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Five-stars for Foster design Luxury Heathrow hotel given Mayoral seal of approval Foster + Partners’ design for a new five-star hotel on Bath Road, close to Heathrow Airport has been approved by the Mayor of London. The only five-star hotel in the area, it will offer a range of services, including the most extensive conference facilities of any London hotel, to serve the local community and businesses, as well as passengers using Heathrow. The hotel, developed by Riva Properties is characterised by a distinctive layered glass shell, which floods the public spaces with daylight. Articulated as a 13-storey structure, several levels are sunk into the ground, keeping the building’s profile low in response to the immediate surroundings. The rooms are contained within six pavilions, linked by bridges and wrapped in a unifying glass envelope, which acts as a barrier to aircraft noise. The entrance lobby has a floating glass deck with views down to the sunken restaurant level, shallow pool and waterfall. This restaurant floor is accessed via a timber walkway and incorporates a business centre, as well as a variety of venues to eat and drink. The double-height conference facilities, which have their own reception to allow separate access from street-level, encircle a top-lit atrium that brings natural light deep into the building and down to the lower levels. As well as a selection of meeting venues and breakout areas, there is a flexible 1,200-capacity ballroom, two auditoriums and a large conference room. The bowling centre that currently occupies the site will be reinstated within the new scheme at basement level and will remain a public facility. The hotel also incorporates a health centre with a pool, gym, saunas and treatment rooms. Grant Brooker, Executive Director at Foster + Partners, said: “This will be the first five-star hotel in the immediate vicinity of Heathrow and marks a key stage in the area's transformation. We have enjoyed great support and encouragement from local residents, businesses and the Borough of Hillingdon and we believe that the hotel’s wide range of facilities will ensure that it plays a vital role in serving both international travellers and the local community.” http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11465

New condo building in NYC offers ‘couture living’ 170 East End Avenue is the latest of a crop of new luxury residential buildings recently completed in New York City. Located on Manhattan’s toney Upper East Side and situated on Carl Schulz Park, the 20-storey building, designed by Peter Marino, houses 110 couture homes with 3 to 4 bedrooms and a selection of duplexes, maisonettes and smaller one and two bedroom units. Regardless of size, Marino has brought a high degree of luxury and sophistication to the design of each apartment. All units feature custom oak rift cut and quarter sawn parquet floors, kitchens with custom wood cabinets accented with aluminum inlays and oversized stone floors, and bedrooms with master baths finished in polished Italian marble with 6 foot soaking tubs. The building’s public amenities are many and include a well stocked library, squash court, golf simulator, toddler’s play room and art room, and a fully interactive center with Arcade games. There is also a private outdoor garden and waterfall with sheep sculptures by LaLanne. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11473

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/bu...t.html?_r=1&hp FLINT, Mich. — Dozens of proposals have been floated over the years to slow this city’s endless decline. Now another idea is gaining support: speed it up. Instead of waiting for houses to become abandoned and then pulling them down, local leaders are talking about demolishing entire blocks and even whole neighborhoods. The population would be condensed into a few viable areas. So would stores and services. A city built to manufacture cars would be returned in large measure to the forest primeval. “Decline in Flint is like gravity, a fact of life,” said Dan Kildee, the Genesee County treasurer and chief spokesman for the movement to shrink Flint. “We need to control it instead of letting it control us.” The recession in Flint, as in many old-line manufacturing cities, is quickly making a bad situation worse. Firefighters and police officers are being laid off as the city struggles with a $15 million budget deficit. Many public schools are likely to be closed. “A lot of people remember the past, when we were a successful city that others looked to as a model, and they hope. But you can’t base government policy on hope,” said Jim Ananich, president of the Flint City Council. “We have to do something drastic.” In searching for a way out, Flint is becoming a model for a different era.

Architect Koolhaas sees economic woes blunting excess SEOUL (Reuters Life!) – Architect Rem Koolhaas, renowned for his striking designs and musings on cities, believes the global economic downturn will lead to less ostentatious, more "socially responsible" buildings that better serve the public. The Dutch architect, whose firm designed the gravity-defying CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, Casa de Musica in Portugal and the Seattle Central Library, said more emphasis will now be placed on the efficient use of space during these lean times. "The last 10 years have been noteworthy for the excess in the private sector," Koolhaas told Reuters at the opening of a sleek temporary exhibit hall he and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture designed for fashion house Prada in Seoul. "What we are going to see is a return to the public sector. This is a healthy thing," he said on Wednesday. The Prada Transformer structure, located next to an ancient palace in central Seoul, will open on Saturday with a fashion display. The tetrahedron-shaped steel building, covered in a translucent white skin, is designed to be lifted by cranes and rotated so that it can best use each of its differently designed sides to show movies, host fashion shows or hold art exhibits. Koolhaas said the building provides a bit of lightness -- constructed at a reasonable costs -- that is needed during an economic downturn. Prada would not provide the amount it paid to construct the building. (Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Diagrid design completed for Ernst & Young headquarters Foster + Partners has completed a headquarters building for Ernst & Young at the gateway to the Vivaldi-park area of the new Zuidas district, south of Amsterdam. Commissioned by ING, the tower establishes a landmark on the route into the city with its diagrid façade. Ten per cent more efficient than the target Dutch environmental standards, the building also extends the public realm with a water court at its base. The 24-storey building is divided into two twelve metre-wide column free towers with open, flexible floor plates. The blocks are staggered in plan to admit as much natural light as possible and to make the most of the northerly city views. The northern façade is fully glazed, while partial thirty per cent glazing to the east, west and south limits solar gain. Combined with ground water storage to further save on energy for cooling, the overall environmental strategy is highly efficient. Linked by a shared transparent core, the offices are serviced by double-height meeting spaces and light-filled social spaces allowing communication between different floors. The structural steel diagrid is clad in silver aluminium and is offset by opaque black panels, which reduce the definition of the individual floor levels. This lattice scales the entire 87-metre high facade and gives the building its identity. At the base of the building the height of the diagrid creates a triple-storey lobby space, while at the top of each tower north and south-facing terraces are set into the structure. The towers are approached via a water-court with an ecological pond beneath an overhanging canopy. Defining the relationship between public and private, this space houses the social functions, such as staff restaurant, terrace, auditorium and bar, clustered around the water-court. Coupled with a green roof on the restaurant building, the pond has an important environmental contribution. 65 per cent of rainwater is retained on site while the run-off feeds into the Amsterdam canal system to control water levels following peak rainfall. The pond is naturally cleansed by a planted biotope of reeds, water lilies and grasses. David Nelson, Senior Executive and joint Head of Design at Foster + Partners said: “Our first building in Amsterdam not only exceeds Dutch environmental regulations by ten per cent, but provides a striking marker for the Vivaldi park area, a high quality, flexible working environment for tenants Ernst & Young and a lively public water-court with a working ecological pond at its base.” http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=2434

Completed Vancouver Convention Centre West goes for Leed Gold certification Vancouver's waterfront has a spectacular new addition in the completion of Vancouver Convention Centre West, the city's latest flagship eco-development which triples the total square footage and functional capacity of the Centre and completes the development of the public realm. With 6 acres of green roof it boasts the largest in Canada, and the largest non-industrial green roof in North America. This combined with many other eco-measures is set to help the project achieve LEED Canada Gold certification. The project consists of 1.2 million sq ft divided into exhibition space, meeting rooms, 90,000 sq ft of retail space, a 55,000 sq ft ballroom and 400,000 sq ft of public realm including walkways and bikeways. All in, the project promises to be “a celebration of people and place and a model of sustainability”. Architects LMN worked in collaboration with Vancouver-based Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership and DA Architects & Planners to design the centre which will be used as a hub to support 7,000 media during the XXI Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. But not suffice to support homosapians, a key element of the design was the restoration of the shoreline and marine habitat. Having worked with marine scientists, an underwater habitat skirt or artificial reef was developed as part of the centre’s foundation and now provides new habitat for barnacles, mussels, seaweed, starfish, crabs and various fish species. The green roof too is home to 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses, providing natural habitat to birds, insects and small mammals. But it will also provide vital insulation for the building. Other eco-measures include black water treatment and desalinization, a heat pump system that takes advantage of the constant temperature of adjacent seawater, extensive use of controlled daylighting and energy efficient fixtures. Local materials including locally harvested Douglas fir and Hemlock have been used for wood finishes reducing the harmful effects of transportation on the environment. Vancouver is a mixed bag of spectacular natural environment with an impressive urban core. This latest addition attempts to blend the two and create a synergy, acting as a powerful visual ambassador of the Pacific Northwest region’s commitment to sustainability. Niki May Young News Editor http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11387

All in the balance Prix' Art Museum creates art from the landscape with panoramic views Coop Himmelb(l)au has been commissioned for the Art Museum Strongoli in Calabria, the firm's third project in Italy. The museum is not only a cultural center but also understood as a generator for a future development of Calabria, a place for cultural entertainment and recreation. Situated on the top of the “Motta Grande” hill in front of the city, the Art Museum is visible from far away, it's steely form contrasting with the lush green hillside. The new museum houses not only flexible exhibition spaces, but also a small “multi-hall” and a panorama restaurant. The project is a composition of three main elements: the emblematic, coneshaped construction with the entrance is orientated towards the city,Its spiralling ramp which gives access to the exhibition zone makes it is also a spectacular event space, while the cantilevering restaurant at the opposite end of the building offers a panoramic terrace facing the sea in the east. Both public attractors are linked by a two storey exhibition volume. The exhibition areas are determined to be as flexible as possible, supported by underground service facilities accessed via two elevators. The multi-hall can be used as temporary exhibition space, lecture hall, auditorium and cinema or simply as an extension space of the foyer for public events. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11366

Jury for the “Shenzhen 4 Tower in 1” choose Coop Himmelb(l)au design The jury for the “Shenzhen 4 Tower in 1” Competition chaired by Mr. Arata Isozaki, selected Coop Himmelb(l)au's design for Tower C, the new “Headquarter of China Insurance Group” as the winning scheme. Other participants include Morphosis, Steven Holl Architects, Hans Hollein, MVRDV and FCJZ Atelier. The new “Headquarter of China Insurance Group” will be part of a lively business quarter in the heart of the Central District of Shenzhen made up of a carefully composed ensemble of unique, individual towers creating a landmark silhouette. The project is a high-rise structure with a height of approximately 200 m with 49 storeys. The footprint area has the size of 40 by 40 m. The required program is distributed vertically. A clear separation of public and private functions is given. All public functions are organized in the base building while the office program is situated in the tower. Semi public program like meeting rooms, conference center, recreation areas and gardens are concentrated in the middle of the building. This zone is designed to create a pattern of meeting facilities, gardens and recreation areas for all employees and become spaces for an exchange of knowledge and creativity and a synergy of form and function. The “Headquarter of China Insurance Group” is not only recognizable by its significant form but also by its façade. The design of the façade is driven by generation of energy. The second skin of the façade is shaped by climate conditions and inner functions. This skin includes photovoltaic cells to generate electricity and also cells to reduce excessive wind pressure, shade the sun and create multi media displays. Strategies employing the form of the building to assist natural ventilation together with the use of renewable energy sources (wind and solar power) assure an energy efficient design and reduce energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuel energy sources. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11098

MVRDV and ADEPT win Copenhagen high-rise competition with design ‘Sky Village’ The municipality of Rødovre, an independent municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark, announced today MVRDV and co-architect ADEPT winner of the design competition of the Rødovre Skyscraper. The 116 meter tall tower accommodates apartments, a hotel, retail and offices. A public park and a plaza are also part of the privately funded scheme. The new skyscraper with a total surface of 21,688 sq m will be located at Roskildevej, a major artery East of the centre of Copenhagen. It is, after the Frøsilos, MVRDV’s second project in Copenhagen. The skyscraper is shaped to reflect Copenhagen’s historical spire and present day high-rise blending in the skyline of the city, it further combines the two distinctive typologies of Rødovre, the single family home and the skyscraper in a vertical village. Consideration of these local characteristics leads to Copenhagen’s first contemporary high-rise. Responding to unstable markets the design is based on a flexible grid, allowing alteration of the program by re-designating units. These ‘pixels’ are each 60m2 square and arranged around the central core of the building, which for flexibility consists of three bundled cores allowing separate access to the different program segments. On the lower floors the volume is slim to create space for the surrounding public plaza with retail and restaurants; the lower part of the high rise consists of offices, the middle part leans north in order to create a variety of sky gardens that are terraced along the south side. This creates a stacked neighbourhood, a Sky Village. From this south orientation the apartments are benefitting. The top of the building will be occupied by a hotel enjoying the view towards Copenhagen city centre. The constellation of the pixels allows flexibility in function; the building can be transformed by market forces, however at this moment it is foreseen to include 970 sq m retail, 15,800 sq m offices, 3,650 sq m housing and 2,000 sq m hotel and a basement of 13,600 sq m containing parking and storage. Flexibility for adaptation is one of the best sustainable characteristics of a building. Besides this the Sky Village will also integrate the latest technologies according to the progressive Danish environmental standards. Furthermore the plans include a greywater circuit, the use of 40% recycled concrete in the foundation and a variety of energy producing devices on the façade. A public park adjacent to the Sky Village is part of the project and will be refurbished with additional vegetation and the construction of a ‘superbench’, a meandering public path and bench. A playground, picnic area and exercise areas for elderly citizens are also part of the plan. Lead architect MVRDV and co-architect ADEPT Architects won the competition from BIG, Behnisch and MAD. Winy Maas and Jacob van Rijs present the plan today in Copenhagen together with Anders Lonka and Martin Krogh from local office Adept Architects, Dutch engineering firm ABT and Søren Jenssen act as consultants for the project. Earlier MVRDV realised the Frøsilos / Gemini Residence in the port of Copenhagen: a residential project marking a new way in refurbishment of old silo’s which was highly acclaimed and received international awards. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10584

KPF wins planning approval for Gravesend riverside renewal project Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (London) have won planning approval for a new riverfront development to the north-west of Gravesend Town Centre that combines affordable housing, public amenity space and the restoration of Thames riverside heritage. Clifton Wharf will occupy two brownfield sites separated by West Street. The unique location includes a disused iron railway pier extending out into the Thames. KPF’s proposed re-development advances both the Kent and Medway Structure Plan and the Gravesham Local Plan by redressing the legacy of decline to the environment and infrastructure of this area. It will revitalise Gravesend town centre by bringing life into the neighbourhood though the creation of jobs and much needed accommodation. The scheme comprises 145 residential apartments, a retail unit and provisional river-related uses. The design overcomes the challenge of a split location by means of five sliced ellipsoidal buildings. Cutaway roofs allow for terraces at the top levels; punctuations in the wooden façades provide balconies for lower flats. The buildings, pebble-like in form, sit on a landscaped podium that stretches out in line with the pier. Every building in the cluster uses cutting edge morphology and careful positioning to maximise variety, giving the appearance of differing volumes and heights and taking advantage of the site’s access to unique views and natural light. KPF’s scheme restores the old iron pier and introduces steps and ramps to allow members of the public to get close to the original engineering. The shape and orientation of the pier is echoed and extended inland by the podium which unifies the site and reinforces the connection with the river. The new public walkway, which extends across the road to the pier, provides pedestrian access to the terraces and viewpoints on the water. The relocation of the old river defence wall creates space for proper pavements on West Street and an improved flood protection barrier further to the north. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11355

Hazel Blears gives nod to two major projects on banks of the Thames Two schemes poised for construction at the popular tourist and culture spot of London’s South Bank have been given the go ahead by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears after their planning applications were taken in for review. Matters were taken over the heads of the Southwark Council planning committee in March last year following fears that they may conflict with national and regional policies on issues including height restrictions and landmark significance. 1 Blackfriars Road by Ian Simpson Architects and 20 Blackfriars Road by Wilkinson Eyre Architects were both found to be compliant with the London Plan, English Heritage guidelines and the commanding planning guidelines for the City of London. Being outside of viewing corridors towards the Westminster heritage site and St James Park it was found that “both proposals would satisfy the policy framework relating to the location of tall buildings, including that they would have excellent accessibility to public transport facilities and be at a point of landmark significance,” said the inspector. Ian Simpson Architects’ project will provide a landmark, sail-shaped, luxury hotel and residential tower with 96 apartments and 261 hotel rooms. An undulating public landscape is formed at the base and a public observation deck will be accessible at the top of the building. Wilkinson Eyre’s scheme at 20 Blackfriars Road consists of two towers of 23 and 42 storeys and a public square. The smaller of the two towers will be used for commercial space and the larger for residential. The inspector praised the potential of both schemes: “One of the proposals would bring a hotel; the other would bring offices; both would bring housing, shops/cafes/restaurants and open space,” reads the inspectors report, “Whether individually or jointly, it is difficult to see how the two proposals could not, by consolidating and adding to what is there, ‘help to provide a coherent location for economic clusters of related activities’.” Jim Eyre, Director of Wilkinson Eyre, said of the news: “We are very pleased for our client, Circleplane and, of course, for the team at No. 1 Blackfriars. We are absolutely delighted with the Inspector’s ringing endorsement of the quality of our design and his clear and positive position on both the impact of our scheme from the Blue Bridge in St. James’ Park and on the beneficial contribution in urban design terms to London and in particular Southwark. “We look forward to further discussions with Circleplane on how the project is taken forward in what we all recognize is an exceptionally difficult market.” Niki May Young News Editor http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11356

Ontario in decline: From Canada's economic engine to clunker Can Dalton McGuinty see the light and reverse the decay with his forthcoming budget? By Paul Vieira, Financial Post March 23, 2009 A month before Dalton McGuinty, the Liberal Ontario Premier, hit the election trail in the fall of 2007 to seek a second mandate, an ominous warning sign of the province's crumbling economic stature emerged that should have provided fodder for the campaign. An analysis from leading Bay Street economist Dale Orr said Ontarians' standard of living had plummeted -- from a peak of 15% above the Canadian average in the mid-1980s to just more than 5%. Accompanying the analysis was a warning of further erosion by 2010. Alas, the eye-opening report hardly generated buzz during the election campaign. Instead, most of the talk was about a Conservative proposal to provide government funding for faith-based schooling. Ontarians didn't warm to the idea and re-elected Mr. McGuinty's Liberals with another majority. Reflecting today on that report, Mr. Orr said his nightmare scenario for Ontario has unfolded as envisaged. If anything, the situation in the province may be worse. As the McGuinty government prepares to table its sixth provincial budget on Thursday, it does so knowing the province that was once the country's economic engine is now the clunker of the confederation. While former have-nots such as Saskatchewan post surpluses this fiscal year, Ontario is bleeding red ink--a cumulative two-year deficit of $18-billion. Ontario's dramatic decline comes as no accident. It was decades in the making, based on a combination of mismanaged public finances and the ascent of emerging economies at the expense of high-cost manufacturing. Upon taking office in 2003, Mr. McGuinty moved to pour tens of billions of dollars into improving government services -- health care, education and social programs targeting the downtrodden -- while neglecting the changing economic landscape. To help finance this agenda, he raised corporate taxes and slapped a health-care levy on households. These moves, analysts say, helped cement Ontario as one of the least attractive places for companies to invest. Analysts wonder whether the economic crisis is finally going to force Mr. McGuinty and Dwight Duncan, his Minister of Finance, to make tough choices on spending and undertake the kind of tax reform -- as displayed this week by New Brunswick-- that will help the province attract investment to offset heavy job losses in Ontario. Derek Burleton, senior economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, said Thursday's budget presents a possible turning point for the province. "There is no doubt we are undergoing a period of transformation as some of the industries that have driven healthy gains in living standards are on the decline," said Mr. Burleton, who co-authored a report with TD chief economist Don Drummond last fall that called on the province to embrace a "sweeping" new economic vision. "Given the sizeable deficit the province faces, that will put increasing pressure on the government to prioritize." One of those priorities is for Mr. McGuinty to cease his preferred manner of dealing with difficulties in the industrial heartland -- funneling tens of millions of dollars to the manufacturing sector, particularly automotive, through targeted tax relief or direct subsidies. "What the province should have been doing over the years was to make the province more flexible in attracting new businesses and not diverting resources into declining sectors," said Finn Poschmann, vice-president of research at the C. D. Howe Institute, a Toronto-based think-tank that has been critical of Ontario's tax breaks for struggling sectors such as autos and forest products. "Do you want to steer resources to the sectors where the outlook is positive and growing? Or do you want to divert resources from these stars, which are more likely to generate the long-term employment and wage growth that Ontario is accustomed to?" The manufacturing sector, and its high-paying jobs, used to be the province's crown jewel. But as a component of Ontario's GDP, it has dropped from a peak of 23% in 2000 to roughly 18% on factors such as a richer Canadian dollar, higher energy costs and offshore competition. It is expected to fall further once the dust settles from this crisis. The province was largely able to mask the decline in manufacturing through a combination of a booming housing market, a surge in public sector hiring and a robust financial services sector. The financial crisis, however, has exposed those flaws. For the period starting in 2003, only Quebec and Nova Scotia have produced weaker growth than Ontario. Forecasts suggest Ontario was the only province whose economy shrank last year, and economists say it will record either the worst, or second-worst performance, among provinces this year. Scotia Capital, for instance, has Ontario's economy contracting 2.9% in 2009, and posting meagre growth of 1.4% in 2010, below the expected national average. Of the roughly 295,000 jobs lost in Canada since October, nearly half have come from the province. The result? Unemployment in Ontario, at 8.7%, is now higher than it is the United States (8.1%) and above Quebec's 7.9% jobless rate-- the first time that has happened in three decades. The news is not expected to get any better any time soon. "We believe that the unemployment rate in Canada's largest province should hit 10% by 2010, even if the automobile sector's restructuring plan works," said Sebastian Lavoie, an economist at Laurentian Bank Securities. Further, Mr. Lavoie said wage growth in the province is destined to take a hit. In the past, companies were forced to offer comparable wages and benefits based on what the Canadian Auto Workers would negotiate with the Detroit car makers. But Mr. Lavoie said that will no longer be the case, with CAW accepting salary freezes and making concessions on perks such as cost-of-living-allowance. The financial crisis has just exacerbated a growing trend, said Mary Webb, senior economist at Scotia Capital. Ontario's receipts from foreign-bound exports last year represent an 11.7% drop from a peak of $185.1-billion recorded in 2000. For the same time period, Quebec's receipts fell by just 2.9%. For the rest of Canada, excluding Ontario and Quebec, receipts have surged a whopping 72%. Compounding Ontario's problem is the emergence of big deficit, fuelled in part by shrinking tax revenue and years of escalated program spending. Under Mr. McGuinty, program spending now stands at $23-billion per year more than when he took office in October, 2003, an increase of 36%. In fiscal year, 2007-08, program spending climbed more than 10% to $87.6-billion, compared with a 5.4% increase in tax revenue. Observers note Mr. McGuinty's ascent to power in 2003 can be attributed to a desire for change among Ontarians after years of the hard-nosed, right-leaning Conservative regime that earned scorned for cutting government services. Mr. McGuinty's two terms have been dominated by a push to restore spending on public goods such as education, health care, infrastructure and social services. Analysts say Mr. McGuinty was on the right track to bolster some key building blocks, such as post-secondary education. To help pay for this, Mr. McGuinty raised the corporate tax -- to 14% from 12% --in his first budget. "The balance of [McGuinty's] approach was not quite right," said Jack Mintz, public policy professor at the University of Calgary and renowned tax expert. "The problem was trying to [reinvest in public services] while at the same time trying to maintain a vibrant industrial sector." Mr. Mintz and other analysts say Ontario's tax regime, as currently structured, is suffocating the province's ability to attract investment and rebuild the economy. Last year, Jim Flaherty, the federal Finance Minister, suggested the tax system was making Ontario the "last place" businesses wanted to invest. Mr. Flaherty took lots of heat for that remark, but he was on to something. Mr. Mintz's research indicates the province's marginal effective tax rate on capital, which encompasses all levies slapped on investment in the province, stands at 35%, six points higher than the Canadian average, 29%. Further, the Ontario rate ranks as the ninth-highest in the world, tied with Japan. Despite moves to eliminate capital tax in 2010, and other business tax reductions from the federal government, Ontario's marginal rate is expected to drop only three points to 32% by 2012 -- still higher than all provinces and exceeding the national average. "Ontario will not be successful in retaining existing businesses and attracting new ones if its taxation system is not on sound competitive footing with other provinces and countries," said the TD report by Messrs. Burleton and Drummond. There are signs that Mr. McGuinty is acknowledging the need to change. Despite previous opposition, he said in January the province would take a "long, hard look" at harmonizing its provincial sales tax with the GST. As currently structured, Ontario's sales tax derives almost half of its revenue from taxing business inputs such as productivity-enhancingequipment. Harmonizing with the GST would shift the tax burden to households, but economists argue it would boost business investment and make Ontario more attractive. In a C. D. Howe research paper he released yesterday, Mr. Poschmann said putting an end to the "archaic" sales tax and harmonizing with the GST would move Ontario from a high-tax jurisdiction to a medium-tax jurisdiction by 2012, with the marginal rate on investment falling just over 10 percentage points. A signal toward sales tax harmonization could be contained in Thursday's budget, although observers are hedging their bets given the potential voter backlash. Any further moves on taxation, whether business or personal, may have to wait given the province's monster deficit and an unwillingness to give up further revenue to fund public service initiatives. "Ontario is going to be deeply challenged," Mr. Mintz said, "because it is going to be very hard for the government to do anything when you are so fiscally restrained-- unless it wants to make the deficit even bigger now." Glen Hodgson, senior vice-president and chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada, said the needed tax reductions would not see the light of day until Ontario decides what to do about health-care spending, which is growing at an annual clip of 8% to 10% and is the single biggest expense item in the budget. "This is a catalytic moment for the province," Mr. Hodgson said. "The light bulb has gone on, but it is not burning brightly yet. A lot of people would like to return to the Old World. But I think the Old World is gone -and that's the dilemma Ontario faces." --------- MANITOBA, N.B. SET EXAMPLE: As Ontario attempts to pull itself out of its economic quagmire, it can look to the provinces of Manitoba and New Brunswick for leadership. While the recession is expected to hit every province, Manitoba comes out near the top in most forecasts as one of the country's better performers in 2009. In its outlook, the Conference Board of Canada projects slight growth in the province of 1%, powered by infrastructure projects and tax cuts. Jack Mintz, public policy professor at the University of Calgary, said Manitoba was, along with Ontario, considered a high-tax jurisdiction for business investment. But the government has moved and Manitoba's marginal effective tax rate on investment dropped from 37% in 2007 to 33.8% last year. It is now scheduled to fall to 26.7% by 2012. "It is on the high side, but it will be closer to the national average" in 2012,Mr. Mintz said. "From the point of view of people who need to make investment decisions now, they know these changes are in place over the next several years. So Manitoba looks more appealing." Manitoba also benefits from having one of the most diversified economies in Canada. Roughly 30% of its economy is agriculture, which is more resilient to economic downturns. Further, Manitoba has a diversified manufacturing base with aerospace and buses playing key roles - and, unlike autos, demand for those products continues to be fairly solid. It also has abundant, cheap hydroelectricity. In contrast, questions abound over the reliability of Ontario's power grid, especially in light of the 2003 blackout that blanketed the province and much of the U.S. northeast. Meanwhile, analysts have applauded New Brunswick for taking aggressive steps on taxation this week in an effort to make the province more attractive for both investors and workers. The main change is the replacement of the existing four-bracket personal income tax structure to a simpler two-bracket structure by 2012. The lowest rate will be 9% for workers earning less than $37,893. Beyond that threshold, a flat tax of 12% will be applied. Perhaps more stunning, however, is that New Brunswick plans to lower its general corporate tax rate from 13% to 12%, effective this year, and all the way down to 8% by 2012 - the lowest in the country. "The New Brunswick government appears to be relatively more proactive compared to other jurisdictions, taking bolder steps to improve its economic and fiscal roadmap," said Carlos Leitao, chief economist at Laurentian Bank Securities, in his analysis of the province's budget. Source: Paul Vieira, Financial Post pvieira@nationalpost.com ONE-TIME POWERHOUSE CAN'T KEEP UP WITH REST OF THE COUNTRY: Ont. Export Receipt Drop 11.7% Que. Export Receipt Drop 2.9% Receipt Rise Rest Of Canada 72% Ontario GDP Decline, 2009 2.9% RANKS OF WORKERS IN CANADA'S LARGEST PROVINCE TAKE IT ON THE CHIN: Ontario Unemployment 8.7% U.S. Unemployment 8.1% Quebec Unemployment 7.8% Ontario Unemployment, 2010 10% © Copyright © National Post

A new headquarters facility for the Los Angeles Police Department is set to open this summer. Designed by AECOM (formerly DMJM) in joint venture with Roth + Sheppard Architects, the new 11-storey, 500,000 square foot building occupies an important civic block in downtown LA across the street from City Hall and near the Los Angeles Times and new Caltrans buildings. The project provides for a main police administration building and public plaza with below grade parking for 300 cars and an off-site vehicle maintenance garage and fueling station with parking for 800 vehicles. The design challenge was to meet the functional needs and rigorous security requirements of one of the busiest police stations in the nation while also providing greater transparency and openness to the community. In a nod to the civic nature of the site, AECOM pulled the public functions out of the building, as, for example, a 200–seat café and 450-seat auditorium, and located them in the plaza for greater public access. The park and low-rise auditorium to the North (facing City Hall) offer a street scaled entry to the building and green space for passersby, visitors and building occupants. Built of precast, glass and stone, the building is linked to the existing civic center buildings with its vertical grain, massing and lightness of color. The new headquarters is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification and utilizes energy efficient mechanical systems, day-lighting, drought-tolerant planting, a “cool roof” system, high-performance glass, water clarifiers and recycled or renewable building materials. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11267

Foster+Partners announce design for bustling new district in French capital Hermitage Plaza will create a new community to the east of La Défense, in Courbevoie, that extends down to the river Seine with cafés, shops and a sunny public plaza at its heart. Revealed by Foster + Partners at MIPIM in Cannes, the project incorporates two 323-metre-high buildings – the tallest mixed-use towers in Western Europe – which will establish a distinctive symbol for this new urban destination on the Paris skyline. The result of a close collaboration with EPAD, the City of Courbevoie, Atelier de Paysage Urbain and Département de Hauts-de-Seine, the project is intended to inject life into the area east of La Défense by creating a sustainable, high-density community. Due to start on site in 2010 and complete by the end of 2014, the two towers accommodate a hotel, spa, panoramic apartments, offices and serviced apartments, as well as shops at the base. Forming two interlocking triangles on plan, the buildings face one another at ground level. Open and permeable to encourage people to walk through the site, the towers enclose a public piazza which establishes the social focus. As they rise, the towers transform, turning outward to address views across Paris. The glazed façade panels catch the light, the sun animating different facets of the buildings as it changes direction throughout the day. The angle of the panels promotes self-shading and vents can be opened to draw fresh air inside, contributing to an environmental strategy that targets a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating. The diagrid structure is not only highly efficient - doing more with less - but it emphasises the elegant proportions of the towers. A crystal-shaped podium building contains office space, with two detached satellite buildings housing a gallery and auditorium that further extend the public realm. The piazza – created by burying the existing busy road beneath a landscaped deck – slopes gently downward to the water’s edge, which is lined with new cafés and restaurants. Locking into the existing Courbevoie and EPAD masterplans, the project will reinforce the regeneration of the riverfront. Norman Foster said: “Hermitage Plaza will create a 24-hour community that will regenerate the riverfront and inject new life into a predominantly commercial part of the city. A light catching addition to the Paris skyline, the development will also provide a public piazza that leads down to the river’s edge to create a new destination for the city.” http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11286

Les retraités des secteurs publics et parapublics québécois veulent faire toute la lumière sur les pertes de plus de 21milliards de dollars enregistrées en 2008 par leurs régimes de retraite. Pour en lire plus...

Dépassements de coûts Au-delà des chiffres avec Léo-Paul Lauzon 19 février 2009 05:15 En 2006, privilégiant les PPP afin de ratatiner l’État, la ministre libérale Monique Jérôme-Forget promettait la fin des dépassements de coûts. En PPP, tout est secret. Aucune transparence! Prenons la nouvelle salle, totalement superflue, de l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, réalisée en PPP. En 2006, on prévoyait des coûts de 105 M$… rendus à 266 M$ en 2007. Comme les coûts augmentent encore, la dame vient de décider que «le budget de construction de la salle de l’OSM n’a plus de plafond». Voilà! Fini les dépassements de coûts! Fallait y penser! Si la santé est la priorité des Québécois, pour Jean Charest, la salle de l’OSM est «une priorité pour nous», qu’il a souvent dit. La Presse du 13 décembre 2008 titrait : «Alston-Bombardier : Le prix des nouvelles voitures du métro explose». Une petite augmentation imprévue de 400 M$ du fournisseur. Faut pas s’énerver. Puis : «100 M$ de plus pour l’autoroute 30», à payer aux entrepreneurs privés, et 27 M$ additionnels versés aux consultants, selon Le Devoir. Une autoroute qui n’aura de privé que le nom. Pour rire de nous, l’Agence des PPP a dit : «Ce n’est pas une augmentation, c’est une mise à jour de l’estimation initiale.» On te croit, menteur. Enfin, on apprend que Maple Leaf, responsable de la listériose qui a tué 20 personnes et qui a coûté des millions en fonds publics, veut redorer son «image». On repart à neuf comme si de rien n’était. Idem pour les milliards engloutis par nos banques dans les hypothèques pourries et renflouées pour 120 G$ par l’État sans aucune condition. Par contre, pour les impairs commis dans le public, on est intraitable. Le patronat et ses majorettes exigent alors la privatisation. Pensons aux cas de l’Îlot voyageur de l’UQAM, dont la firme privée Busac est aussi responsable, et de la Gaspésia, où la firme privée Tembec est également impliquée; là, les affairistes et les éditorialistes se sont déchaînés contre l’incompétence du public. Aucun blâme toutefois à Busac et à Tembec. Tolérance zéro pour le public et indulgence infinie pour le privé. Et Stephen Harper qui dit : «8 G$ ou 18 G$, peu importe ce que ça coûtera pour mener à terme la guerre canadienne en Afghanistan». Pas de problème, on n’aura qu’à couper 10 G$ dans les services publics. C’est tellement simple! Si la priorité des Cana*diens est aussi la santé, pour Harper, c’est la guerre…

Le groupe public chinois Chinalco investit 19,5 milliards dans la multinationale anglo-australienne Rio Tinto. Pour en lire plus...

New York City fears return to 1970s Tue Jan 27, 2009 By Joan Gralla http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...50Q6IH20090127

Poll Finds Faith in Obama, Mixed With Patience Article Tools Sponsored By By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MARJORIE CONNELLY Published: January 17, 2009 President-elect Barack Obama is riding a powerful wave of optimism into the White House, with Americans confident he can turn the economy around but prepared to give him years to deal with the crush of problems he faces starting Tuesday, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. The latest on the inauguration of Barack Obama and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. While hopes for the new president are extraordinarily high, the poll found, expectations for what Mr. Obama will actually be able to accomplish appear to have been tempered by the scale of the nation’s problems at home and abroad. The findings suggest that Mr. Obama has achieved some success with his effort, which began with his victory speech in Chicago in November, to gird Americans for a slow economic recovery and difficult years ahead after a campaign that generated striking enthusiasm and high hopes for change. Most Americans said they did not expect real progress in improving the economy, reforming the health care system or ending the war in Iraq — three of the central promises of Mr. Obama’s campaign — for at least two years. The poll found that two-thirds of respondents think the recession will last two years or longer. As the nation prepares for a transfer of power and the inauguration of its 44th president, Mr. Obama’s stature with the American public stands in sharp contrast to that of President Bush. Mr. Bush is leaving office with just 22 percent of Americans offering a favorable view of how he handled the eight years of his presidency, a record low, and firmly identified with the economic crisis Mr. Obama is inheriting. More than 80 percent of respondents said the nation was in worse shape today than it was five years ago. By contrast, 79 percent were optimistic about the next four years under Mr. Obama, a level of good will for a new chief executive that exceeds that measured for any of the past five incoming presidents. And it cuts across party lines: 58 percent of the respondents who said they voted for Mr. Obama’s opponent in the general election, Senator John McCain of Arizona, said they were optimistic about the country in an Obama administration. “Obama is not a miracle worker, but I am very optimistic, I really am,” Phyllis Harden, 63, an independent from Easley, S.C., who voted for Mr. Obama, said in an interview after participating in the poll. “It’s going to take a couple of years at least to improve the economy,” Ms. Harden added. “I think anyone who is looking for a 90-day turnaround is delusional.” Politically, Mr. Obama enjoys a strong foundation of support as he enters what is surely to be a tough and challenging period, working with Congress to swiftly pass a huge and complicated economic package. His favorable rating, at 60 percent, is the highest it has been since the Times/CBS News poll began asking about him. Overwhelming majorities say they think that Mr. Obama will be a good president, that he will bring real change to Washington, and that he will make the right decisions on the economy, Iraq, dealing with the war in the Middle East and protecting the country from terrorist attacks. Over 70 percent said they approved of his cabinet selections. What is more, Mr. Obama’s effort to use this interregnum between Election Day and Inauguration Day to present himself as a political moderate (he might use the word “pragmatist”) appears to be working. In this latest poll, 40 percent described the president-elect’s ideology as liberal, a 17-point drop from just before the election. “I think those of us who voted for McCain are going to be a lot happier with Obama than the people who voted for him,” Valerie Schlink, 46, a Republican from Valparaiso, Ind., said in an interview after participating in the poll. “A lot of the things he said he would do, like pulling out the troops in 16 months and giving tax cuts to those who make under $200,000, I think he now sees are going to be a lot tougher than he thought and that the proper thing to do is stay more towards the middle and ease our way into whatever has to be done. “It can’t all be accomplished immediately.” While the public seems prepared to give Mr. Obama time, Americans clearly expect the country to be a different place when he finishes his term at the end of 2012. The poll found that 75 percent expected the economy to be stronger in four years than it is today, and 75 percent said Mr. Obama would succeed in creating a significant number of jobs, while 59 percent said he would cut taxes for the middle class. The survey found that 61 percent of respondents said things would be better in five years; last April, just 39 percent expressed a similar sentiment. The telephone survey of 1,112 adults was conducted Jan. 11-15. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. The poll suggests some of the cross-currents Mr. Obama is navigating as he prepares to take office, and offers some evidence about why he has retooled some of his positions during this period.

Des téléviseurs branchés aux téléphones intelligents, le Consumer Electronics Show a été marqué par des nouveautés qui font de plus en plus de place au contenu vidéo tiré d'Internet. Pour en lire plus...

Je suis sur le conseil d'administration de l'association professionnelle des guides touristiques de Montréal, l'A.P.G.T. depuis le renouvellement d'octobre 2008. J'en ai déjà été le président en 1997. À l'époque nous avions un bulletin d'information imprimé que nous envoyions par la poste à tous nos membres au moins quatre ou cinq fois par année de façon assez irrégulière et qui s'appelait Info-APGT. Il y avait toutes sortes de rubriques dont toutes avaient un rapport direct avec notre domaine d'activités. Pour diverses raisons, ce bulletin a disparu, a cessé d'être diffusé -bref il n'existe plus. En gros, le nouveau c.a. va le rescussiter mais cette fois en ligne sur notre site internet (qui est littéralement abandonné : aucune mise à jour n'ayant étét fait depuis plus de quatre ans !!). Nous cherchons un titre pour ce nouveau bulletin -qui sera probablement accompagné d'un forum de discussion (peut-être en partie ouvert en public selon mes souhaits et assûrément avec une section ouverte aux seuls guides de Montréal). Le nom actuel me semble dépassé. Notre président a lancé comme ça quelques suggestions : La Pige, Le Pigiste, Le Leader mais je ne suis pas très enthousiasme pour ces trois suggestions. Je souhaite que vous me suggériez ici des noms qui pourraient nous inspirer. Merci d'avance.

Hope that this isn't classified as politics. http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=0117e486-7567-4fea-babf-5c8030e44534<!-- WPGCCWEB26 16 -->

Automobile: 580 000 emplois pourraient disparaître au Canada 16 décembre 2008 - 09h46 Presse Canadienne D'ici cinq ans, le Canada pourrait perdre plus de 580 000 emplois si les trois géants américains de l'automobile font faillite. C'est la conclusion d'un rapport préparé pour le ministère du Développement Economique de l'Ontario dont le Toronto Star a obtenu copie. Le rapport devrait être rendu public mardi. Selon le rapport, si la production des usines de General Motors, Chrysler et Ford diminuent de moitié au Canada, 269 000 emplois seront perdus au pays d'ici 2014. Les données indiquent aussi que si la production devait cesser complètement, 323 000 emplois seraient immédiatement supprimés au pays et que d'ici 2014, 582 000 travailleurs pourraient se retrouver au chômage.

Un expert en informatique financière vient de passer au crible le portefeuille public de la Caisse de dépôt et obtient des résultats surprenants. Pour en lire plus...

Salut à tous, Avez-vous déjà visité le site de CBC? Avez-vous remarqué les commentaires qui suivent les articles? Je n'ai jamais compris pourquoi notre diffuseur public permet à n'importe qui de publier n'importe quoi, c'est une véritable honte!!! Notamment, avec toute nouvelle qui sort du Québec, les commentaires de certaines personnes témoignent, je vais le dire, d'une profonde haine envers nous.... exemple, cette histoire avec le stationnement qui s'est effondré.....quelques commentaires: "Quebec is falling apart - literally. guess we should throw another $8 billion at them so they can have more tax cuts and keep the politicos in power. If you hadn't driven the anglos out, maybe things would be more efficient, better run and the infrastructure would be maintained. Carry on spneding our money on festivals and irrelevant celebrations." "Does this mean his space is available?" "Graft and corruption IS their culture." "Well I'm sure the Quebec government will find a way to blame Ottawa,not enough building inspectors,shovel guy's,french only sign's,stuff like that,,,Maybe you should ask for a higher share of the transfer payments,It's not like it's out of wack now,,,makes me sick" ????? le gov du québec avait envoyé un memo aux compagnies responsables d’édifices de ce genre de surveiller pour risque de corrosion… http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/11/27/mtl-saintlaurentcollapse1127.html#socialcomments et c’est une compagnie de Toronto qui gère cet édifice, c’est de l’infrastructure privée…alors tous ces commentaires portant sur l’infrastructure du québec, ça n’a rien à voir dans ce cas, mais les gens se permettent de dire n’importe quoi !!! Bon, je ne suis pas en train de défendre l’état de notre infrastructure, mais je crois que nous investissons des sommes maintenant après des décennies de négligence… ------------- Le problème que j'ai, ce n'est pas tant les commentaires....J'ai de la famille en Alberta, et j'ai visité tout le pays, et on se taquine, on discute, etc etc...des fois, les relations sont tendus, mais c'est pas le congo ici... Non, le problème que j'ai, c'est que ça pas de bon sens laisser ces commentaires passer sur le web....c'est mes taxes fédérales qui payent pour ce site misérable.... un forum privé, ok, chat room, pas de problème...mais la cbc??...no way... je suis d'accord que les gens ont le droit de s'exprimer, mais sérieusement, un homme est mort et on utilise cet espace public pour critiquer les transferts fédéraux... j'ai le goût de partir une pétition... à ce que je sache, radio-canada ne permet pas de commentaires à la suite de nouvelles... anyway, je laisse sortir des frustrations....mais sérieusement, des fois je m'amuse à essayer de trouver les commentaires les plus ridicules à la suite d'articles qui portent sur le québec.... M.