20.6.06

evil plans




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Close to where I live, two blocks of beautiful, 100 year houses were knocked down last year. Today I went to a meeting where the architects' redevelopment plans were presented.

This model shows the area as seen from the center. You can see my house in the bottom right. The empty area behind it is currently a big road that will be led through a tunnel a few years from now.

Behind the big road you can see Lombok, the historic neighborhood built around 1900 - actually you can't see it, because the city wants to build two very big high rise buildings that completely mask the charming neighborhood.

The mosque is also part of the plan. It is a tad too big for our small-scaled neighborhood, but at least it is beautiful and it is rooted in the neighborhood (currently they use the former public bath across the street as their mosque).

The big 'Chinese Wall' or 'Berlin Wall' is developed by... well, a developer. Somebody who doesn't have a clue what fits and what doesn't fit here. The original idea was to hide the big road in a tunnel and re-establish the connection between Lombok and the city center. Needless to say, hiding an old neighborhood behind highrises does not really connect it to the city.

The plan was not met with too much enthusiasm among those present at the meeting.