Within a Sky Full of Earth

Decades ago, a cousin of mine one evening left his car in a multi-storey car park near a Manchester theatre where the English National Opera Company was soon to start a performance. When my cousin went to get his car to drive home he found a chorus of opera goers doing the same. Quite a few of them had started earlier than him. The car park's one exit, scores of cars, and the helical exit ramp inadequately serving six or more floors meant that getting to the fee kiosk took around half an hour.

When David's turn to pay came he saw that the fee was for over four hours' parking and he knew that his car had only stood three and three quarter hours on the space he was asked to pay for having occupied longer. (More than once, he's described the evening in detail and that point never changes.) David told the car park attendant that he thought the fee asked was mistaken and he said why he did. The attendant adhered to that tradition of British service that, in the seventies and eighties, gave National Car Parks' its unparalleled reputation. David sat in his Volvo - one of those big ones, often built as estate cars - and said something like, "If I'm going to be late because of poor egress [can't be his word but his point] arrangements have delayed my starting the 30-mile drive home then I'm going to pay for the parking I had, no more." Drivers behind the Volvo began to ask what had ended their slow progress. They did so in growing numbers - some with threats, others with offers to 'pay the difference.' David rehearsed his intention, ignored the threats, and declined the offers. The delayed drivers' frustrations grew. Sitting in his kiosk the attendant came to appreciate that it was less strong than the Volvo; he 'phoned for advice and began to negotiate. (Not all traditions are inviolable.) David said if he were given the home telephone number of the area manager for the car park company then he would pay for 'up to four hours' and leave. 'Knowing my cousin, he may have remarked that he'd had time to form a clear memory of the attendant's face. For sure, he got a 'phone number and, to less than happy acclaim, drove off. Home again, about one in the morning, he rang the 'phone number and heard a man whose voice suggested the call had awoken him. David established the man worked managing car parks. He went on to mention that on this night, which they were enjoying, an opera had been performed at the theatre near the car park he had used and he explained that, with many similar users having to pay before they could each drive their car away, to get from the parking spaces to the fee kiosk took long enough to increase parking charges asked. Increases that were, David said, clearly objectionable. The man seemed to think being awoken in the early hours was the same. Certainly, he asked did David know what time it was. David said he did, even mentioned the time, and added that if he had not been so delayed leaving the car park he would not have been 'phoning as he was. The upshot of these delays and alarms was that on opera nights an extra attendant was employed to pencil on each driver's car park tickets the time he, or she, drove from the floor where they had parked the vehicle they drove.

From a 2007 visit to my native country, which I left 27 years ago, and from having there, for 12 days, hired a car, I guess that if anybody, for more than one minute, nowadays halted a queue of cars leaving a city car park he, or she, would risk being thought a terror suspect and becoming subject to detention without charge for interrogation lasting up to 28 days - or is it now 42? (Unlike the Pope, on matters of faith, or car parking agents, on new ways to get more money, I could be wrong*.)

* "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken", is a plea Oliver Cromwell made, on 3rd August 1650, in a letter to the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland. Remembering it when I'm perplexed has often been of use to me; saying it to anybody supremely confident and yet incompetent has helped me, too.

Macau Society for the Protection of Animals (ANIMA) invites you to November's Adoption Day. It will happen this coming Saturday at their shelter in Coloane. Bloomland wants to join this effort in the name of animals. Best friends of man.
Do show up to support dogs and cats of Macau! Thank you!
CHECK THE INFO HERE or CLICK ON THE IMAGE.

More and more people are moving into towns and cities to live and work, which is altering the urban/rural balance of countries worldwide. For the first time in the history of humanity, more than half of the earth’s population is living in urban areas. THE ENDLESS CITY is an unparalleled study of the growth of six of the world's international cities (New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg, and Berlin), exploring key structural, social, and economic factors. This book was overseen by the London School of Economics, and features extensive research and coherent texts by world-renowned professionals in the field of urban planning and development. The information is presented in a comprehensive and visually compelling sequence, enabling quick and efficient reference as well as offering material that is exciting to study. Each city is examined individually in its own chapter as well as being analyzed comparatively in an observational chapter. THE ENDLESS CITY is authoritatively edited by Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic in collaboration with the London School of Economics and the Urban Age Project - an international organization seeking a new urban agenda for global cities. Extensive research and coherent text are presented in a comprehensive and visually compelling sequence, making this an essential reference tool for anyone interested in urbanism and development.
[CHECK THE FEATURED WEBSITE HERE and ORDER IT FROM US]

The Endless City, by Ricky Burdett (Editor), Deyan Sudjic (Editor)
PHAIDON PRESS • HARDCOVER • 512 PAGES • MARCH 2008

Não é o ângulo recto que me atrai
nem a linha recta, dura, inflexível,
criada pelo homem.
O que me atrai é a curva livre e sensual,
a curva que encontro nas montanhas
do meu país,
no curso sinuoso dos seus rios,
nas ondas do mar,
no corpo da mulher preferida.
De curvas é feito todo o universo,
o universo curvo de Einstein.

Neste livro, apesar da liberdade plástica, total, que procuro praticar, vocês, meus irmãos portugueses, vão encontrar muita influência da sua velha arquitectura colonial, tão repetida em meu país. Refiro-me às velhas casas de fazenda, senhoriais, todas caiadas de branco, com largas varandas a protegerem e ampliarem os espaços interiores. E, mais ainda, as belas igrejas barrocas nascidas com vocês aí em Portugal. O resto é a minha arquitectura, os longos anos que passei debruçado na prancheta, mas sempre encontrando tempo para sentir a vida, a família, os amigos, este mundo que precisamos melhorar. Tudo isto que, para mim, é mais importante que a arquitectura.
Meu Sósia vem de longe, de outros continentes, de tempos tão distantes que deles só os livros podem lembrar. Mas vem também de áreas mais próximas, vem de Maricá onde nasceram meus avós. Quer ocupar-se de coisas em demasia. Desenhar, fazer esculturas e literatura. Procuro contê-lo, fazendo autocrítica, ouvindo os amigos, lendo muito. Mas ele insiste. Diz que a arquitectura deve estar ligada a todos os assuntos da cultura e lembra como afirmativas de Heidegger e Malraux me foram úteis na defesa de meus projectos. Tudo o que faço tem sua participação e com ele divido o que vocês acharem de bom ou ruim neste livro.
[Oscar Niemeyer]

Oscar Niemeyer, agora com 100 anos de idade, é unanimemente considerado um dos maiores vultos de sempre da arquitectura mundial, tendo assinado projectos como a cidade de Brasília, ou a sede das Nações Unidas em Nova Iorque assim como muitas, muitas outras obras de indiscutível valor, espalhadas pelas mais diversas cidades do Mundo.
Este Livro tem a finalidade de expor de maneira mais clara, mas sempre poética, sob os mais diversos ângulos em que ela se compõe - o Arquitecto, o Artista, o Escritor, o Criador, o Cidadão, o Amigo - a personalidade de Oscar Niemeyer. O seu caminho, as pessoas que marcaram presença na sua vida, as coisas que lhe interessam.

Meu Sósia e Eu, de Oscar Niemeyer • CAMPO DAS LETRAS

O jornalista e escritor catalão Enrique Vila-Matas surpreende-nos com um conjunto de crónicas urbanas «Da Cidade Nervosa» referentes à sua cidade, Barcelona. Tendendo a fixar-se sempre «no mais estranho», como o próprio assume, o autor constrói verdadeiras narrativas, curtas e certeiras, onde o lugar comum é de todo banido.
Com especial dedicação pelo «romance da rua», Vila-Matas define o método para atingir o objectivo: viajar «sem destino marcado», partir sem se «dirigir a parte nenhuma», na «intenção de espiar condutas humanas e apanhar dissimuladamente conversas de desconhecidos». Como diz António Tabucchi, e recordado e comprovado por Vila-Matas, «todos os escritores são um pouco voyeurs, todos espiam um pouco a vida pelo buraco da fechadura. A vida é demasiado breve para se viver o número suficiente de experiências: é preciso roubá-las».
Com o título sugestionado das cidades das “epilépticas civilizações”, de Robert Arlt, Vila-Matas, que assume ser o que a cidade fez dele, edifica com ironia, encanto, mas também azedume, o nervosismo de Barcelona, cidade dos «prodígios de tanto desenhador barato», «muito activa, muito dinâmica, mas enormemente mutante», «a Madame Bovary das cidades deste mundo […] onde nada dura, nem o que é mais recente».
E o verbo insaciável e indomável corre pelas 282 páginas, divididas por quatro secções: a abrir coligem-se crónicas que atestam o olhar arguto e o vigor intelectual do autor; segue-se o texto original, e mais extenso, «Mastroianni-sur-Mer» onde se entrelaça a literatura e o cinema; a terceira parte desenrola «Um tapete que se espalha em muitas direcções» e, surpreendentemente, explanam-se as vicissitudes e a tessitura da construção literária; a fechar, em «Escritos Shandys», o autor reuniu alguns dos artigos e ensaios literários publicados quer na imprensa nacional espanhola quer estrangeira.
Fiel ao apelo da escrita, que domina com mestria, Vila-Matas retrata lugares, pessoas, vozes, sensações, «com o objectivo descritivo que tende ao infinito e portanto a todas as luzes impossível». O grito criador não se detém mesmo que falte assunto, porquanto há assunto no «que se passa quando não se passa nada, só tempo, as pessoas, os carros as nuvens». Assim, feito detective numa viagem ao centro da terra - «como no cinema ou teatro, é sempre de noite» - desce ao metro de Barcelona, «esse mundo congelado, sem céu, nem plantas, nem animais (excepto ratazanas), movido pelo chamariz do boato de que nem toda a gente que lá desce volta à superfície»; viaja nos transportes públicos, perseguindo vidas alheias para constatar que neles «só as mulheres lêem, os homens fazem palavras cruzadas ou esgravatam o nariz»; arremete contra o campo e contra a praia das férias de Agosto; fixa-se enérgico e hilariante no "drama escultórico" de Barcelona. Para todo o lado, praças, becos esconsos, memórias, linha a linha, página a página, o autor leva consigo o leitor, como um íman, exultante por se sentir prisioneiro no olhar singular do barcelonês.
[FONTE: REVISTA KAMINHOS]

Da Cidade Nervosa, de Enrique Vila-Matas • CAMPO DAS LETRAS
[DISPONÍVEL NA BLOOM]

It's with great enthusiasm that we welcome the opening of the new field of entertainment named Ponte 16. Is just a few steps away from us and we regard them with cheerful spirit.
When we came to this area of Macau we praised its unique ambience shaped on the lines of history and placid dominions. Now we have new neighbors. Even if they are conceived on large proportions and on different targets I guess we’re sailing the same way, pushing this area to the gleam of another era showing the truthful heart of Macau as a city of culture and historic values, with its genuine presence and not a replication of something else.
We send our best wishes to all the Ponte 16 team extended to the new Sofitel Hotel who will bring an all new component to Macau's lifestyle.

This dazzling sequel to Hollywood at Home takes readers on an international tour of the most spectacular homes that have graced the pages of Architectural Digest, the world’s leading design publication since Paige Rense became editor in chief in 1970.
Featuring thirty homes, Private Views collects in one volume the best in interior design and architecture as determined by Paige Rense and her editors. Readers will learn the virtues of island living through David Bowie and Iman’s idyllic Caribbean retreat; take in the breathtaking views from Giorgio Armani’s cliffside villa; wander the rooms and sprawling grounds of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland’s castle; and tour Catherine the Great’s Chinese-inspired jewel box of a house, among many others.
Paige Rense joined Architectural Digest in 1970 and shortly thereafter was named editor in chief. Under her direction, the Los Angeles–based magazine has become the world’s leading design publication. She is the editor of Abrams’ Hollywood at Home and author of nine books on interior style and design.

Private Views: Inside the World's Greatest Homes, by Paige Rense
ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST • HARRY N. ABRAMS • HARDCOVER • 224 PAGES • OCT 2007


Very small buildings have a special appeal. The constraints of space and cost can actually liberate the imagination. Most of the projects in this book consist of no more than a few key spaces, in many cases just a single space. They are united only by their compact nature, the pleasure that they can provide and the intelligence that they embody. A brief introduction is followed by five thematic chapters: Public Realm, Community Spaces, On the Move, Compact Living and Extra Space. The 53 case studies include a park bench that transforms into a shelter for the homeless in Australia, an inflatable treetop structure for rainforest observation, a portable house for victims of hurricane Katrina, a transportable church in Finland and a suspended office in France.
Ruth Slavid is Special Projects Editor for the Architects Journal.

Micro - Very Small Buildings, by Ruth Slavid
LAURENCE KING PUBLISHING • HARDBACK • 224 PAGES • SET 2007