Film review A stitch in time OLD BUILDINGS: NEW USES

by John Wells-Thorpe and Cho Padamsee

Commonwealth Association of Architects, London, f40 (plus post and packing)

This slide lecture is the latest in a series prepared by the Commonwealth Association of Architects on aspects of architecture, building and the en- vironment.

Although designed for use in both developed and developing countries, the lectures have a particular value where the latter are concerned, for they provide a relatively inexpensive audio-visual learning aid in countries where teaching and other resources are often severely limited. All that is required is access to a simple slide projector and tape recorder.

Also, some of the other lectures deal directly Third World problems, including ‘Historic towns and build- ings in tropical areas: an introduction to conservation’, ‘Human settlements

and disasters’, and ‘Squatter settle- ments and urban planning: Lusaka case study’.

‘Old buildings: new uses’ is applic- able to all countries, its purpose being outlined in the opening statement of the tape commentary:

When is a building so decayed or an urban area so derelict that it cannot be revitalised and handed back to the community? Dere- liction may be only skin deep. If the buildings are structurally sound - or can be made so - and can pay their way, then saving them is not just an act of charity. It is good economics. It will also help to maintain a sense of place, which may have grown up over many centuries. and which is so important to the community.

The lecture was prepared by two architects who between them have a wealth of practical and academic pro- fessional experience both at home and overseas.

The lecture material, which is pack- ed together in a strong plastic box for

shelf display, consists of 40 slides, a cassette tape commentary with an appropriate running time of 25 mi- nutes, and a 40-page manual which includes the text of the commentary and details of each of the 19 schemes

illustrated. These schemes are drawn from nine

Commonwealth countries, both de- veloped and developing, and include a broad range of buildings, both large and small and of great and little distinction with a variety of past and present uses. Some buildings have experienced relatively little change, whereas others have been extensively renovated and have served many different purposes during their life- times.

Each scheme is a practical illustra- tion of ways in which social and

physical damage to the urban fabric has been avoided and the environment revitalized, with the minimum of dis- turbance and change and at reason- able cost.

This slide lecture, which is simply and clearly presented and illustrated, can be commended to the attention and use of all involved in urban planning and development isues, and especially those with advisory and teaching responsibilities in Third World countries.

George Franklin Commonwealth Association

of Planners London, UK

More details of this and other slide lectures and manuals can be obtained from: The Commonwealth Association of Architects, The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London WClE 7BT, UK.

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Conference review Let us now praise famous men

‘The metropolis: a conference in honour of Hans Blumenfeld’, 4-5 November 1983, Toronto, Canada.

How many planners do you know who have practised in Germany, Austria, the USSR, the USA and Canada? How many individuals have served continuously as astute observers of the urban scene over nearly seven de- cades, and are still active in teaching, publication and research at the mature age of 92? The answer: only one - Hans Blumenfeld. This remarkable man has had an unusually long and colourful career, as a professional architect and planner in his native Germany, and then subsequently in Vienna, Moscow, Philadelphia, Mon- treal and, most recently, in Toronto. His voluminous writings have served as basic references for several genera- tions of planners and students of the city around the world. Indeed, some of his writings have anticipated the emergence of trends and new ideas by a decade or two.

On 4 and 5 November 1983 an international conference on the mod- ern metropolis was held at the Uni- versity of Toronto (where Hans has lectured as a part-time instructor for the last 20 years) to honour this unique individual. Instead of the anti- cipated 150 participants, over 500 appeared; itself witness to the con- siderable esteem, both professional and personal, in which Hans is held by his colleagues and former students. Unlike the run-of-the-mill conference, however, which typically ends in a vacuum as interest and participants quietly dissipate, this conference en- ded with a climax: a twenty-minute ‘summing-up’ by Blumenfeld, pre- ceded and followed by a standing ovation from the assembly.

The conference was also notable in assembling a diversified programme of papers and presenters, and in provid-

CITIES August 1984 529