cafebabel.com

Economic growth: the Warsaw I know

('Sebastian Baciu',) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:34:56 -0000

The Polish capital’s transformation can no longer be overlooked as Poland's economy continues to grow. One German student boards the time machine

Macedonia the Great: historical obsessions and Skopje 2014

('Nela Lazarevic',) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:12:04 -0000

The ongoing urban project sounds as if the Macedonian capital were preparing to host the next olympics. It's actually about classical origins: Skopje will be revamped in a neo-classical style with the aim of strengthening national identity, attracting foreign tourists and, according to some, further provoking Greece, in the name of the dispute that started when Macedonia became independent in 1991

Eco-architecture in Strasbourg: all hands on the deck

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:09:35 -0000

Reduce, recycle and reuse. The eastern French city sails through the 3Rs of the recycling laws. Hundreds of flowers dot balconies across the city, keeping guard over it night and day as well as over its new urban architecture sensibilities. Eco-sustainability and a collective conscience come together to define this emerging city

Port du Rhin: Strasbourg’s problem suburb (which is also on the border)

('Molmash',) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:30:00 -0000

The suburb of Strasbourg which is part of the Franco-German border is famous for having staged anti-Nato protests in 2009. It's all the more reason for its politicians and town planners to realise the urban planning policy set in place to improve living conditions for its population. Mission accomplished?

Eco-architecture: Budapest creates a sustainable future

('victor escandell',) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:21:12 -0000

In the midst of the recession, the unstoppable growth rate of the world population and the increase of megacities, the Hungarian capital invents ecological buildings and cleans its water. Imagination and labour are two Hungarian clues in building a sustainable future

'Come to Romania': quest to brand Bucharest

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:15:32 -0000

Forging a skate culture, redesigning lei banknotes and offering a story to tourists, aside from the palace of parliament hotspot, the result of dictator Ceaucescu's tearing down a third of the city in communist times. These are just some of the ideas to boost the image and GDP of a crisis-riddled country

Paris, Krakow: the crop of Europe's pretty urban green

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:29:13 -0000

The tallest building in the world, the 828 metre (2716 ft) high Burj Khalifa skyscraper, was unveiled in Dubai at the beginning of January. Nowadays the question is more of building outwards rather than upwards, with four buzzwords - happiness, ecology, smartness and economy - via two city models

European bloggers describe their Berlin walls

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:20:11 -0000

Monday is 9 November, the day when the Berlin wall was brought down. To reflect on this iconic modern historical event for the eurogeneration, citizen journalists from five cafebabel.com local teams - Sofia, Budapest, Turin, Strasbourg and Istanbul - simultaneously blogged one day about the walls they see in their cities

South Italy tempts its tourists back

('Miriam Franchina',) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0000

In recent years the South of Italy has witnessed a decline in its tourist industry. Now, tourists are returning to hidden spots such as the awe-inspiring Castelvenere grotto, said to be the birthplace of Cupid. A guided visit into oblivion

The world in an Eau de Cologne bottle

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0000

It’s no lucky mistake; Eau de Cologne, or Cologne, world renowned for centuries, has benefitted from the ideal geographical location of the city that has given the perfume its name. At the heart of Europe, Cologne is putting the finishing touches to its strategy to form international links

Architecture: sex up Brussels' EU quarter!

('Darren Thompson',) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:15:00 -0000

Remodelling plans hope to humanise Brussels' European quarter over the next fifteen years. Latest titbit of news from Brussels

In Buzescu, Roma architecture is surreal real estate

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:00:00 -0000

We clatter by train through Romania to the small village where the former nomadic Roma are building palaces they design themselves in the middle of Wallachia – with neither consent nor plans. Feature

David Cerny: 'president Klaus is a d**k'

('Hanna Sankowska',) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0000

We met the politically engaged sculptor, 40, in 2007. Labelled by many as 'the scandal maker', he is back in 2009 to pinpoint the Czech presidency of the EU with his installation of national stereotypes at the European parliament, alleged to be a hoax

Andrew Todd: ‘the Gehrys and the Libeskinds don’t add anything to a city’

('Mary Maistrello',) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The forty-year-old British-born architect, ranked one of the world’s top forty, on working under Jean Nouvel, ‘airport architects’ and why European cities should ditch their showcase images

Photos: Brussels accommodates EU buildings

('David Tett',) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:35:47 -0000

G8 summit: whilst Brown meets Medvedev, the British build Russia

('Ed Saunders',) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:00:00 -0000

As the British and Russian prime ministers meet for the first time since the latter's March election in Japan between 7 – 9 July, a look at the foundations of a new renaissance in British-Russian relations

Roland Lipp on Moscow, the dirtiest city in Europe

('Ed Saunders',) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The German engineer from Brandenburg plans roads which run along house roofs. He is trying to save the metropolis from gridlock. The inventor of these ‘street houses’ is holding talks with German firms, who should be joining him on the project

Go, women architects

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Female architects are suffering from social historical invisibility. Creating more gender-based networks can raise awareness about gender inequality and social recognition

Architecture blogs in Romania, Spain and England

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Most blogs devoted to architecture cover the whole of Europe through their importance, often even the whole world, by not limiting themselves to the presentation of this set of themes exclusively within the author’s country of origin

Thierry Uhrman versus the chic Lyon suburb

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:17:00 -0000

Controversy erupts as an artist turns his residence into an ‘Abode of Chaos’, with heaps of scrap metal and works of art

British, Italian and German architects give Europe a face

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Openness, transparency, efficiency: which buildings need a democracy? We span the European parliament, palace, court of human rights and Central Bank

Europe’s eastern bloc palaces

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:30:00 -0000

Berlin, Bucharest, Vilnius and Warsaw - four examples of what to do with those eastern state building dinosaurs

Esplanade of L'Europe in Brussels: more rubbish than town planning

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

A space without appeal next to Brussels South railway station is far from what we expect from the capital of Europe

Gran Scala – Spain’s new Las Vegas

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:15:00 -0000

Europe’s largest construction project is an amusement park in Los Monegros. It is in competition with Expo Zaragoza 2008, whose main focus is on raising awareness of sustainable water development

Eco-housing renaissance: put less carbon in the air!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The ‘built’ environment in the UK, Germany and Sweden are good examples of how our lifestyles have to adapt in a changing world

The future’s a bitter pill to swallow in Prague

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The audacious design of the new National Library in Prague unleashes intense debate

European heritage battle

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:00:00 -0000

At the foot of the Acropolis, a new museum is undergoing construction – but something important is missing: the British Museum is not prepared to return pieces of the world-famous Parthenon frieze to Athens

Prague's got a brand new bag

Tue, 15 May 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The Czech capital's tourism flow reached full capacity in 1999, having experienced its boom after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1991. Some are unhappy at what they and their city has been left with

Olympic city - dizzy Catalonian heights

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:00:00 -0000

A long tradition of international events and Olympics throwbacks - like Fòrum 2004 - have regenerated urban Barcelona, but haven’t always helped improve its European image

Bucharest: dictator's throne to democracy

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Ceauescu erected the Romanian parliament in the second largest building in the world

Edouard François: urban chameleon

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0000

The Parisian architect mixes architecture with ecology: a fashionable fifty-year-old with a diverse background and designer of the offbeat Tower Flower in Paris

Built on Benzene

('Ed Saunders',) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The city of Budapest wants to build a science park on the site of the former Óbuda gasworks

WIELS: artful brewing

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

On May 25, Brussels’ largest contemporary art centre will open its doors in what was once the Wielemans-Ceuppen Brewery, close to Midi Station

Parc de la Villette: culture not cows

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The Parc de la Villette in Paris is one of Europe’s leading art centres. Here art, music, science and technology all rub shoulders

Factories of culture: forging new from old

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

All over Europe, former industrial buildings are being rebuilt as centres of culture. Residents cherish the special charm of these old factories

Fortress Bulgaria: gated communities

('Ed Saunders',) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Wealthy families in Bulgaria are using gated communities to protect themselves from the poor majority

Rome: la dolce vita?

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Being a geographical centre, Rome traces its own road in balancing the contradictary identities that flow in from the north and the south

Rome wasn’t built in a day

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

How does the ‘Eternal City’ juggle the need to preserve its past with the equally important need to construct its future?

Vatican: keeping the faith

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The Vatican – city within a city – and the Roman Diocese, which together govern the 338 parishes, 247 colleges and 558 Catholic secondary education institutions, condition life in the Italian capital

Brussels, a soft capital

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 06:45:00 -0000

Francophone and Flemish, North African and Eurocrat… The European Capital mirrors the contradictions and cultural diversity of Europe

Eastern property boom excludes the young

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 02:00:00 -0000

The wave of home acquisitions is pushing property prices up in Eastern Europe. Young people find it difficult to buy their first home

Alternative lifestyles: 'I came to Amsterdam to live in a squat'

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:00:00 -0000

In the 1980s, a political movement of squatters changed the face of the Dutch capital. Today, young apolitical Eastern Europeans are joining the squatter movement

Purchase power beats flower power on canals

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 02:00:00 -0000

Once a favourite of the flower power generation, living on a canal boat has become a privilege for the young and affluent. Today modern houseboats are not longer dingy eccentric dwellings for the marginal, but fully equipped modern pads

War on huts, peace to the palaces!

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 12:00:00 -0000

Before long, demolition work will begin on the ‘Palace of the Republic’ in Berlin, a relic from GDR days. In other ex-socialist states there are similar buildings, and every one has its own story.