Geochemical and microfaunal proxies to assess environmental quality conditions during the recovery process of a heavily polluted estuary: the Bilbao estuary case (N. Spain)

This study explores the eventual environmental improvement of the Bilbao estuary (northern Spain), from 1997 to 2006, in order to assess current estuarine restoration being undertaken as part of a Revitalization Strategic Plan. The monitoring programme is based on spatial and temporal variation in the distributions of both benthic foraminiferal assemblages and heavy metals contained in surficial sediments from the polluted intertidal flats. The overall pattern shows a decreasing metal concentration; however, reversals to this trend are noticed in the middle estuary. From 2000 to 2003, a significant decrease in heavy metal concentration was observed which is most likely related to the implementation in 2001-2002 of the biological treatment at a central wastewater treatment plant. Although the metal concentration decreased by 85% for some elements, these values still remain considerably high. No significant change occurred between 2003 and 2006 in metal concentrations. During the monitoring period the estuary channel presented environmental conditions close to azoic in 3/4 of its watercourse. Only in the year 2006, the two lowermost estuarine samples exhibited an increase in microfaunal densities. These samples were dominated by pollution-resistant estuarine species. The fact that estuarine sediments quality is recovering very slowly seems to be caused mainly by the resuspension of accumulated contaminants in the sediments due to dredging and working activities in the estuary. Thus, local authorities should consider also the clean up of the pollutants stored in the sediments, not seeking only the achievement of the water quality standards, as these polluted sediments can act as source of contamination.     

毕堡效应--一个建筑带动一个城市的复兴

毕堡①是曾一度衰落的西班牙北部海岸的工业城市,如今却因为一座由美国解构主义建筑大师弗兰克·盖里(Frank·O·Gehry)设计的古根汉姆艺术博物馆(Guggenheim MuSeum Bilbao)而知名,并带动了当地的旅游经济,更重要的是整个城市也由此而复兴,即"毕堡效应".本文将对这一现象进行解析,并探究这些文化建筑在城市复兴中所扮演的角色及其潜在的危险."毕堡效应"对于现今在中国城市大量涌现文化建筑的现象有着同样的启示作用.     

Renewable Types and the Urban Plan

The notion of designing according to building type for some might imply constraint, or even a reversion to convention. In Diploma Unit 6 at the AA in London, Christopher Lee and Sam Jacoby have proved typology can be used to liberating effect, producing series that harness ‘the cumulative intelligence’ of type, while ‘surpassing both its idea and its deep structure’. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Unified Project

Albert Pope argues that a unified architectural and urban project is not possible without addressing the conceptual divide that exists between building and infrastructure. It is a split that was first set in motion by the breakdown of Modernism in the 1960s and was reaffirmed by the rise of Postmodernism. Since then, architectural form and urban infrastructure have not only remained disjointed, but have been overtly celebrated by the collages and juxtapositions of the contemporary and the historic in our cities.     

毕尔包融合数码的城市景观带来的设计启示

指出数码逐渐成为社会发展各个领域实现创新的新利器,对城市景观设计具有重要的意义,从发现数码的魅力开始,继而意识到城市景观设计也应该接纳数码,并阐述了城市景观设计融合“数码”的途径,以推动城市景观设计取得新的发展。     

创意毕尔巴鄂:古根海姆效应

毕尔巴鄂已经成为一座创意城市,并在过去20年里成功地从一座工业港口城市转型为以服务为导向的旅游目的地—这种做法并不独特,在其他城市也得到了实现.然而,为了发展创意城市,1997年开馆的世界闻名的古根海姆博物馆(GMB)所带来的象征意义和触发效应,将毕尔巴鄂转变成了一座“秀场”,乃至成为有效的城市创意开发的标志.但是,这座博物馆并不是毕尔巴鄂发展为创意城市的唯一动因.本文描述了地方和区域的公共和私营行为如何将毕尔巴鄂变为一座创意场所.这种变化不仅体现在艺术和创意产业上,也体现在城市规划和战略性的城市营销上.     

That Old Thing Called Flexibility: An Interview with Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown

Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown hold an unrivalled position within architecture. Now written several decades ago, their classic books Learning from Las Vegas and Complexity and Contradiction remain unsurpassed for their ability to shock and overturn current architectural thought. Francesco Proto talks to Venturi and Scott Brown on their present thinking about iconography, transparency, spectacularisation, architectural pornography and the contemporary architectural avant-garde. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information,Complexity and the Detail

The proliferation of affordable computing has transformed the capability of architecture to deal with complex forms and details. As Dennis R Shelden , Chief Technology Officer of Gehry Technologies, explains, this has resulted in the production of an abundance of digital information or data. The intersection of two curved surfaces, for instance, is now much more complex than the surfaces themselves. Complexity requires more information and thus more processing, making details like this ultimately more expensive to produce. The jury is still out on what the future might hold, as architecture undergoes a period of fundamental transition in which, for the time being at least, there remains an essential mismatch between the surfeit of digital information and the tight economic limits on physical production.