Die Eroberung Der Strasse...(1/7)

During my last visit to Germany, I visited the exhibition at Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt...From a German perspective, the exhibition compared the capital of Berlin with the metropolitan of Europe, Paris. Both cities carried a symbolic role in the European history, and the essence of the show is how the reform of the two cities can be resembled to each other. My bias prevails an urban modelling of European metropolitans should be chaired by Paris, especially when we reviewed the reconstruction in the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibition focused the mission of Haussmann in the late 19th century in Paris, and has chosen important landmarks including:
- Gare Saint Lazare, the oldest station in Paris;
- Place de l'Opera, the centre of theatre and arts;
- Rue de Rivoli, the widen and elongated road at the heart of the centre;
- Place d'Etoile, the milestone of Paris la grand ville with the star-like intersections extending into the edges of the city, an extension of the centralised-philosophy of Paris in France or Europe in the Belle Epoque;
- Gare d'Orsay, the first station of electric train, and a symbol of the debut 20th century architecture in Paris (see my earlier blog on the architect Victor Laloux);
- Bois de Boulogne, a redesign of the city park by Jean Charles Alphand and a remodelling of the Parisian lifestyle to 'parking' and 'pique-nique';
- Hotel de Ville, all about facade and the beauty of decorative facade, a reconstruction of the municipal structure in 1882 by Theodore Ballu & Jacques Boucher des Perthes.

The exhibition provided an alternative perspective to me about the 1900 World Expo in Paris. I was looking for information about the event for months, and surprisingly some displays and maps showcasing in the exhibition enabled me to have more idea about the preparation and the layout of the Expo. The Expo created not only a full demonstration about the power of nations in debut 1900, but its governmental influence on architecture and infrastructure in Paris formulated a 'new' Paris. Skylines including Tour Effiel, Pont Alexandre, Petit et Grand Palais, Gare d'Orsay, Gare de Lyon etc. recorded a new chapter of the history of the city which can last long.
The exhibition did not really compare in details the urban planning and development of Paris and Berlin, but intentionally putting together the development of landscape and city infrastructure like the drainage system, the public transport system and landmarks, the exhibition is interesting to visitors. There were also advertising posters and drawings of the two city landscapes under impressionists in the old days. I do not know when the above-mentioned city buildings and features became the subjects of painters and artists, but they were right, they captured the spirit of the city, or I should better say, the city in the past. Their works differentiate from the tourist-favourites scenery selling now on Rue Rivoli.

Hyberliner...(25/6)

Without having much expectation about the capital of Germany, I saluted to Berlin in the weekend. No doubt, Berlin is a unique city that has carried out its cycles of reform and city regeneration in the 20th century. The city greeted me with its freshly opened Haupbahnhof in the centre. The station demonstrates an outlook of a modern railway station. It has a spectacular glasswall-structure and an improvising of the use of the inner space between layers. Trains appear to be intercepting with each other in layers from a transactional view. Actually, this new station consolidates the public transport system in Berlin and connects the eight main stations in pre-war era that had never been linked together.

The city evolved from its past and history. Since its pride of being the capital of the Prussia Empire in the 18th century, it experienced its glorious and vulnerable ups and downs, separation and unification. 1989 is also an unforgettable year shared by the Berliners with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the recognition of a new start.
Berlin has always been a city of burden and passion. Wandering in the city could be interesting. The city is undergoing numerous reform since the unification of Germany, and as a capital city, there is a need administratively to bring aestheticism to the reconstructing and renewing of the urban area. Modern buildings can be one of the abbreviations for Berlin at present. The new high-rise buildings erect not only a fabulous skyscape but also a sign of rebirth. I believe that urban planning in Berlin can be a very interesting topic. Unlike simply rebuilding an old city or developing a new centre, projects in Berlin should have involved balance of power, preservation of different development in East Berlin and West Berlin, attempt to mix and match the existing elements and historical differences, design and injection of new elements and dynamism to the city. Apparently it is not an easy task to conduct.

In some sense, Berlin is doing well. It is right to claim that being the fourth largest cities in EU, Berlin is appealing in reserving and fusioning greenland into the city centre. It possesses a Garten der Welt, Grosse Tiergarten and Bellevue green area at the heart of the city. To me, it has perhaps a pre-requisite to model like this - the Berlin Wall. I have not studied in details the topography of the ex-lining of the Wall in Berlin, but I guess that the demolition of the Wall before the city regeneration could give space and dimensions of planning and developing the centre of the centre as well as accommodating the green spots, instead of other cities' green belts.
The dynamism of the city is shown in its New meets Old as well, such as the Reichstag building remolded by Sir Norman Foster. It may be of a similar approach for the Louvre and the glasswall pyramid, but the Reichstag contains a feeling of regeneration where the Lourve lacks (nor would it need to be). Having an old facade of the parliament, the add-on dome structure in the middle of the building strikes for a new commencement of the Berlin city.

Revitalising the system connection between the east and the west within the city has been amazing. Think about reactivating the old cable system, drainage network, electricity transfer etc. in between the eastern city and the western city, and this is what the city has been executing since 1989. Not only be it a terminal of U-bahn, Ruhleben has also a large scale waste incineration plant to recycle energy for the city. Once you recognise the plenty construction projects Berlin has had in the decade, there is no surprise knowing the huge construction waste it has produced, but then, the city claims that 98% of its construction waste can be reused or recycled. This is quite a fascinating figure.
Cycling is enjoyable in Berlin, I feel, and with the plan of "FahrRat", Berlin develops its cyclist-friendly roadwork and system, and perhaps this is why all the people I met on the cycle were so relaxed.
My visit was randomly made, and I look forward to another tour to the place to capture the missing spots including the museum islands, the housing estates listed on the World Heritage List, the Brandenburg Gate, the Olympic City etc. Well, at least I made a little step to my understanding about the city after watching its orchestra playing in the Royal Albert Hall 8 years before...

Arctic Monkeys @ Berlin...(24/6)

Arctic Monkeys played at Berlin Columbia this evening...
Lively demonstrated what it is called the latest UK generation, the band clicked on the audience with their awakening music, and dominated by the young female fans, the concert picked up a mood of the 'music is it'. I enjoyed the play and luckily though I missed their live in Paris last February, they still look fine. The current UK scene is dominated by aliking music like those of the Libertines, Babyshambles, Arctic Monkeys etc, and with the performance of the group, I believe the NME-oriented media can keep on boosting music of the their generation for perhaps one to two years. It is good but it is not good enough.