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27 Jan 09

1927 photograph by August Sander

From Wallflower dispatches.

Note: no overhead power lines. Yay. (And this photo is from 1927...!) Also: no trees or plants on boulevard ...hm. Not so yay?

*But* - people put flower pots and plant baskets on their window sills. (Not visible in this picture, because it's obviously not spring or summer; the subject is wearing winter clothes.)

Greenery in the city: did the individual "green" her city first?

I was born in Duesseldorf's Altstadt (Old Town), at home in an apartment house that looks like any one of the ones pictured here. There is a park across the street from 1 Bergerallee, and the Rhine flows nearby, flanked by a promenade/ park. But Bergerallee also has no trees or greenery, except for what residents provide in pots. It's nonetheless more than tolerable.

Note the wide, wide boulevards, perfect for summertime street furniture, cafes, children playing. How did Sander catch the city so deserted-looking, I wonder...?

www.wallflowerdispatches.com/...st-sander-ret_bearbeitet-3.jpg - Preview

photography memoir duesseldorf berlin august_sander

28 Apr 08

Multimedia guide helps tourists track down remains of Berlin Wall with GPS - MIT Tech Review

- It's too bad this isn't a guide that you can download, and instead is a guide / gadget that you have to rent. "The hand-sized minicomputer, to be introduced May 1, is linked to global positioning satellites mapping the wall's former path."

The underlying idea could be great -- downloadable walking tour guide, with many enriched features (interviews, newsclips, etc.). But not if it means renting the actual gadget, without some sort of online accessible aspect.

www.technologyreview.com/...20684 - Preview

mit_techreview tourism guide berlin berlin_wall

The hand-sized minicomputer, to be introduced May 1, is linked to global positioning satellites mapping the wall's former path.

Boasting a headset and a touch-screen, it features a colorful map of the city that can zoom in and out, showing the users where they are. The route of the former barrier between East and West Germany is marked in red while a yellow line guides the visitor from one wall section to the next, calculating the distances via GPS in meters.
The city government commissioned the multimedia guide as part of a bigger project to improve existing memorials to the wall, most of which were torn down after Communist East Germany collapsed and the border was opened in 1989. The project is scheduled for completion by Aug. 13, 2011, the 50th anniversary of the wall's construction.

Apart from guiding tourists from one wall memorial to the next -- among them the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the mural-covered East Side Gallery -- the digital assistant gives information about 22 historically significant spots along the wall's route.
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- At a memorial for the people killed while trying to escape, users can click an icon that lets them see and hear Juergen Litfin talk about the death of his brother Guenter -- shot by border guards Aug. 24, 1961 and said to be the first of at least 125 people killed trying to make the perilous crossing.
- Passing through the Brandenburg Gate, users can listen to and watch U.S. President Ronald Reagan peering over the wall as he made his famous 1987 speech challenging then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to ''tear down this wall!''
- Starting on May 1, the wall guides can be rented at five booths located throughout the city. They cost between euro6 and euro15 (US$9.50 and US$24) depending on how long visitors want to keep them.
  
  The ''Walk the Wall'' guide comes in German and English, but manufacturer Antenna Audio is planning to offer it in other languages as well.
- It took a team of historians and computer experts one year and euro500,000 (US$797,000) to develop the current software, said Rosemarie Wirthmueller, Antenna Audio's managing director for Europe, but as of now there are no concrete plans to use similar GPS-connected devices in other cities.
  
  Antenna Audio, a subsidiary of Discovery Communications Inc., also offers digital tour guides for 450 museums and archaeological sites across the globe, but none of them come with GPS so far.

04 Mar 08

» Das erste siebengeschossige Mehrfamilienhaus in Holzkonstruktion - Neuer Film bei architekturclips.de - architekturvideo.de - Das Video-Blog für Architektur, Stadtplanung und Immobilien

Architektur Video dot DE links to a film from Kaden & Klingbeil Architects who are building the first 7-story multifamily apartment block constructed from wood (i.e., NOT concrete). (See http://www.architekturclips.de/kadenfilm/kaden.html)

As you can see from the still photos included here, the construction system includes lots of steel I-beams and rivets, and overall looks *very* different from the usual 4-story and lower wood-frame construction one finds in North America. Overall, the method represents energy savings and environmental advantages, too. As for wood as fire hazard, everything is clad in thick fire-resistant material -- I bet this insulates against sound, too.

Fascinating. The video (http://www.architekturclips.de/kadenfilm/kaden.html) is narrated by Tom Kaden, architect, in German.

www.architekturvideo.de/?p=301 - Preview

architecture architekturvideo.de berlin video wood_frame_construction