poke up the micro!

Suicide-referencing slips aside, the Anglo / Dutch micro / macro architecture talk at the RCA last week was fun.

Thought it'd be a more practical comparitive study, utilising the huge screen for more than powerpoint introductions, but oh well.

Lots of talk about English politeness (vs. Dutch rudeness) and over regulation in the UK.
I'd like to extend this idea to more or less every way of doing things in this country.
A big regulated wave of generalisation engulfing any institution I've come into contact with, or have had explained to me.

Lots of talk about masterplans too. In relation to the above:
in the UK it'll take 8 years to do the masterplan and 2 to build. In Holland, 2 to plan and 8 to build.
Process vs. end result etc.

Will Alsop was in the crowd, talking about what "the people" want. Apparently, "the people don't want parks."

People were referencing his Barnsley-cum-Tuscany a lot. It looks interesting.

Favourite quote of the evening: "poke up the micro!"

That's what the people at Crimson are doing in Holland:

Crimson's activities can be divided over three categories: hardware, software and orgware. Hardware means proposals for physical transformations of or additions to the built environment. Software means making ideas about the city that can be presented either through text or through images. Orgware means influencing the organisational, legislative, bureaucratic and political structures that in the end define the effectivity of every proposal for the city.

Their book too blessed to be depressed looks great.