Quick Thoughts On Slow Efforts

Watching the video below, a few thoughts and questions come to mind. 

What is the landscape of post-communist industry, more specifically chemical [or any for that matter] industry in Albania? 
Is it in use? Where? When? How? 
Who has control over it? 
What's its relationship with the 'Sustainability' Movement we're pushing for? 
What is the process from making to destruction dumping the unwanted? 
How do these dumping sites affect the city/life today? Its landscape? [here]
What about the future? How are they designed (if at all)? Can their present (state of being) sustain their future? 
What is their infrastructure? 
How does their artificiality co-exist with the natural bodies of water, land, air and civilization?
How can we start thinking about 'zones of exclusions', post-human error sites and their futures? 
What if this context was Gërdec? What is the future of tragic abandoned sites?

Of Monsters and Men.

Future city/life will grow from a ruined history.

Differently.

Humanity will be the Other.

Damaged as Species. 

Timid in Overexposure. 

Mis/scaled in Habitation. 

Quarantined in Contagiousness. 

So, in our attempts to design the [future] smart city, let's not focus [only] on technological advances but the possibility of [its] destruction and [re]mutation from a failed relationship between man and machine. 

A Mis/communication. 

A caprice. 

An accident. 
A coup.
Incompetent Bureaucracy.

Fear that leads to Consequential Possibilities. 
An awareness that covers [more] ground beyond self [interest].

#FutureEcologies
#PostApocalypseLife
#DesigningFutures

********************************************************

WATERMARK | A Film by Jennifer Baichwal & Edward Burtynsky

This Earth day, I would like to direct your attention to a new project by the award-winning filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal & Nick de Pencier in collaboration with photographer Edward Burtynsky. Their documentary WATERMARK is the awesomely produced combination of Burtynsky's famous vast perspectives and filmmakers' second collaboration since their 2006 Manufactured Landscapes.

“A feature documentary film that brings together diverse stories from around the globe about our relationship with water: how we are drawn to it, what we learn from it, how we use it and the consequences of that use. We see massive floating abalone farms off China’s Fujian coast and the construction site of the biggest arch dam in the world – the Xiluodu, six times the size of the Hoover. We visit the barren desert delta where the mighty Colorado River no longer reaches the ocean, and the water-intensive leather tanneries of Dhaka.

WATERMARK - Trailer from Flowers Gallery on Vimeo.

The Making Of:

Behind the Scenes:

*****************************************************************

Roadsworth - Arti kunder Naftes...

Ka nga ata qe nuk mjaftohen me fjale por kryejne vepra te verteta. 

Revoltohen me gjendjen ku ndodhen vete, miqte, familjaret, qyteterimi, kultura dhe moda..

Kjo ndodhi me kanadesin PETER GIBSON nje artist "rrugesh" qe me bojera dhe me spray ne dore krijon vepra te artit urban dhe e perqendron vemendje ne deshiren e tij: Ai deshiron te kete me shume rruge per bicikletat dhe te hiqet dore nga perdorimi i tepruar i makines duke perfituar edhe pastrimin e ambjentit. 

Keto foto qe do te shihni ne vijim jane pjese e PROTESTES se jashtezakonshme kunder varesise nga NAFTA dhe nga kultura e MAKINES. 

Qellimi i Peter eshte te vendose nje "shenje" te dukshme per te bere qe te depertoje sa me forte e me qarte mesazhi se: "...duhet te krijojme nje jete qe te jete sa me pak e varur nga ARI I ZI, ku bicikleta mund te  jete luani pra forca jone"

Artikulli i plote mund te lexohet ketu

FESTIVAL RAVENNA 2012 / AMBIENTI

Cos'è Ravenna2012:

E' un festival su rifiuti, acqua, energia; tre giorni di incontri di tipo informativo - formativo dedicati alle tematiche tecnico-economiche; è previsto un ricco programma di eventi culturali.

Deshiroj t'iu njoh me EVENTIN me te RENDESISHEM qe organizohet cdo vit mbi AMBJENTIT ne qytetin e Ravennes (IT). 

Quhet Festival mbi MBETURINAT, UJIN, ENERGJINE. 

Fjala FESTIVAL per te kuptuar shumellojshmerine e aktiviteteve qe perbejne kete EVENIMENT.  

Tre dite te mbushura me takime formuese dhe INFORMUESE ne lidhje me tematikat teknike si edhe ekonomike. 

Bashkengjitur programit organizohen nje sere 

Eventesh KULTURORE. 

SEPSE AMBJENTI LIDHET PANDARSHMERISHT ME 

ARTIN DHE KULTUREN!!!

26/27/28 SHTATOR ne RAVENNA (IT)

Edicioni i peste do te kete emrin "TE BESH LLOGARITE ME AMBJENTIN" Ravenna 2012. 

Ne kete FESTIVAL do te gjeni 

6 Konferenca - me te ftuar nga i gjithe globi, me kontribute te universiteteve, te kerkuesve, te ndermarrjeve, mass-media dhe bota e Shoqerive jo fitim prurese. 

16 Workshop - takime ku thellohen njohurite e fundit dhe shperndahet zhvillimet e arrira. 

20 LabMeeting (takime laboratorike) - ku kryhet formimi dhe informimi. Keto kurse jane me numer te mbyllur. 

12 Evente Kulturore - Kerkimi, njohja, inovacioni, arti dhe kultura te pare si terren ideal ne te cilin te nise nje menyre e re mendimi, veprimi dhe KOMUNIKIMI. 

Per me shume info mund te vizitoni faqen dedikuar ketij eventi. LABeLAB 

MOBILIciTY | Tirana Multimodel Station Competition

via AWR Competitions   

Among other initiatives, the Municipality of Tirana collects ideas for a new railway station. 

AWR - Architecture Workshop in Rome 
with 
Polis University 
and under the Albanian railway system Patronage, proposes: 


MOBILIciTY 
Ideas Competition for the definition of a Masterplan for Tirana’s Intermodal Station
 

via AWR Competitions  

The international competition will have as the main goal the re-appropriation of the city of Tirana in terms of mobility and transport on iron. In collaboration with the Tirana Municipality, the competition event in Tirana will gather ideas from students and young architects from around the world, in response to the need for a complete renovation of the city. Tirana multimodal station will be the title of the international competition. Even in this case, the head of the jury will be an architect of international renown from the Netherlands. This event of the Tirana Architecture Week requires a different time frame, starting from March 1, 2012, with the registration of the participants and continuing in June with the registration deadline. From July through September, the jury, composed of representatives of each promoter, will give early assessments and will later announce the winners. The work and ideas generated from the event will result in series of possible solutions to consider. The strong international impact and success of this competition will be guaranteed not only by a jury of architects and specialists of international importance but also by the fact that this is the First ever Competition of Ideas on an Intermodal Station organized in Tirana. 

via AWR Competitions   

via AWR Competitions   

With the patronage of :

“POLIS - International School of Architecture & Urban Development Policies”, “Municipality of Tirana”,”TAW - Tirana Architecture Week”, “UNIFE - Università di Ferrara”, “FAF - Facoltà di Architettura di Ferrara”, “ANHALT University of Applied Science”, “HSH Albanian Railways”, “AUA - Albanian Union of Architects”
 

via AWR Competitions   

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN THROUGH JUNE 30!!!
APPLY NOW !!!

New Image of Albania @TEDxTirana

Check out this TEDxTirana talk by Suela Kusi on E-Marketing a New Image of Albania.
TEDxTirana Production. All rights reserved.

Suela Kusi is presently Director of European Integration and Coordination of International Cooperation in the Albanian Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports. She is responsible at ensuring effectively co-ordination the foreign assistance to directly support the Government’s priorities in the field of tourism, culture, youth and sports. Since 2005 she is senior lecturer of “Human Rights” and “Development Theory” in the Department of Social Work, at University of Tirana. Her main areas of interest and expertise include research in social sciences human rights and development issues. Her experiences in these areas include qualitative and quantitative research focused especially on issues related to human rights, children rights, poverty reduction and development policies etc. In addition, she has various experiences in compiling training manual and conducting trainings in the area of human rights and issues related to it, such as education, health, child protection, gender-based violence, poverty reduction and development. 

Suela Kusi - E-motives of Marketing the New Image of Albania from TEDxTirana on Vimeo.

[for more videos of TEDxTirana visit them on Vimeo]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Talk @ TEDxTirana

The first TEDxTirana event was held back in October 2011. Here's a video of this very exciting talk. Mihallaq Qirjo raises awereness on Pro Environmental Behavior - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. 

I want to congratulate the organizers for bringing such a global initiative to Tirana. I am sure we will meet some seriously interesting people and learn more about their latest innovative thinking.

For more information visit their website at TEDxTirana or Facebook page.

Mihallaq Qirjo: Pro Environmental Behavior - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

from TEDxTirana on Vimeo.

Sunday Streets | Pse jo edhe ne Tirane?

Cfare mund t'i ndodh nje lagjeje, kur rruget i transformohen nga korsi makinash ne hapesira per kembesore? What could happen to a neighborhood when streets are transformed from car lanes into pedestrian spaces?

Cdo te Djele (ashtu si dhe per festa) rruge te caktuara kryesore te Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, dhe komuna te tjera Kolumbiane perdoren vetem nga kembesoret: thjeshte si kalimtare ose per aktivitete argetuese dhe sportive. Transporti automobilistik eshte i ndaluar. Ky event quhet Ciclovía dhe i ka fillimet qe ne fund te viteve '70.
Each Sunday (and holiday) certain main streets of Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, and Colombian other municipalities, are used by pedestrians only: as passersby or for entertainment and sports activities. Automotive transportation is blocked off. This event is called Ciclovía and it has taken place since late the late 70s.

Kjo iniciative ka frymezuar shume qytete te tjera ne te gjithe boten. Nje nga keto eshte San Francisco ne Kaliforni.
Programi Sunday Streets (Rruget te Djelen) eshte eksperimenti me i madh i ketij qyteti, ku me shume hapesira publike iu kthehen njerezve. Ne cdo event, disa kilometra rruge mbyllen per trafikun automobilistik dhe hapen per ecje, vrap, bicikleta, patina, dhe aktivitete nga me te ndryshmet. Organizatoret shpresojne se programi do te ndihmoje ne ndertimin e komunitetit lokal, permiresimin e shendetit, si dhe per promovimin e nje transporti te qendrueshem.
This initiative has inspired many other cities throughout the world. One of them is San Francisco, California.
San Francisco's Sunday Streets program is the city's biggest experiment to transfer more of the public realm to people. At each event, several miles of roads are closed to traffic and opened for walking, riding, and a variety of other activities. Organizers hope that the program will help build community, improve health, and promote sustainable transportation.

Rruget te Djelen filloi ne 2008 me tre evente dhe cdo vit ka qene me i madh dhe me i suksesshem se i pari.
Sunday Streets began in 2008 with three events and each year has been bigger and more successful than the previous. [for more info visit sundaystreetssf.com]

Watch more videos at NENtv

Sunday Streets, "eksperimenti" pa makina i qytetit te San Francisco pati nje pjesemarrje shume te madhe. Rruget u mbushen plot me njerez.

Si ndikoi kjo tek bizneset aty perreth?

Eshte bllokimi i trafikut automobilistik (edhe pse per disa ore) dicka e mire apo jo per bizneset lokale?

Sunday Streets, San Francisco's car-free "experiment", received a huge turnout. People flooded the streets.

How were local businesses affected?

Is closing the streets to cars (eventhough for a few hours) good or bad for local businesses?

Ne duhet te ndjekim kete shembull. Le ti kerkojme qytetit te Tiranes te provoje nje "eksperiment" te tille.

Le t'i kthejme me shume hapesira publike njerezve dhe jo makinave.

Le te ndihmojme ne ndertimin e komuniteteve, permisimin e shendetit, dhe promovimin e nje transporti te qendrueshem.

[te pakten te Djelave, edhe pse per pak ore]

We need to follow by example. Let's ask the city of Tirana to try a similar "experiment".

Let's return more of the public realm to people and not cars.

Let's help build communities, improve health, and promote sustainable transportation.

[at least on Sundays, just for a few hours]

Dua te di se cfare mendoni ju te gjithe.

Le ta organizojme edhe ne Tirane.

I'd like to know what all of you think.

Let's make it happen in Tirana.

Edible Exhibition | Urban Farming

Nje Exspozite qe hahet. Nje Ferme Urbane. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Projekti Truck Farm eshte nje koncept i ri qe sjell agrikulturen ne nje terren qe s'para e perballon dot ate, ne qytetin urban. Nisur ne 2009 nga kineasti Ian Cheney ne New York, misioni kryesor i fermes-mbi-rrota, pervec perdorimit personal, eshte te mesoje njerezit qe (vet)rritja e ushqimit mund te jete argetuese, e thjeshte dhe te behet kudo. Tani projekti eshte zgjeruar ne 25 makina (‘trucks’) ne te gjithe Ameriken. Kjo ferme ne levizje po kultivon ushqim te shendetshem, njerez dhe komunitete. Me poshte eshte nje film i shkurter qe tregon procesin nga konceptimi ne ekzekutim, nga mbjellja deri ne ngrenien e zarzavateve. Hidhini nje sy!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Truck Farm project is a new concept that brings agriculture to a setting that doesn’t usually support it, the urban city. Started in 2009 by filmmaker Ian Cheney in New York, the core mission of the farm-on-wheels other than for personal use, is teaching people that (self)growing food can be fun, easy and done everywhere. Now it has expanded to 25 trucks across United States. This mobile farm is growing healthy food, people and communities. Below is a short film that shows this process from conception to execution, from planting to eating the vegetables. Check it out!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Energy Report | 100% Renewable Energy by 2050

Raporti i Energjise (The Energy Report), i publikuar ne Shkurt, eshte nje studim i zhvilluar nga WWF, AMO, dhe Ecofys qe deklaron se bota mund te mbeshtetet 100% ne energjine e rinovueshme (ose riperteritshme) deri ne 2050. Ky dokument propozon adresimin e problemeve urgjente te shkaktuara nga ndryshimi aktual i klimes (climate change) dhe pakesimi i “fossil fuel” duke pranuar se deri ne vitin 2050, te gjitha kerkesat per energji ne bote mund te permbushen teresisht nga burime te renovueshme (renewable energy). Ai pershkruan nje skene teper ambicioze ku kursimi i energjise eshte hapi i pare drejt nje sistemi [energjitik] ne te cilin lendet djegese (fossil fuel) zevendesohet gradualisht nga forma me te qendrueshme (sustainable) energjie: e eres, diellore, gjeotermale, hidrocentralet dhe ajo bio.

Synimi i raportit eshte frymezimi i qeverive dhe biznese qe te kuptojne sfidat qe vijne me kete ndryshim dhe ne te njejten kohe per te inkurajuar ata te levizin me fuqishem per te bere ekonomine e rinovueshme (renewable economy) realitet. Duke treguar avantazhet e nje bashkepunimi global dhe integrimin me te thelle te infrastruktures energjitike globale, raporti tregon se perfitimet nga ky tranzicion (“fossil fuel” --> “renewable energy”) peshojne me shume se sfidat.

Kontributi i AMO-se, drejtuar nga Reinier de Graaf (partner) dhe Laura Baird (associate), koncepton dhe vizualizon implikimet gjeografike, politike, dhe kulturore ne nje bote me 100% energy te rinovueshme. AMO sjell nje vizion te nje bote pa kufij, ne te cilen te gjitha kontinentet kane te drejte te kene energji te qendrueshme (sustainable energy).

Sipas Reinier de Graaf: “ Raporti i Energjise eshte i pari i ketij lloji qe mbeshtet mundesine teknike te furnizimit global me energji te rinovueshme deri ne vitin 2050.  Nepermjet realizimit qe pajisja me energji ne te ardhmen eshte me te vertete nje ceshtje universale qe duhet te adresohet ne nje shkalle globale, ne kemi zhvilluar nje perspektive te re ne bote.”

AMO vete po punon ne dy projekte te bazuara ne kete ide dhe strategji.
 

1. Zeekracht, nje plan i bere ne 2008 per nje rrjet me “wind farms” ne Detin e Veriut

2. Roadmap 2050, nje propozim per dikarbonizimin e energjise evropiane deri ne 2050.

 

Teksti origjinal [original text]   

Per dokumentin e plote [pdf format] shko tek Ecofys ose WWF.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ja disa faqe nga ky raport: