Dreaming of future cities, today

Got this from a friend? Click here and join up . No Images? [Click here]( The Circle of Good Hope, GLH Architects, Cape Town, South Africa (Image courtesy of World Architecture Festival) Dear {NAME}, “I dream of a South Africa where the first entirely new city built in the democratic era rises, with skyscrapers, schools, universities, hospitals and factories,” said [President Cyril Ramaphosa]( in his address to the nation on 20 June. Ramaphosa isn’t the first one to dream of a utopian city of gleaming glass skyscrapers and towering structures (someone said Sandton?); science-fiction loves writing about what our urban future might look like and, from Aldous Huxley’s World State in Brave New World to the prescient, dark and dystopian Los Angeles of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, the for-the-super-rich-only metropolitan depicted in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, or Lauren Beukes’ transformed Cape Town in Moxyland, visions of the city are often powerful characters tangled into one plot. This Sunday, fasten your seatbelts as we take you for a short flight over our world’s future urban cuckoo’s nest. “Wait a minute. Wait a minute Doc, uh, are you telling me you built a time machine … out of a DeLorean?” (Marty McFly in Back to the Future) Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore (Image from Jewel Changi Airport) Future cities This month, the [World Architecture Festival]( (WAF) released its shortlist for the 2019’s architectural awards, under the FLOW - People, Data, Nature, Power theme - while the [International Architecture Awards](IAF) announced its 2019 winners. Tell me more… For the WAF, a total of 534 projects from 70 countries are on the shortlist. Some of the projects are revolutionary, others merely futuristic, including large infrastructure, residential and educational buildings, hospitals, cultural and landscape projects. The shortlist will be reviewed by a jury of celebrated architects. Anyone from South Africa? Ghanian-Scottish Lesley Lokko, head of Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg, is one of the jury. Explain the IAF... The IAF are jointly organised by The Chicago Museum of Architecture and Design, The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press. The awards are for “any commercial, corporate, institutional, or residential building type or urban planning project, built or unbuilt worldwide, designed since January 1, 2016.” What’s been selected? An eco-airport, a library, a viewing platform... Our few favorites: The newly opened [Jewel Changi Airport]( Singapore, with its canopy bridge suspended 23 metres above ground and “a glass bottom at the centre portion and fog emitted at both ends, (to) experience what it feels like to walk among the clouds” (because no one wants you to try that from your plane). What else? The [Museum Garage](, which, as its name doesn't indicate, is “a seven-story mixed-use structure that will feature ground-floor retail spaces”, located in the Miami Design District. And then, there's the Circle of Good Hope by GLH Architects, a project located in Cape Town that falls under the 'Future Projects' category. So no skyscrapers? Oh yes, skyscrapers aplenty, especially for commercial use, like the [Federation Tower]( in Moscow, the 46th tallest building in the world at 373,7 meters tall (just for perspective, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is 830m tall). Talking about skyscrapers, their first appearance is dated back to the 1880s in both Chicago and New York; today, a Swedish architecture studio is betting on wood as a sustainable material to build the skyscrapers of tomorrow. [Read the full story here](. 11 Diagonal Street (Image by Rainer Viertlböck courtesy of JAHN) Living for the City Buildings play a major role in shaping communities, creating a more sustainable future (or not), pushing forward extraordinary innovations and radical urban designs (or not). Back home, and looking at our urban landscape, a few projects have proved to be pioneering... or pushy. 11 Diagonal Street Standing at 80m tall, shaped like a diamond with its reflective facades and sharp angles, 11 Diagonal Street is an eye-catching structure that was, at the time it was built in 1984, pretty radical (we’re talking way before Sandton’s skyscrapers were a thing). In episode 2 of Structure & Culture, we look at this iconic edifice in the centre of Johannesburg. To learn more, d[on't miss the video here](. Zeitz MOCAA The building that once was a grain silo and now houses the works of some of the most extraordinary contemporary artists from Africa and the diaspora was designed by Heatherwick Studio. The architect, Thomas Heatherwick, was inspired by the history of the building as well as lighthouses; the team cut out the heart of the original building, comprised of 56 concrete silos, and created a striking atrium. 129 Rivonia Road From a distance, the building resembles a Fabergé egg (Editor’s note: the real Fabergé egg has a “yolk” made of gold). In fact, the building is made of two high-rise towers (12- and 16-storeys high), with [offices, retail space, a gym and medical suites](. For the golden yolk, check Trump Tower instead. 88 on Field, Durban The tallest building in Durban since its completion in 1986, 88 on Field is a modernist structure of steel and concrete, 147m tall with 25 floors. The skyscraper cost a mere $40,000,000 to build. It’s all that height, you see. The Astana Arts Center, Astana, Kazakhstan (Image courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture) Is it a thing? Architecture at the Olympic Games Oh yes, that totally was a thing! Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games, wanted the Olympics to be a celebration of the body and the mind. [De Coubertin]( wrote at the time, “In the high times of Olympia, the fine arts were combined harmoniously with the Olympic Games to create their glory. This is to become reality once again.” Thus, between 1912 and 1948, architecture entered the competition as a discipline (projects presented had to have a link with sports), along with literature, music, painting, and sculpture. In 1928, architecture was even split into categories, with architects competing in, for example, town planning. If we follow GOOD party leader [Patricia de Lille]('s comments, it is not clear if the City of Cape Town would have made it to the Architecture Games 2018 version though. The Museum Garage by Speirs & Major LLP (photographers: Imagen Subliminal (Image from International Architecture Awards) Mighty Words “A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.” − Frank Lloyd Wright. (We’re bloody happy Wright wasn’t a doctor.) “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”− Leonardo da Vinci. We assume whoever is behind Trump Tower didn’t get that memo. “That city dream was a curve-ball, perhaps meant to galvanise big dreams even in these challenging times for South Africa, but more than one SONA attendee pointed out the need for South Africa to get the basics right. Access to decent housing, dignified sanitation and basic services remain a challenge or are simply missing in too many places across the country.” − Daily Maverick’s Parliamentary correspondent, [Marianne Merten]( on that big city dream. “We’re in the clear. Running fast. North on the old Richter route past the mountains. I told her about Batty on the roof dying, making every second count. I told her I loved her. She told me it was the happiest day of her life.” − Rick Deckard, in Blade Runner. Because Ridley Scott reinvented Los Angeles. Veganism is now skin deep Woolworths has launched first, a niche and exclusive vegan makeup line in collaboration with US makeup artist (and the man behind Beyoncé’s smoky eye), Sir John, and more recently, the WBeauty ranges, which are 100% vegan. By 100% vegan, we mean not tested on animals and using zero animal or animal-derived ingredients. [Read the advertisement here](. Also on [Maverick Life](... In case you missed it – STRUCTURE & CULTURE (Episode 1): A building that divided people even before apartheid laws were enforced When the original Rex Trueform building was erected in 1938 in Salt River as one of the leading manufacturing factories in Cape Town, its modernist style stood out among the neoclassical buildings of the time in the city. In our new series, Structure and Culture, we talk to leading African architects about buildings they consider significant; we explore how these structures shape and influence human interactions, perceptions and behaviours. Watch the [story here](. BEAUTY: How to hydrate your skin this winter Keep your skin healthy, smooth, soft and protected as the seasonal chill sets in. Read Nicole Williamson's [story here](. LIFE: Seagoing students keep abreast of current trends ‘Science should be cool, it needs to be engaging, it needs to be interactive,’ says UCT Professor Isabelle Ansorge of her programme in which students engage with scientists and lecturers while at sea. Read Morgan Trimble's [story here.]( THEATRE: Frontieres – Real-life stories of strangers in a strange and hostile land ‘Frontieres’ (Borders), on at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, is about the people who cross borders and enter South Africa, after fleeing war, famine and poverty, only to find invisible barriers barring them from finding a home. To read Nkateko Mabasa's review,click here.]( LIFE: Swell times as SEAmester team weathers massive storm The students, lecturers and scientists participating in the SEAmester programme aboard the SA Agulhas II had to bolt the storm doors after receiving some unnerving weather forecasts… For more waves and windstorm, read the full maritime weather report by [SA Weather Service SEAmester IV team here](. OPERA: A double bill of operatic proportions UK-based baritone Njabulo Madlala has put together an extraordinary operatic double feature to be held in Cape Town. Deborah Rudman has [the full story](. 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