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After the end of the Second World War Austria remained under Allied occupation for a decade when in 1955 it was given independence, provided that it remained neutral. Under these conditions the country had to find its role on the international stage that was very much shaped by the Cold War. During the same period many Asian and African states also gained independence from colonial rule and joined the Non-Aligned Movement which postulated neutrality in a politically charged environment. In this context Austria positioned itself as a neutral, seemingly independent partner without a colonial past.

Within the frameworks of development programs, diplomatic rapprochements and transnational cooperation also Austrian architects came into play: in countries like Burkina Faso, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Nepal and Tanzania architects like Ottokar Uhl, Karl and Eva Mang, Roland Rainer and Hannes Lintl realized considerable projects that represent self-confident contributions to oeuvres that otherwise are largely confined to Austria.

Until October 5 the Architekturzentrum Wien with „Global – Neutral: Architecture from Austria in Africa and Asia 1955–1989“ delves into this aspect of Austrian postwar architecture and shows the manifold entanglements between architecture, politics, diplomacy and self-representation. The exhibition is accompanied by the present eponymous catalogue, recently published by Park Books, that provides ample context to the political environment the architects operated in as well as it highlights the latter’s projects. Based on the archival holdings at the Architekturzentrum Wien, different authors discuss how international relationships were established and how architecture and architects fit into the Austrian architectural diplomacy.

“La convergencia de múltiples intereses (arte, fotografía, biología, literatura, viajes) en la arquitectura no solo como profesión, sino como modo de vida, hacen que cada día siga convencida de haber escogido este camino.

Curiosear o distraerme recogiendo conchas o piedras en la playa, estudiar sus formas teniendo siempre a la naturaleza como maestra; ver una película, leer una novela o un libro sobre fotografía, perderme en una ciudad que no conozco, atenta y sensible a la información que pueda darme y fijar la mirada en un color, una textura, una huella, en los ires y venires de las personas, sus movimientos, teniendo siempre una actitud de aprendizaje, son intereses que nutren mis ideas y se convierten en referencias que sugieren puntos de partida y que me estimulan en la parte proyectual. Esa combinación de informaciones obtenidas durante los viajes, las lecturas, los hallazgos y las experiencias, esta relación entre las cosas, alimenta mis proyectos en un proceso continuo que se modifica, se reordena y evoluciona hasta cambiar.

Hacer arquitectura me divierte, me entusiasma. La posibilidad de experimentación, la cercanía al juego siguiendo la intuición pero con rigor, confiando en el error como una revelación, hace que lo que hago no esté muy alejado de lo que es la vida misma. No soy arquitecta sólo cuando me siento frente a uno hoja en blanco a “pensar” un proyecto, soy arquitecta siempre, pues la vida misma es arquitectura, es espacio, forma, ritmo, sucesión de acontecimientos. Es contexto: lugar, gente, atmósferas, circunstancias y entorno. Me interesan el paisaje, la construcción de ciudad que propone maneras de relacionarse a través del espacio público, la vivienda y los medios disponibles –que siempre son limitados- para satisfacer las necesidades humanas.

Pero sobre todo, una motivación es entender la arquitectura como un “servicio” para hacer más amable la vida de las personas, un oficio que intenta hacer un mundo mejor, una sociedad más justa. No veo los proyectos como un trampolín personal, sino como oportunidades de aprender y poner en movimiento muchas ideas, convirtiendo los procesos proyectuales en investigaciones, en pasiones.

La arquitectura para mí, es una pasión y para describir mi relación con ella, he utilizado otras veces, el texto de Ray Bradbury en su libro Zen en el arte de escribir: “si uno escribe sin garra, sin entusiasmo, sin amor, sin divertirse, únicamente es escritor a medias. Significa que tiene un ojo tan ocupado en el mercado comercial, o una oreja tan puesta en los círculos de vanguardia, que no está siendo uno mismo. Ni siquiera se conoce. Pues su primer deber como escritores la efusión: ser una criatura de fiebres y arrebatos. Sin ese vigor, lo mismo daría que cosechase melocotones”

¿Hay motivación más grande que la pasión?”.

Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is prone to both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and ranks 17th on the natural disaster risk list of the World Risk Index. The highly active ground, beyond the dangers it poses, also accounts for a uniquely high number of hot springs. For well over a thousand years they have been an integral part of Japanese culture and range widely in scale as well as mineral composition.

Fascinated by the onsen (hot spring) and sento (public bath) cultures of Japan, architect Yuval Zohar has spent over a decade exploring the hot springs of Japan and their architectural manifestations. The result of his research is the present volume, recently published by nai010. Aiming to provide a means for understanding Japanese bathing culture, Zohar has given his book a very lucid structure addressing past, present and future.

Beginning with the past Zohar takes the reader along the genesis of the bathing culture, explains the different types of hot springs and introduces the two fundamental architectural archetypes, the Kanto and Kansai which populate the North and South of Japan. In view of the deep societal roots of the different bathing facilities it is all the more surprising that the highly differentiated landscape of baths is severely endangered: where on the one hand a trend towards individual home baths is eroding the public baths’ visitor numbers, the „super sentos“ for the large number on the other hand are threatening the small neighborhood soaks. In the back of the book Zohar presents a selection of ten onsen facilities located e.g. in the mountains, near the sea or a river, in a forest or in the city, and showcases their diverse beauty. In the final „future“ chapter Zohar focuses less on Japan but instead proposes an architectural reinterpretation of Japanese bathing infrastructure in New York, a huge step with which the author establishes a link to his own work and the idea of using New York’s steam system for baths reinterpreting Japanese models.

We are pleased to present our latest article, which explores how landscape architecture can help address the paradox between food production and public health in Mexico. Through innovative strategies, we propose projects that aim to improve both aspects sustainably. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/506

Thanks to Diana Garcia Cejudo and Rob Roggema for their valuable support and insightful discussions that enriched this work. Read the full article here : Addressing the Paradox of Food and Health in Mexico: A Landscape Urbanism Approach https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/506

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.