This just in! The January emergency demolition of the Sacred Heart School at 198 Emslie Street not only broke hearts, it also broke the bank.

The emergency demolition of the landmark building reportedly cost taxpayers a cool $125,000. Economic return on the investment? Zero. While few doubt the necessity of the demolition in light of its collapsing brick facade and the imminent threat the building posed to human safety, fewer still believe the school’s “demolition by neglect” was inevitable. Read the rest of this entry »
Boundless optimism, since it all turned to the fifth day of IJburg, such as multiplication ARCAM organized by the date of the referendum that the project is not blocked. The merriment began with the sun during the excursions on the Harbor Island afternoon, and ended with the conclusion of the discussion Chairman Martin Kloos evening top the telephone, the only building on IJburg there certainly is.

- IJburg soon
Apparently surprised Kloos noted after the pep talk of Klaas de Boer (Director Planning Service Amsterdam), Igor Roovers (IJburg project), Han Michel (director of one of those developer consortia) and Vera Yanovshtchinsky (an architect of the first blocks on the Harbor Island) that it all appears to be a lot better than he and many like him these days the media have understood. And it surprised Kloos, who do not like the naiefste known, in turn, a large part of the room, including yours truly. Read the rest of this entry »
Under the prosaic title “Infrastructure as a showcase for the ingenuity” was the Dutch Architecture Institute (NAI) its second Major Projects debate. The stakes were clear: “The infrastructure can play a leading role in organizing the rest of the country.” What should have been a fierce debate among politicians, critics and designers turned into a private chat between developers and officials. Nieuw Amerongen Frido of reports.

Construction of the Betuwelijn
The discussion has already crippled by the initial absence of the two speakers. Michelle Provoost critic (author of Asphalt) let sickness turn up and Minister of Transport Tineke Netelenbos was absent because of construction fraud investigations. She had a duty of confidentiality. Read the rest of this entry »