were minimal, they were reduced to the optimization of transit crossings and the expansion of office space.
The UrbanUrban blog also found out which cities are the most comfortable for the Dutch. The author has compiled a rating of Dutch cities with a population of over 30 thousand people, based on their provision of public services (cinemas, theaters, hospitals, UNESCO cultural heritage sites and universities). The Intra-City Available Diversity Ratio (CDR) is highest in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam. When considering cities that are within an hour of a variety of services, Utrecht is in the lead, since it has the maximum number of nearest neighboring cities. Utrecht is followed by Harlem and Leiden. Quite good performance in this component and Eindhoven. As a result, the author calls Utrecht the most convenient city in Holland, and the rapidly developing Eindhoven the most promising. Both cities are famous for their universities.
Another UrbanUrban blog post is about how to make your city better. It talks about the Do It Yourself City Action Marathon, which began in St. Petersburg on May 1 and will run until May 13. During these two weeks, locals will unite their efforts and do things useful for the city: landscaping yards, creating functional urban art objects, planting trees, separate waste collection and much more. The event will include city walks, games (quests), workshops and lectures, among which speakers are announced, including guests from Finland and the United States. The main goal of the marathon is a gradual transformation of the urban environment, initiated from the bottom up.
And about design. Design Depot talks about artistic electrical supports that will decorate the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Some of them will be painted based on folk art, others will be painted to match the color of the wool of representatives of the animal world. The theme of animals was also embodied in a more complex structure of supports - in the form of figures of deer and bears. It is proposed to supply electrical supports in the form of giant numbers, which correspond to the year of the Sochi Olympics - 2014, as well as in the form of a ball symbolizing the world power grid.
Archiblog Shu writes about the furniture exhibition in Milan Isaloni 2012. After viewing it, the author says, one gets the impression that all brands are concerned not with impressing the consumer, but with keeping him. Therefore, there are no new unusual forms at the exhibition, and even minimalism was softened by pillows and fabrics. But more attention is paid to the structural elements of the furniture and its color.
The Bolshoi Gorod magazine continues to tell about the excursions that took place on the Day of Monuments (April 18) in Moscow. This time, the focus is on a walk with the restaurateur, director of the OGI publishing house Dmitry Itskovich around Ostozhenka and Prechistenka, as well as a tour of 4th Meshchanskaya Street to Bolnichny Lane with Sergei Buntman, deputy editor-in-chief of the Ekho Moskvy radio station.
