TAJFA ARCHITECTS BLOG

Dear friends,

Although this blog existed long before the studio for architecture, urban design, critical analysis and research - TAJFA ARCHITECTS was founded, it will continue its mission as a theoretical support to the studio's practice. Our friends and we, have so far discussed different issues such as: urban sociology, urban design, architecture and architectural theory, art and media... We hope to keep up the high level of debate and come with innovative solutions for everyday problems.
In that way, we expect that this blog will live up to its ambition of providing a platform for open and free discussions on architectural, urban and social aspects of contemporary lifestyle.

Stefan Lazarevski and Biljana Spirkoska

Transportation Systems in Skopje

abstract from the Master Thesis: "Transportation Systems in Skopje. Present situation, tendencies and possibilities for future development"

by Biljana Spirkoska


This study examines the development of the transportation systems in Skopje based on the analisys of the existing situaton and the tendencies presented through the development plans and the current projects undertaken, and gives an overview of the possibilities for future sustainable development of the transportation in Skopje. The analysis is focused on the development period from 1963th onwards given that the city’s growth peaked over this period.

The first chapter explains the existing transportation systems in Skopje and gives an overview on the conditions they are in. The second chapter analysis the development tendencies of the transport systems generated through the legitimate urban plans and specialist studies, outlining the real transformations as well, to illustrate the dynamics of realization and the actual condition of the systems in those periods. Finally, it gives an overview of the recently undertaken transportation projects to locate the at-ground situation in the development strategy. The third chapter outlines the ultimate development direction of the transportation system in the European Union - towards sustainability, and the evaluation of the possibilities of the city of Skopje for future development towards the same direction given the Macedonia’s aspiration to join EU.

Additional texts to follow

Cities In-Between

abstract from the Master Thesis: "Cities In-Between. The prospects for Knowledge-based Economy Region in Macedonia"

by Stefan Lazarevski

At the end of the XX century, the fragmented totality of Europe was exposed to the mighty forces of functional integration, competition, cooperation, dependency and interdependency of the different entities. The so-called globalization, derived on these principles, became the structural bond between the divided east and west, north and south. Freed from political and ideological chains the urban landscapes surfaced as the most important “playground” for these integrative processes. However, while the mega-cities thrived, the small and medium-sized cities were faced with fundamental challenge: how to become constructive part of the global arrangements? This question is even more liable in the European urban context, dominated by the lower-tier cities. As a result, many scholars proposed the idea of networks and knowledge, as the key aspect of any modern socio-economy milieu.

Flanked between several Balkan metropolitan regions, there is a group of so-called cities in-between that have experienced development in rather conflictive environment. These cities are neither large nor small; neither global, nor local; neither fully connected, nor marginal, which makes their status fairly ambiguous. Being such urban agglomeration, the metropolitan region of Skopje embodies the “fight” of the European medium-sized cities to get a fair place in the regional and global urban system. Many studies have shown that crucial prerogative in achieving this objective is maintaining strong bond between the economy and the urban planning. The relationship between these two aspects has always been a two-way, cause – consequence interplay, which depicts the ups and downs of any society. Therefore, the aim of the thesis is examining the prospects of Skopje to develop and maintain a stable and progressive knowledge-based economy that will immanently reflect on the quality of urban planning in the wider micro-region. In which way, this goal can be achieved is searched through several steps: evaluation of number of indicators that depict the score of the city within knowledge foundations; review over different actions and policies undertaken by variety of actors and constructing own coherent development strategy.


Additional texts to follow.

Opportunity gained, opportunity lost: The Memorial House of Mother Teresa in Skopje

by Divna Pencic

After the catastrophic earthquake on 26th July, 1963, Skopje used its chance to become a city recognised as a symbol of international solidarity (the aid for the renewal and rebuilding of the city came from 82 countries worldwide and the United Nations Special Fund for reconstruction), modern urbanism and remarkable architectural buildings from the ’70. There is not a politician or an architect who does not commit to memory that first step of globalisation when for the first time both the East and the West got together, joining their efforts to build this modern city. And as hardly anywhere in the world, most of the ideas and conceptions for reconstruction of the city were materialised and made real. The urban plan for the city was made by two eminent planning bureaus, Doxiadis from Athens and Poliservis from Warsaw in collaboration with the Institute of Planning and Architecture of Skopje. Based on the compilation of the awarded concepts of two teams of architects, one of the Japanese architect, Kenzo Tange and the other of the Croatian architects, Radova Misevic and Fedor Wnzler, received on the international competition for urban plans for the city central area, a detailed urban plan for realisation, the famous “variation IX”, was prepared. According to that plan, and under the supervision of Kenzo Tange, were build the City Wall, the New Train Station, the Complex of Banks, and later on, there was an international competition for the Cultural Centre, the University Campus and some other buildings. Skopje used that chance to establish itself as a modern city with recognisable public and residential buildings and to become an interesting destination not only for tourists but also for urban planners and architects from all over the world.

In 2006 the City of Skopje had one more chance to get another symbol for international recognitions. It was about the initiative to build a Memorial House of Mother Teresa, the laureate of the Nobel Price for Peace in 1979, supported by the Vatican and the Catholic Church, the followers of her Sisters’ order, as well as by the entire political and general public in the Republic of Macedonia. Skopje is the city where Mother Teresa was born and the place from where she started her humanitarian work and devotion to her philanthropic believes. This represents a great honour and pride for the City of Skopje.

Skopje was once again faced with a challenge that required an appropriate consideration. The Ministry of Culture announced an International Competition for a Conceptual architectural design of a Memorial House of Mother Teresa. Exquisite architectural designs were received, among which the one of Jorge Marum, an architect from Portugal, was declared as winning. However, the government and the Initiation Committee decided to ignore the expert architectural opinion and the real values of architecture, and published a new announcement for International Competition, under which they awarded the first price to a design that they previously ordered from the architect Vangle Bozinovski, known after his architectural fairytales and schizophrenic architectural creations.

Unfortunately, for the City of Skopje that meant a lost chance, and for the architects, another example of unjust intervention into a fair play. What we have now is a structure which is all but a symbol of Mother Teresa and her life and work. As noted on the Skopje Forum 2009 by Professor Erich Raith (Technical University, Vienna) “the structure is designed very perfunctorily (in a hit-and-miss manner), missing out nothing that does not attract attention, with too many stories to tell, but without any essential message to give”. For him this structure, if it wasn’t for the cross, could very well be some disco or a casino. Professor Maren Harnack (Hamburg) stated that the structure “does not symbolise her life and her giving up from material goods”. For Vera Martinez (Berlin) are also questionable “the messages given by the interior of the house: a kitsch room, with a bed and a table with five chairs and four dinner sets, pretending as if all that had something to do with Mother Teresa”. A very plastic description was given by assistant Jovan Ivanovski from the Architectural Faculty in Skopje (University Cyril and Methodius): this structure reminds you of “someone’s materialised nightmares”.

For me personally, this structure looks very much like a tastelessly dressed girl, in lace stockings, but who cannot give up her gumboots, in a brocade skirt borrowed from her grandmother and a Chinese silky shirt, with Swarovski jewellery, and cosmonaut helmet on her head. She puts everything on, all she has ever dreamt of, as now she can afford to have it. Only she cannot decide the time in which she would like to live. This is even more emphasised by the narrations from the house interior. According to the custodian, “this is the dream of the little Teresa, to live in a normal city family”. I very much doubt that “little Teresa” was ever dreaming of petty bourgeois and snobbery life, devoted to material goods.

If it wasn’t built for such a noble person as Mother Teresa was, this structure might have even been enjoyable. But as it is now, it is a big offence. It offends with the whole procedure how it was selected; it offends with its pretentiousness, it offends with its arrogance, it offends with its tastelessness, but most of all, it offends with the totally missed correlation with the life and work of Mother Teresa.

In my personal opinion I strongly believe that this is a lost chance for Skopje to be once again listed on the maps of those who truly love and admire architecture and arts. Will Skopje get another chance? After this, it does not deserve one.


References:
http://www.forumskopje.com/
http://www.porta3.com.mk/

The Rent Gap Theory

by Biljana Spirkoska

The Rent Gap theory or renting gap theory was founded in 1979 by the geographer Neil Smith. The theory forms an explanation for the beginning of the process of Gentrification or social restructuring of a quarter, arguing that the process is driven by land prices and urban speculation rather than cultural preference for inner city living. The Rent Gap theory, according to Smith, is essentially a measure of the difference in a site's actual value and its potential value at 'best use'. In his further explanation, when the overall rent gap (the actual rent and the potential rent after rehabilitation (rent gap), in an area is determined to be great, it is suggested that the area will undergo gentrification as developers identify this difference as an economic opportunity on which to capitalize.

In his lecture on The Rent Gap Theory, Frank Eckardt explains the transformation of devalorized inner-city housing stock into an affluent neighborhood as follows. In search for low prices, authentical and central location, the more economically marginal subgroups, for example artists and yuppies, are the first to arrive in the devaluated inner-city urban neighborhoods. Since these young individuals usually live in non-family households, they have a higher tolerance for perceived urban ills such as crime, poor-quality schools, lack of amenities like shops and parks, and the presence of disadvantaged racial, ethnic, or socio-economic groups, the same main reason these areas are being avoided by the middle-class. As the number of the newcomers grows, they create amenities valued by them, particularly service establishments such as new bars, restaurants, and art galleries that serve them. These added amenities and investment to the area, increase local property values, and pave the way for attraction of the middle-class. Given that the cost of the rent in the area in turns increases significantly, the local residents no longer can afford to leave there, meaning they are priced out of their own neighborhood. In the same way, certain businesses which were catering this particular segment of population shut down once that population is displaced.

Smith further links the phenomenon of gentrification also to a restructuring of the economy. In his explanation, "deindustrialization has not only brought about the downfall of certain city districts, but also stimulated the growth of the service sector, which generated a particular employment structure in central urban areas"(GUST, 1999). In other words, while the economic activities are suburbanized, high-level service functions and executive decision-making tend to be increasingly centralized in a downtown central business district. In this context, Smith demonstrates that "gentrification is not only a local phenomenon but just as much determined by international and global factors. Gentrification is more than rehabilitation of the housing stock. It has become the hallmark of the unevenly developing global city"(GUST, 1999).

The positive and negative sides of the gentrification process are being broadly argued. While some are emphasizing the undeniable contribution made towards the revitalization of the city centers, others point to the associated displacement of lower- income residents and small-scale businesses, which results in transformation of the neighborhood's character and culture. Furthermore, they argue that "gentrification didn’t solve any of the urban problems like crime, homelessness, since the problems were only exported to other neighborhoods"(GUST, 1999). From Smits critical perspective, "the phenomenon amounts to little more than a greed-inspired attack by politicians and realtors against a mix of local minorities, lower classes, and homeless persons".
The critics on the gentrification process have mounted to the point when even community organizations have started to be established to fight against it, and rent control ordinances have been passed by some cities.

I will finalize with Peter Marcus explanation of the two opponent sides:
…the poorer residents of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, of Kreuzberg in Berlin, and of the area around the University of Southern California in Los Angeles wish to keep the gentrifiers out as much as the residents of the suburbs and luxury housing of these cities want to keep the poor out; yet the two desires are not equivalent morally. One represents the desire of those poorer to insulate themselves from losses to the more powerful; the other represents the ability of the more powerful to insulate themselves from the necessity of sharing with, or exposure to, those poorer. One wall defends survival, the other protects privilege. (GUST, 1999)



This text is based on a lecture on The Rent Gap Theory held by Prof. Dr. Frank Eckardt within the course German cities in transition at Bauhaus University in Weimar.

Further references:
― Ghent Urban Studies Team, 1999. The Urban Condition: Space, Community, and Self in the Contemporary Metropolis, 010 Publishers, Rotterdam
― http://www.sfu.ca/geog452spring00/project3/m_rent.html
― http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification
― http://www.answers.com/topic/gentrification