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Weimarpolis: The launch has been announced of a new online journal, "Weimarpolis", which be dedicated to urban theory and practice. The editors, Drs Matthias Hardinghaus and Alexander Tölle, invite readers to participate in its first edition by submitting an article. The editors define Weimarpolis as a scientific and open-access platform, whose overarching approach is connected to the analytical and explanatory discourse in the tensionfield of society and space, and to controversies and debates on the future of the urban in its historical, cultural, social and artistic dimensions. Weimarpolis is an offer to face a chronically uncertain field of research in a multi-disciplinary manner. Weimarpolis is a project of the Alumni Association, Alumni and Friends of European Urban Studies at the Bauhaus-University Weimar. The Association is an independent, non-profit and self-governing body which aims at enhancing research and debate in the field of urbanism. In order to achieve best possible quality, each submitted article will be double-blind-refereed anonymously and independently by two members of the editorial board. The editorial board consists of a selection of distinguished experts from various European research institutions across the fields of Spatial Planning, Urban Design, Urban History, and Cultural & Social Sciences. On the publication of the first issue of Weimarpolis we will be able to apply for an ISSN, so the journal will be a fully quotable scientific journal. In the framework of the above overarching programme the editors intend to dedicate the first issue of Weimarpolis to the overall theme of "urban change and urban identity". Call for Articles If you feel you would like to contribute to that debate, the editors invite you to submit an article dealing either with theoretical aspects, or with case studies or observations from particular cities. They ask that you let them know your intention at your earliest convenience, and not later than 15 September 2008, via their email addresses below. Call for Articles The deadline for completed articles is 15th November 2008, and the expected date of publication of the Journal is February 2009. Further information For more information about WEIMARPOLIS, its editorial board and editors, as well as on guidelines for authors please contact the co-editors:
Dr. Matthias Hardinghaus 
Industrial Site Threatens Ancient Spanish Landscape
Prominent conservation groups Art Watch UK and The Classical City have drawn attention to plans being made to develop a new industrial site at El Cabezo, adjacent to the site of Numantia and the Roman encampment. If realised, the project would have devastating consequences.
It would irreversibly distort part of the Romanesque site of Los Arcos de San Juan del Duero. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a region in greater need of protection. Apart from being an archeological site, Numantia is a significant spiritual and cultural symbol of European civilisation, whose significance can be traced back to ancient times when the citizens of Numantia struggled to defend their freedoms against the Roman legions. Miguel de Cervantes was captivated by the city and wrote the play El cerco de Numancia.
The group noted: "We fully recognise that the world cannot be frozen, as it were, in some preservationist aspic; that developments need and must take place. But we are also deeply conscious that, in general terms, developments often take place without a fully thought-through audit of potential benefits and costs. With landscapes this is an especially difficult task. We have addressed this problem on a number of occasions. The points at issue were well summarised in 2001 by the cultural historian Arcadi Nebolsine in his introductory remarks to an article (ArtWatch UK Journal No. 12) addressing threats to the landscape in Portugal. He wrote:
"Endangered environments are today of great concern to the public, be they wildernesses, forests, a biodiversity of plants and animals, man made objects, historical cities, castles, cathedrals and other monuments. However, undoubtedly the most threatened category is the landscape, or, simply, the view. The despoilation of the landscape is not only due to an onrush of greed and malice the human capacity to bite the hand that feeds it, not only the hand of creation but of the Creator but also to the difficulty that business and economies have to conceptualise such an interlocking complexity of interests and values. What is lacking is imagination..."
Fortunately it is not yet too late for the ancient landscape of Numantia. A good start is to visit the Save Numancia website (in Spanish) and download and circulate the petition ("Lista de Firmas", bottom left). If you are interested in practical ways of helping out, please contact the campaigners at the addresses below.
Further information
Jaime de Piniés
New Guidance For Old Buildings
SPAB publishes The Good Maintenance Guide
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) has published The Good Maintenance Guide. The guide is intended to be a practical and easy to use source of advice on maintenance matters and contains a wealth of advice about the day to day care of historic places of worship. It includes chapters on understanding traditional materials, why buildings decay, maintenance tasks and working with professionals and others. It also contains a useful maintenance checklist and many references to related sources of help and guidance.
The guide has been written for volunteers who care for historic places of worship but its message that we should aim to 2stave off decay by daily care2 is applicable to all historic structures. The guide costs £5 plus postage from SPAB.
For further information visit www.spabfim.org.uk/pages/resources_home.html
English Heritage Launches new Climate Change Website
English Heritage has launched a new website for homeowners who live in traditionally constructed houses. The website aims to help owners understand the potential impacts of climate change on their properties and how simple building maintenance can help to lessen the effects of increasingly extreme weather.
The site also provides detailed advice on how to improve the energy efficiency of traditionally constructed houses whilst preserving their special character. A section is included on micro-generation which details how technologies such as micro-wind generation and solar thermal energy can successfully be incorporated into older buildings.
The site allows users to tailor information to the date their home was built. Advice on how historic buildings can perform better under the Part L building regulations and guidance to help homeowners to better understand Energy Performance Certificates are also available. This website has been developed with the support of energy supplier E.ON who has begun a three year collaboration with English Heritage to explore initiatives that will make a contribution to reducing the impact of climate change in the communities in which they operate. While aimed at British readers, the advice has broad relevance.
For further information visit www.climatechangeandyourhome.org.uk
New Buildings Ruining Riga
A few blocks further to the south in the Old Town is another new design, already implemented (above right). It occupies a half of the block and pretends to be designed taking in account the traditional character of the medieval structure. Nevertheless it is too primitive to make suitable infill into the Old Town's building fabric, mainly because of the lack of the traditional detail. Neither the roof form, nor the covering of it is adequate. Lack of the plasticity in the façade makes it plain and boring.
It is very sad that the City and the State authorities, which consider the traditional architecture out of time, have accepted these activities. Such building policy cannot be acceptable for the Old Town of Riga, which is the part of Central Riga, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2009 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage
The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards are granted annually to identify and promote best practices in the conservation of tangible cultural heritage, to stimulate the exchange of knowledge and experience throughout Europe, to enhance public awareness and appreciation of Europe's cultural heritage, and to encourage further exemplary initiatives through the Power of Example.
Outstanding heritage achievements will be awarded in the following categories: conservation, research, dedicated service by individuals or organisations and education, training and awareness-raising.
The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards consists of two award levels. Up to six entries will be awarded a Prize, which includes a monetary award of 10,000 Euro. Up to 25 entries will be awarded a Medal.
Criteria for the assessment of entries include excellence in the work executed and preliminary research conducted, as well as respect for artistic, cultural and social value, setting, authenticity and integrity. Special attention will also be paid to sustainability, interpretation and presentation, educational work, funding and management, and social responsibility. Entries can be on a scale ranging from small to large, local to international, and should display a standard of work considered outstanding in a European context.
The deadline for entries is 1 October 2008.
Further information
For more information, please telephone Sander van der Ven on +31 70 302 40 59.
In Sweden, Low Carbon = Traditional Urbanism
The Network of Green Business Executives has announced plans for a new 'Eco Smart' infill city in Stockholm. A dense new town centre with mixed use that includes 10,000 dwellings in zero emission buildings will, it is hoped, place Sweden at the forefront of sustainable urban development. The plan is to build a demonstration city, combining the best of attractive traditional urban qualities with technical innovations in the fields of resource efficiency, heating, insulation, recycling and transport. The promoters hope that the project at the Årsta field can show the world that "sustainable" can also mean "beautiful" - and, we might add, "traditional".
Salvatore Grimaldi, CEO of Grimaldi Industri Group and one of the initiators of the Green CEO-network, pointed at the challenge in bridging the gap between the wish to live in a sustainable way and the present urban situation in most western civilizations.
"The business sector is today working actively with the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. By combining economically effective business models, environmental friendly production systems and socially responsible solutions, the threat of global warming can be avoided. And what would be more natural than to build a model city that combines all aspects of sustainable development?"
"The automotive industry has in recent years joined the global movement for less environmentally destructive techniques and energy systems, and the air transport sector is, I am convinced, is following suit. But let's look at the every day life in our cities. We still lack efficient means of transport that are both energy efficient, reduces air pollution and accidents and allows a life style in which you are not dependant to take the car to work or school, for shopping and leisure. The city we have inherited from the boom years after the second world war is in itself transport generating with long distances and scattered developments", he noted.
Åstad is modelled, the promoters say, on places that "do not waste energy or time, easy accessible places where people can meet. For example, the Italian piazza with the small café or the French boulevard where you just walk for fun, the English market square with the local pub or why not the typical Swedish city park without motorised traffic, where both children and elderly feel welcome and safe".
The new city
The proposed new city is located between two suburban housing districts built during the today unpopular 1960's state organised "one million homes program". The new city links these unloved areas - sometimes referred to as "slaburbs" - with two industrial and wholesaling areas, just a few kilometres south of Stockholm centre. These suburban districts were planned and built according to the post second world war principles of only one function at each place, necessitating many long daily journeys between housing, shopping, industry and offices.
The new city, named Årstad after its location at a more or less abandoned suburban field (with a few allotment gardens and a training golf course as the main attractions) will, if completed according to the new plans, create an alternative downtown area that is easy to reach by foot, bike, bus, tram and even by car for a large number of households. The project shows a dense urban environment with small scale blocks, traditional squares and parks, and a street net ranging from broad boulevards, everyday streets and narrow passageways. All these serve to link the new development seamlessly with existing suburban areas. Of particular benefit will be the new links between the slaburbs and new and existing commercial areas. One ambition is to reduce to present high pressure on the relatively small inner city of Stockholm both with regard to rent levels and traffic by offering real urbanism in a suburban setting.
Buildings
Buildings will range from 2 to 6 stories and contain at least if the proposed "local building code" is followed both housing, commercial uses and services, in a pattern similar to Gamla Stan, the old city that for most visitors from abroad constitutes the essence of the beauty of Stockholm. The project is designed both to reduce the present so called "lack of urban areas" in Stockholm, and to offer builders, investors, engineers and architects a large testing area for energy effective construction methods and materials. An important aspect is to introduce the technique of passive houses, buildings that are solely heated by solar collectors and energy from light bulbs, home appliances and the people themselves that live or work inside buildings. Very novel forms are not expected, as the passive house rules can be applied to relatively conventional buildings that make good neighbours.
According to The Passive House Centre, a joint venture between the city of Alingsås and a regional Council in mid Sweden, passive houses are able to reduce CO2 emissions with 70 per cent and energy use with (at the most) 90 kWh per square meters compared to what is demanded in the present national building standards. The next stage, now in progress, is an open competition to take the project forward.
Views expressed in articles are those of the author and not necessarily of INTBAU
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Numantia, Spain. Image by Javier Mediavilla Ezquibela, used under 
A new report from Riga, Latvia claims that neglect of the historic heritage during the Soviet period now is being followed by quick destruction of the urban fabric of the Old Town by the insertion of modern buildings. Development pressure on the Old Town has reached its peak with several new projects recently accepted by the city's authorities. Unfortunately, sites for the modern buildings are situated close to the most valuable monuments of the Town: St.Peters church, the Dom cathedral, Town Hall Square and the Citadel.
To make way for a multi-storey hotel with underground car park next to the Dom cathedral, the authentic building fabric excavated during archaeological investigations - and containing very well preserved vaulted cellars and even a part from Riga's first defensive wall from the 13th century - was simply bulldozed, and the site cleaned of its very valuable historic heritage. It is expected that the nine meter deep underground car park, being built on a high level of ground water, will threaten surrounding historic buildings because of hydraulic pressure. Cellars of surrounding historic buildings are under danger of flood. Several deep new cracks of the walls of surrounding buildings can be seen already because of the building process under way. The project for the hotel has not even been publicly presented, and there is reason to believe that it will be a modern glass and steel construction (above and right).
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