MAKE A ROBUST AND BEAUTIFUL

CRIMSON: A CITY OF COMINGS AND GOINGS.

IN CRIMSON’S BOOK, WE ATTAIN THE KNOWLEDGE OF MIGRATION AS A FAMILIAR REALITY. WE GET A GLIMPSE OF THE SIMILARITIES AND SHARED NEEDS OF MIGRANT GROUPS INSTEAD OF THEIR DISTINCT DIFFERENCES. THEIR PROBLEMS ARE DIVIDING US AND CAN’T BE SOLVED SIMPLY.

THE CITY OF COMINGS AND GOINGS EDUCATE US ON FOCUSING RESEARCH ON EVERY UNIQUE SPATIAL CULTURAL PATTERN THAT A SPECIFIC LOCATION HAS DEVELOPED OVER THE GENERATIONS. THESE PATTERNS ARE OFTEN PHYSICAL,PART WAS CONSCIOUSLY OUTLINED WHILE OTHERS ARE RESULTS OF GENERATIONS OF SPONTANEOUS EVOLVEMENT.

“..For a city to find the solution for the unsurmountable seeming problem of migration, it has to look into itself. If a city struggles with migration, it should cast its gaze inward, to see how it already is a migratory city, to see how it has already changed it’s streets, blocks, squares and institutions. The first thing a city should do, is to understand how it has already absorbed migration as a fact of life into its own physical, institution and cultural fabric. Understanding the own history and the own lived-in reality fully and without judgement is the first step for a city to really think about transitions.”

THE SIX THESES FOR A CITY OF COMINGS AND GOINGS.

1. PROVIDE LARGE AMOUNTS OF CHEAP SPACE FOR WORKING AND LIVING.

To avoid social tensions and property speculation under pressure of rising demand, we need a buffer of afforda ble square meters that can absorb the ebb and flow of migration.

4. EMBED MIGRANTS IN THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE ECONOMY, NOT ON IT’S FRINGES.

Migrants need spaces in which they can grow their families and busines ses, combining private life and work, which when needed can be subdivided and shared, or opened up for more extensive usage.

2. MAKE ZONING LAWS, REGULATIONS AND

FLOORPLANS MORE EASILY ADAPTABLE.

An early and complete confrontation of migrants with the opportunities and demands of their host culture is crucial for economic emancipation and social integration. Spatial segregation of migrants, voluntarily or otherwise, weakens the city.

3. MAKE A ROBUST AND BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE THAT TRANSCENDS DEMOGRAPHIC WAVES AND CULTURAL TRENDS.

Migration is not a temporary conditi on that overwhelms the European city. To facilitate migration is a funda mental and timeless task of the city, Its buildings and public spaces are crucial to this role in providing continuity and memory.

5. CREATE SPACES AND FACILITIES THAT INVITE SHARED USAGE BY DIFFE RENT GROUPS OF MIGRANTS AND NATIVE CITIZENS.

Ranging from specific places where members of one group can find each other, to facilities where the needs of different groups overlap, to public spaces where everyone is on equal footing: a city of migration needs a complete range of opportuni ties for its inhibitants to meet.

6. SHAPE PUBLIC BUILDINGS AS ICONS FOR THE COLLECTIVE SERVICES AND THE CULTURAL VALUES OF THE HOST CITY.

A fundamental condition for welcoming migrants is pride and confidence in one’s own public sector and the moral and social values that underlie it. An architecture that embodies generosity, democracy and identity is a crucial aspect of the European City of Comings and Goings.