Since one of my favourite architecture blogs just reblogged this photo, I feel like I owe an explanation about this object: this building was a “robna kuća” (the closest word would be mall or department store), which also had an addition of 8 floors of residential apartments (which can be seen in the photo):
The shopping mall was opened in 1970. as “Razvitak” (lit. “development”), and according to the government at the time it was one of the 5 best commercial buildings in Yugoslavia. Like many buildings in Mostar, during the aggression 1992-1995 it was severely damaged and all the residential levels completely destroyed, which is an ongoing legal battle up to this day as the former residents and owners of those apartments received no material satisfaction for their lost property. One fact of the war in Bosnia is that Mostar is the city that suffered the biggest amount of physical and architectural destruction - which is unfortunately still visible. What I personally find most interesting are the exterior concrete panels which are decorated with motifs from stećak - gravestone monuments from the medieval period in Bosnia. Today the entrances to the building have been fenced and walls have been built to keep people out but the local citizens complain that the building is being used by squatters as well as people looting the building for scrap materials. Current state of the building:
Recently, the urban planning and development office in Mostar developed a project for this area,which implies that the building will or has been bought by a private investor (of which I am not sure because of the residential area legal issue), and it would be used for a modern commercial+residential development.
Whether that will happen or not, we will see. For those who are visiting Mostar and want to see this building,it’s 5 minutes south from the main bus station.
The single greatest and most fascinating “futurist” architecture movement in the world right now is happening in Bolivia, where national prosperity and a dedication to works for the poor and public housing led to an explosion of colorful styles inspired by Aymara Indian art. There should be more articles about this, the interiors are just as amazing. Incidentally, most of these buildings are not for the rich or in trendy neighborhoods, but are public housing. I’ve heard this style referred to as “Neo-Andean” but like most currently thriving styles it doesn’t have a universally agreed on name yet.
The father’s artistic talent is clearly on display here, but I’m actually really impressed with this kid’s wild imagination. Many of his drawings are both conceptually unique and coherent.
On this 110 years ago the first subway tunneling under the East River connecting #Manhattan with #Brooklyn opened! The East River Tunnel connecting Bowling Green to #BoroughHall, Brooklyn on today’s 4,5 subway line opened to the public on January 9, 1908. The second #subway contract from 1902 extended the original IRT subway line to Brooklyn via the Battery-Joralemon Tunnel, then up Fulton Street to Flatbush to the Long Island #Railroad Terminal on Atlantic. The tunnel was comprised of two cast-iron tubes, 16 feet in diameter. When the tunnel first opened telephones were placed every 300 feet, monitored by an IRT employee in an office at #BowlingGreen who could watch the location of the trains in the tunnel via colored lights on a transparency.
The construction process is described in detail by the American Society of Civil #Engineers, “both heading-and-bench rock tunneling and pressurized shield soft-soil tunneling techniques were used. Loss of control of the tunneling shield in partially saturated sands caused variations in alignment that made portions of the tunnel nonfunctional. Approximately 3,000 ft of the tunnel had to be reconstructed to enable subway cars to use the tunnel safely. Additionally, due to concerns regarding the stability of the tunnel in the soft soils, piles were installed under the tunnel to bedrock. The project was a crucible for subway contractors and engineers of the Rapid Transit Commission, especially Clifford M. Holland. His experience on the #Joralemon Street Tunnel enabled him to efficiently and safely complete four other East River #subway tunnels after the Dual System Agreement of March 1913.” (at Brooklyn Borough Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbhST-lPcQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=84hc0uzt27nq
“In third grade I had this teacher who would give every student the same grade on each assignment. After the A at the top of the paper, she’d mark all the wrong answers with a red pen, and then would come by each student’s desk to talk to us about where we went wrong. Together we would fix each sentence or math problem until it was right. At Parent night, one of the dad’s complained that his daughter worked hard to get her A, and that some of the other kids deserved to fail. The teacher allowed him to finish talking, and then responded in the same polite tone she always used in the classroom. “I’m not teaching your children how to pass test… I’m guiding them on how to learn.” Months later our teacher posted everyone’s final grade on the board, and at first, no one was surprised to see we all had A’s. But after looking closer at our papers, and book reports, and our final assignments, we didn’t see any red ink on them.
I don’t think we should lie to children and tell them they got it all right if they didn’t. That doesn’t help anyone. But I also know that if you keep telling a child they are a failure; they messed up; or they did a bad job, after a while they’ll start agreeing.”
