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Local architect pledges to stop the ‘joke’ of high-rise Rotterdam World War II saw the destruction of many cities around Europe and not least hit was the city of Rotterdam. While devastating on a human and financial scale this allowed the city to evolve into what is now considered as the ‘high rise city of the Netherlands’. But local architect Jan Willem van Kuilenburg, principal of Monolab Architects has derided this label as ‘a joke’ calling for an extension to the local authorities’ planned high rise zone to the south and proposes Rotterdam's first super-tower, the 450 m high City Tower. “Rotterdam is too hesitant, too defensive and too much like an underdog. After the Erasmus bridge we are in need of a real skyscraper of European scale of which Rotterdam can be proud,” says Kuilenburg, “All currently realised towers in Rotterdam are of mediocre quality and very primitive. As we should save in prosperous periods, it makes the current economic crisis the right time to invest.” Kuilenburg proposes City Tower as the leader in this campaign. The 450 m mixed-use tower with a photovoltaic skin would be built in the water by the Maas Harbour. According to Kuilenburg it would allow the high-rise zone to serve the whole city and help to connect Europe’s largest port to the rest of the city. The tower would be connected to land via a steel pedestrian boulevard to a separate parking lot with the capacity for 1000 cars. Kuilenburg believes this element of the project could aid the local authorities’ plans to liberate the downtown area of traffic by creating a 6th park and ride zone with its close proximity to the Metro. Asked about the likely response from the people of Rotterdam to what would be a very bold visual landmark, Kuilenburg said: “I don’t know. In general Rotterdam people are proud of the skyline, they are energetic and ready to go for new proposals. It has always been a scene for experiment. Rotterdam was bombed in the Second World War and so new buildings emerged, since then people are used to change.” Kuilenburg is currently in talks with developers and calling for international investment for the project. Niki May Young News Editor http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10909

Am I the only one that would pay more for electronics to improve these poor people's working conditions? BTW, This is proof that it is NOT an apple issue. (Like some of you believe) http://kotaku.com/5874706/report-mass-suicide-threats-at-xbox-360-plant Report: Mass Suicide Threats at Xbox 360 Plant On Jan. 2, over 300 employees at a Foxconn plan in Wuhan, China threatened to throw themselves off a building in a mass suicide. Foxconn makes Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony products. These workers manufacture Xbox 360s. According to Chinese anti-government website China Jasmine Revolution (via Watch China Times), the workers were protesting denied compensation they were promised. On Jan. 2, the workers asked for a raise. Foxconn told them they could either keep their jobs with no pay increase or quit and get compensation. Most decided to quit with compensation. However, the agreement was supposedly terminated, and the workers never received their payments. Website Record China reported that the uproar the incident actually caused Xbox 360 production to be temporarily suspended. The mayor of Wuhan intervened to talk down the group down, and on Jan. 3 at 9pm, the group of 300 decided not to jump, ending what could have been a deadly game of chicken. Suicides at Foxconn made major news in 2010 when over a dozen employees committed suicide, leading to Foxconn installing suicide prevention nets at some of its facilities. In 2010, Kotaku asked Microsoft about Foxconn and the reported abuses. Microsoft's Phil Spencer said at the time, "Foxconn has been an important partner of ours and remains an important partner. I trust them as a responsible company to continue to evolve their process and work relationships. That is something we remain committed to—the safe and ethical treatment of people who build our products. That's a core value of our company." Kotaku is following up with Microsoft over this latest incident.

http://www.ecologieurbaine.net/2012-10-18-udem-jan-gehl Conférence-midi - UdeM | Jan Gehl : Pour des villes à échelle humaine Ajouter à mon horaire 18 octobre 2012, 12h00 - 13h30 CONFÉRENCE-MIDI de 45 minutes en anglais. La présentation sera suivie d'une brève période d'échange avec le public et d'une séance de signatures. INSCRIPTION fortement conseillée Places limitées - Entrée libre Inscrivez-vous dès maintenant ici, ou à partir du bouton au bas de cette page UNE CO-ORGANISATION du Centre d'écologie urbaine de Montréal avec Université de Montréal Amphithéâtre Hydro-Québec (local 1120) Faculté de l’aménagement 2940, ch. de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine Montréal QC Métro Université-de-Montréal Itinéraire Google Maps Conférence-midi Cette conférence résumera la vision et les propositions de Jan Gehl pour des villes à échelle humaine. Jan Gehl est de passage à Montréal pour le lancement de l'édition française de son livre Cities for people publié par les Éditions Écosociété, en collaboration avec le Centre d'écologie urbaine de Montréal, l'Ordre des urbanistes du Québec et Mission Design. Pour des villes à échelle humaine, qui est le fruit de 50 années de travail de cet important penseur et praticien de l’urbanisme, est appelé à devenir un outil indispensable pour construire les « écocités » de demain. M. Jan Gehl Professeur émérite de design urbain de l’Académie royale des beaux-arts du Danemark et membre honoraire de plusieurs organisations, dont l’Institut royal d’architecture du Canada. Fondateur et associé de Gehl Architects, il a travaillé au réaménagement de villes comme Copenhague, Londres, Amman, Melbourne, New York, Seattle et San Francisco. Architecte MAA et FRIBA, M. Gehl a reçu le prix Sir Patrick Abercrombie pour ses contributions exemplaires à l’aménagement des villes de la part de l’Union internationale des architectes ainsi qu’un doctorat honorifique de l’Université Heriot-Watt à Edimbourg. Jan Gehl a obtenu un post-doctorat international honorifique de la part du Royal Institute of British Architects (Int. FRIBA) en 2006 ainsi que de l’American Institute of Architecture et d’Architecture Canada en 2008. Jan Gehl est l'auteur de plusieurs livres incluant Life between Buildings, Public Spaces, Public Life, et Cities for People. Pour des villes à échelle humaine est le premier livre à être traduit en français. S'enregistrer maintenant

Le deal du siècle que j'ai trouvé sur Redflagdeal. Google Earth Pro gratuit donc économie de 400$ annuel avec le key pass GEPFREE. Je ne sais pas combien de temps c'est encore valide. J'an entendu que Google le rendait gratuit, toutefois c'est une nette amélioration à la version de base.

http://www.smart-magazine.com/en/jan-gehl-architect-interview/ Jan_Gehl_Portrait The city whisperer Portrait 3 minutes read - Oliver Herwig on November 3rd, 2015 Jan Gehl champions something that few architects have mastered: cities for people. The Dane favors compact neighborhoods over grand master plans. The 79-year-old city planner values the wishes of residents over architecture. And his resounding success proves him right. Ssssshhhhhrrrrr. In the background, a cordless screwdriver buzzes away. Jan Gehl apologizes for the distraction; “Excuse me, they’re doing some work in the kitchen.” Life is quite busy for the professor emeritus and city planner. As a city planner, Gehl‘s detail orientation and screw-tightening skills come in handy wherever mayors or councilors realize that something needs to change. Over the past few years, they have been beating a path to his door: Gehl is considered a top global expert on humane cities. “I’m an idealist,” states the 79-year-old. “And the projects I’m working on are all about creating better environments for pedestrians and public life.” To Gehl, both of these are intrinsically linked – people should be able to experience their city on foot. He goes on to scoff that we know more about the perfect habitat for Siberian tigers than a good environment for people. His wife Ingrid and he started out studying life in the cities – and then traveled to Italy on a grant in 1965. In 1971, “Livet mellem husene,” life between buildings, was the first result of their studies between streets and squares – and turned out to be quite a flop. Yet Gehl labored on and continued to hone and develop his methods over the years, by then a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts. Jan Gehl Brighton “My projects are all about creating better environments for pedestrians”. Photo: Gehl Architects Gehl’s foremost success is Copenhagen Today, his successes prove him right. And the standout example is Copenhagen – the city of Gehl’s alma mater, teaching career, and a company he co-founded. In a way, it serves as an open-air lab for his ideas: All the way back in 1965, the city – advised by Gehl – created Europe’s longest pedestrian zone, the Strøget. Copenhagen has become a template for the fundamental shift from post war car-centric cities to more pedestrian-friendly 21st century metropolises. “In order to reclaim a human dimension, city planners need to re-evaluate the many capacity-friendly ideas,” he states in the recently released “Cities for People”. This means: Our cities are filled with too many traffic lights, narrow sidewalks, and multi-lane highways that squeeze in pedestrians and force them to cross streets in a rush. According to Gehl, that’s not a given: “There is a good, pedestrian-friendly solution for any traffic planning issue.” And he adds that “it is high time to revisit our priorities.” To this end, Gehl has introduced a check list of small changes that – taken together – produce great results. He favors “polite reminders” (as in Copenhagen) over flashing traffic lights that “encourage hasty crossings” (as in New York City). Gloomy pedestrian underpasses (like the one near Zurich’s train station) should be replaced by sunlit “zebra crossings at street level.” Copenhagen stroget Jan Gehl Advised by Gehl, Copenhagen installed Europe’s longest pedestrian zone, the Strøget. Photo: Yadid Levy / Getty Images From New York City to Shanghai: a globally sought-after urban consultant Gehl knows cities better than most. Paraphrasing a well-known analogy, some people are good with horses and become horse whisperers, while others are good with people. The latter usually become doctors, nurses, or priests. As a city planner, Jan Gehl is a little bit of all. First and foremost, however, he is a self-professed “missionary.” He preaches human scale development and has been consulting for cities around the world for years, helping them to redesign entire neighborhoods to benefit their residents. The formula is simple: go to the city, observe, and listen. And then join together to effect change. A fun video on his website tells the story behind it all. It took the love of developmental psychologist Ingrid to open the builder’s eyes: Architecture should serve people. In this spirit, Jan Gehl draws on insights by sociologists and psychologists to turn ivory tower planning into bona fide collaborations. The Herald Square before Jan Gehl The Herald Square in New York City before … Photo: DOT The Herald Square after Jan Gehl … and after Gehl Architects. Photo: DOT Gehl’s top priority: the human scale His drive really picked up in 2000 when Gehl and Helle Søholt, a former student, joined forces to found the company Gehl Architects. Maybe, it’s all just a question of scale. Modernism delighted in completely redesigning metropolises or conjuring up abstract plans on the drawing board. Builders like Le Corbusier, who considered rented dwellings “housing units” or “living machines,” liked to subdivide cities by function. This is a kind of thinking Gehl would like to leave behind. The architect is less interested in models and buildings than in their residents. Over the years, Gehl came up with a range of basic principles that support and define thriving communities around the world. One of these rules might be not to build skyscrapers since six or more levels up residents lose touch with the street and feel removed from it all. Or: consider the ground floor. It shouldn’t be uniform or forbidding, but varied and full of surprises. MarDelPlata Jan Gehl Gehl’s formula is simple: … Photo: Municipality of Mar del Plata Mar Del Plata Jan Gehl … go to the city, observe, and listen. Photo: Municipality of Mar del Plata “Better city spaces, more city life“ Nowadays, Gehl provides coaching for cities like New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, St. Petersburg, or Almaty. And his insights sound so simple, matter of fact, and even trivial that it can be hard to fathom how our modern cities, divided by functions, could ever have forgotten these wisdoms. “Better city spaces, more city life,” one of his premises states. High quality spaces encourage leisure activities and interactions. “It’s so obvious, we have simply overlooked it.” P.S. The interview was conducted over an old telephone on the fifth floor of a building in the center of Munich. Sao Paulo Jan Gehl “Better city spaces, more city life.“ Phpto: Luis E. S. Brettas Header image: Sandra Henningsson / Rights Gehl Architects sent via Tapatalk

Montreal Croupiers Take Electronic Poker Table Battle to Court by PokerPages.com Mon, Jan 28th, 2008 @ 12:00am Three unions representing 1,450 croupiers at Quebec area casinos lodged a request with Quebec Superior Court to force the board that regulates gambling in the province, the Regie des alcools des courses et des jeux, to address complaints that the 25 automated electronic Texas Hold'em poker tables installed Jan. 18 at the Montreal Casino are illegal. The croupiers, who have been without a contract since Dec. 21, 2006, are in ongoing discussions with the Societe des casinos du Quebec. The croupiers say the tables are illegal and charmless. The PokerPro tables, made by PokerTek, a North Carolina USA-based company, do not meet Quebec's legal requirement that slot machines be pure games of chance, said Jean-Pierre Proulx, a spokesperson for the croupiers union, affiliated with the Quebec Federation of Labour. Proulx maintains that poker has a large element of strategy as well as chance, so should not be treated the same as a slot machine. The union has been waiting for a ruling from the Regie on the legality of the machines. 43 Electronic Tables Already Installed Besides the 25 automated poker tables installed at the Montreal, 13 have been installed at Lac Leamy in Gatineau and 5 in Charlevoix. According to Vito Casucci, a spokesman for Pokertek, the machines can deal 50 per cent faster than human dealers, allowing customers to spend their money faster. The union is concerned that casino staff may consequently lose their jobs and that the new poker rooms represent a trend toward more electronic games. According to a union spokesperson, the Regie has steadfastly refused to meet with them or confirm that a complaint against the introduction of the dealer-free machines has been lodged. The union filed a complaint with Quebec's alcohol and gaming regulator Dec. 7, arguing that the absence of a human dealer makes the tables illegal under Quebec law. "We are asking the court to make a ruling that the Regie has to meet with us," union spokesperson Jean-Pierre Proulx said. "They have not responded to our demands, they put our lawyer on hold and said they have no file of our complaint. Technically, the Regie is not doing their job." He said the croupiers' unions, affiliated with the Quebec Federation of Labour and representing workers from Montreal, Gatineau and Charlevoix, complained to the Regie twice in December and twice this month. Regie spokesperson Rejean Theriault said receipt of the complaints was acknowledged but the situation could not be analyzed until the machines were opened Jan. 18. "It's like investigating a murder when there's no body," Theriault said. http://www.pokerpages.com/poker-news/news/montreal-croupiers-take-electronic-poker-table-battle-to-court--30339.htm

March 15, 2009 KEY | SPRING 2009 By JIM LEWIS New York is the capital of glass, the city of windows. Other cities get their gravitas from marble or stone, but New York is made of silica, soda ash and lime, melted to make this vitreous stuff: transparent, translucent and opaque; reflective, tinted, frosted, coated, clear. The slightest shift in the angle of sun fall can hide or reveal entire worlds, and as evening comes the city gradually turns itself inside out — the streets go dark and the buildings open up, offering their rooms like stagelets upon which our little lives are played. 25 Cooper Square: The Cooper Square Hotel Completed: 2009 Architect: Carlos Zapata Developer: Sciame Photo date: Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 As old as the material is, glass remains a mystery. No one quite knows what goes on, down where the molecules bind — whether it’s a slow-moving liquid, an especially mutable solid or something in between. Still, new compounds appear regularly, with new qualities that promise new possibilities. The substance has never been exhausted, and may yet prove inexhaustible, an endless inspiration to architects and designers as it grows stronger, lighter, clearer and more flexible. 731 Lexington Avenue and 1 Beacon Court: Global headquarters for Bloomberg L.P. and other offices, as well as retail and residences Completed: 2005 Architects: Cesar and Rafael Pelli (Pelli Clark Pelli Architects) Developer: Vornado Realty Trust Photo date: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 For this issue, In Sook Kim, an artist with a special interest in intimacy and display, photographed five buildings in Manhattan — chips in the kaleidoscope of the city and homes to some of its most emblematic activities: business, the arts, putting up tourists and, of course, staying in for the night. 405 West 55th Street: The Joan Weill Center for Dance, home of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Completed: 2004 Architect: lu + Bibliowicz Architects L.L.P. Photo date: Friday, Jan. 16, 2009 For each photograph, Kim, who is based in Germany, lit interior rooms with colored gels and arranged the occupants of the buildings in everyday tableaux. She then parked herself across from the buildings with a large-format camera, the glass of her lens facing the glass of the facades, creating portraits of the city as a crystalline beehive, always bright and always busy. 48 Bond Street: Condominium residence Completed: 2008 Architect: Deborah Berke & Partners Architects Developer: Dacbon L.L.C. Photo date: Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/realestate/keymagazine/15KeyGLASS-t.html?ref=keymagazine&pagewanted=print

Boisbriand. Les Bourgs Papineau, 5min de la Place Rosemère. Photos prises 13 jan 2013 Yvon L'Ainé

Photos prises cette après midi,le 26 jan 2013.tous les matériaux qui vont sur le toit de la Banque. Yvon L'Ainé

I'm seeing this on airliners.net under the latest list of OAG changes **UA IAH-YUL JUL 1.0>0 AUG 1.0>0 SEP 1.0>0 OCT 1.0>0 NOV 0.9>0 DEC 1.0>0 JAN 1.0>0 Has United dropped our route to Houston? I noticed also they dropped a couple of routes from YEG as well. What's going on?

Condos sur gare Ste-Thérèse rue Turgeon. 2 min de la gare, pour le train de banlieu à pied.40 condos sur 4 étages. Photos prises 13 jan 2013. Yvon L'Ainé

Vidéo portant sur la scène architecturale contemporaine de Winnipeg Winnipeg - City on the edge Maclean's Magazine Published on 8 Jan 2015"When you come here you really experience this great texture of architecture that's been preserved all the way through. " Winnipeg was one of our 10 Places You've Got to See: http://www.placestosee.macleans.ca/ sent via Tapatalk

CO-PRÉSENTÉ PAR LE CENTRE D’ÉCOLOGIE URBAINE DE MONTRÉAL Vendredi 20 septembre + Lundi 23 septembre au Jeudi 26 septembre: 19h00 Samedi 21 septembre et Dimanche 22 septembre: 17h00, 19h00 Le Centre d’écologie urbaine de Montréal s’associe avec le cinéma du Parc pour une grande primeur montréalaise. Le long métrage The Human Scale présentant la philosophie d'intervention de l’architecte danois Jan Gehl sera présenté dans le cadre des activités d’En ville sans ma voiture, le 20 septembre 2013. D’autres représentations sont prévues jusqu’au 26 septembre. À l’approche des élections municipales, le CEUM croit qu'une discussion publique s'impose et que celle-ci doit aborder les enjeux comme l’urbanité, l’aménagement des espaces de vie et de ville. Pour l’occasion, une brochette d’invités de milieu académique, professionnel, associatif et des élus ont été invités à participer à des discussions après chacune des projections du film pour susciter la réflexion sur le thème: Montréal, une ville pour les gens ? 50% de la population humaine vit à l'intérieur de zones urbaines. En 2050, ce chiffre atteindra les 80%. La vie dans les grandes villes est à la fois agréable et problématique. En ces jours sombres, l'humanité fera face à une pénurie de pétrole, de graves changements climatiques, de solitude ainsi que de graves problèmes de santé causés par le mode de vie. Mais pourquoi? AL-JAZEERA DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL 2013- GAGNANT DU CHILD AND FAMILY AWARD PLANETE DOC, WARSAW 2013 – PRIX GREEN CROSS L'architecte et professeur danois émérite Jan Gehl a étudié le comportement des humains qui vivent dans les villes au cours des quarante dernières années. Il a documenté la façon dont les villes modernes ont des effets néfastes sur l'interaction humaine. Il prétend que des villes peuvent être construites de façon à prendre en considération des besoins fondamentaux de la race humaine, soit l'inclusion et l'intimité. http://www.cinemaduparc.com/prochainement.php?id=humanscale#top