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architectuul · 4 years ago

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FOMA 37: Forgotten Greece

Forgotten Greece Masterpieces are obscure and understated, but still special in their own subtle way: it is the lack of fanfare, a certain restraint in the architecture that accentuates their genuine character, therefore they merit a closer look.

Concrete arches of Magoula Cemetery emanate an aura of Aalto’s wave designs or elements of Niemeyer’s Brasilia | Photo by Exporabilia

Each space comes with an interesting backstory and an evidence of how post-war ambition and civic pride fuses with classical tradition, science, folklore, religion and the natural environment. There is also an evidence of architectural brilliance mired in political persecution, indifference, schadenfreude or a lack of recognition by the establishment. Such storylines are as quintessentially Greek as drama and each might weave their unique pattern into the architecture.

Aspra Spitia is a settlement to house employees of the Aluminum of Greece factory and mining operations west of Athens. | Photo via Fotiadis

Greeks demonstrated an innate affinity for siting and orientation since their temple building days of antiquity. Stillwell (1954) describes a mastery of form, angle, height and orientation: their temples were a planned succession of experiences that culminated into a grand, final approach of the cult image. Temple construction was an early use of architecture and urban planning principles to deliver a coherent visual and emotional result - exempli gratiaa transcendental, religious experience.

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In post-war Greece, architect and urban planner Constantinos Doxiadis drew inspiration from the same fountain of knowledge. He created a seminal worker’s settlement that both transcended the provincial vernacular andchimed in fascinating consonance with its natural surroundings. It is like a place of eternal youth by design like Logan’s Run Caroussel), where residents never get to grow too old.

The construction phase on of Aspra Spitia. | Photo via © Doxiadis

Through Ekistics, Doxiadis approached settlements as complex biological organisms. | Photo via Voiotias

Aluminum of Greece was launched in 1960 as a joint venture between the government of Greece and an industrial conglomerate led by the historic French firm Pechiney, a world leader in aluminum manufacturing. As a result, the first aluminum production facility in the country opened on the northern coast of the Corinthian Gulf in 1966. Capitalising on the nearby bauxite ore mines (one of the largest deposits in Europe), the vertically integrated manufacturing process ranged from raw material extraction to the delivery of a range of secondary bauxite and aluminium by-products. It was an ambitious and successful industrial project that created new opportunities for employment for those prepared to settle there. The sheer scale of the industrial unit and its ancillary facilities, however, created an urgent need for housing the employees, prompting the creation of a new settlement nearby. They called it Aspra Spitia (White Houses), and to this day, it remains a model for small scale urban planning with a unique blend of Modernist yet distinctively traditional Greek aura.

Constantinos Doxiadis in 1975

The urban planning, layout and design of the settlement was masterminded by Constantinos Doxiadis and his associates, who also delivered the first phase of the project. Doxiadis, an experienced urban planner who held various Public Works related government posts for the Greek government between 1937 and 1951, was a leading figure in the country’s post-war reconstruction effort. His private practice has been rising in international prominence since it was founded in the early 1950s; by 1959, he was appointed as chief urban planner for the city of Islamabad, Pakistan, while his firm was involved in numerous local and international projects, prompting him to construct a new headquarters in Athens to house their now 400 strong team of urban planners, architects, and engineers.

The model for Aspra Spitia. | Photo via © Doxiadis.org

Still, Aspra Spitia was a challenging brief: there was nothing but olive trees and a few vernacular shacks inside the tiny seaside valley. The first wave of French engineers settling at the newfound community were disheartened: this rugged slice of paradise had yet little to show in the way of creature comforts. And there was a looming danger in choosing to deliver a typical, prefab industrial settlement, with identikit housing units built around amenities: that choice of plan was expected to mark the marvellous landscape irreparably, presenting an unsuitable urban continuation of the industrial landscape at the nearby factories and mines. The new resident workers might feel disconnected, transient, and without a sense of belonging to the very habitat they might end up spending their entire career.

A commercial centre Tower | Photo via © astronayths.blogspot.com

However, Doxiadis had a clear vision about Aspra Spitia. His plan was informed by his Ekistics philosophy, first proposed in 1942 and constantly developed since. Through Ekistics, Doxiadis approached human settlements as complex biological organisms - capable of forming connections with each other, constantly evolving, merging and scaling in orderly harmony with the natural environment. And preserving the purity and beauty of the hills, the seafront, and the olive tree fields within the planning scope of a factory, mines and a worker’s settlement at Aspra Spitia became a key challenge. These very different, both natural and man-made constituent units demanded to be re-shaped into a natural fit. This wouldn’t be about forcing an irreverent, modern smudge in the landscape: it’d be about the foundation of an orderly, organic urban environment.

A corner unit of the Phase 1. | Photo via © astronayths.blogspot.com

Stairs from the Phase 2. | Photo via © astronayths.blogspot.com

Units from the Phase 2. | Photo via © astronayths.blogspot.com

Thankfully, Doxiadis’ Ekistics already proposed such a scalable hierarchy for ordering urban settlements – an arrangement that social and biological sciences concluded was important for the avoidance of chaos. And at the beginning of the scale, there was Anthropos – the individual. It was expected that the aluminium workers would be mostly recruited from the nearby rural areas. Therefore, understanding the familiar traditions those new settlers were expected to carry with them was a crucial design element, as well as preserving the individuality of each constituent unit: each house, each cluster, each neighbourhood had to feel fresh and special, but still flow with identifiable tradition and heritage, also retaining a degree of deference to the natural environment. And the whole ensemble needed to remain functional for its intended purpose, without reverting to picturesque anachronisms.

All these elements were carefully infused into the inverse L-shaped city plan, which follows the organic contour of the landscape closely: The long leg is flanked by hills, while the short leg is laid across the seafront. Within the resulting space, four neighbourhoods were created, each circled by a peripheral road. The civic, business and administrative forum of the city is located at the junction of the legs, while a recreation and tourism area is laid along the seafront.

The settlement’s main square.

The design of the residences and public spaces is where it all comes together. Twelve unique house designs were utilized, each standardized with interchangeable elements that enabled the architects to alter the design in intermediate stages of construction. This technique increased the resulting variety of house types to twenty-five, while further variations were achieved by mixing-up the properties of each street in terms of house orientation, elevation, set back, and corner placement. Therefore, each home and each neighborhood look unique, but also retains a thematic familiarity with the whole ensemble of the town.

Both natural and modern materials are utilized, concrete, wood and local stone. The walls and stone are mostly whitewashed, offering a traditional Greek visual clarity to the settlement. Some stone walls remained natural with intent, in cases where these blended visually with the surrounding olive groves. The preservation and integration of existing olive trees in squares, yards and street layouts was prioritised, and supplemented by re-planting as well as new plantings. Stone fences, pergolas, steps and pavements complete the textured landscaping of each neighborhood, while well placed cul-de-sacs, squares and public thoroughfares complete the harmonious balance of private and public spaces.

Stairs from the Phase 3. | Photo via © Photiadis.gr

Aspra Spitia was completed in three phases, and now boasts 1072 residences housing approximately 3.000 residents. After the completion of the first houses and amenities by Doxiadis Associates, the city expanded both vertically and aesthetically with additions by C.Lembessis, P.Massouridis and M. Photiadis. A series of high rise, larger apartment blocks as well as specific amenities for the individual needs of the workers and the families were erected. These include a business centre, a nursery, and even a Catholic church for servicing the religious needs of the French settlers. One of the most ground breaking amenities was the installation of a sewage water treatment plant, which was the first of its kind in Greece at the time.

A series of specific amenities for the individual needs of the workers and the families were erected, like the nursery. | Photo via © Photiadis.gr

In terms of administration, Aspra Spitia is not far from the purpose-built, model socialist towns of the former Eastern Block. The settlement belongs to Aluminium of Greece (AL), and working in the mines or factories is a prerequisite for obtaining a house or a flat. A point system exists to help fulfil housing needs accurately, allocating the right type of property per household size. Residents are only required to pay a token monthly rent, while all property maintenance and upkeep is handled by the company. Naturally, these privileges last only for the duration of employment. Workers who wish to move on to another company or reach retirement age aren’t eligible to stay anymore: they are required to vacate their house, after making all necessary alternative arrangements. This is a town where people are not expected to grow old, and the reason why a cemetery was never planned as part of the urban grid (the nearest ones can be found in surrounding villages).

If Ekistics is about approaching urban environments in biological terms, then Aspra Spitia possibly holds the secret for urban immortality: free from the mortal vestiges of permanence and ownership, this is a model town that is, and will remain as fresh and tidy as planned over half a century ago.

The Church. | Photo via © astronayths.blogspot.com

The next stop is a few miles across the water from Aspra Spitia, where a forgotten Isthmia Prime Motel presents an abstract expression of three Classical disciplines: architecture, mathematics and music.

The unassuming roadside motel by the Isthmus of Corinth is an intriguing cross between Brutalism and the Classical Orders. | Photo by © Exporabilia

In its heyday, the main motorway linking the greater metropolitan area of Athens to the city of Corinth in the south west was one of the busiest arteries in Greece's road network. Built between 1960 and 1969, the motorway would hug the craggy cliffs outside the capital with its narrow ledge, offering breath-taking, and somewhat dangerous views of the sea below. Vehicles would naturally slow down at the Isthmus of Corinth, the canal that allowed shipping to navigate the strip of land connecting the Peloponnese to Attica. The slow crossing of the Isthmus Bridge enabled passengers to admire the view of the man-made chasm below, and traditionally led to a quick pit stop on the other side of the canal.

The Isthmus region was becoming a very popular weekend escape with Athenians post war. At about one hour drive from the capital, it was near, yet far enough to enjoy the sea and fresh air. Small villas and seaside hotels sprang out in local villages and hamlets for weekenders to escape the hustle and bustle of a rapidly urbanizing Athens.

Panos Spiliotakos presenting his work. | Photo via © ema-arch.com

It is at this popular stopover area past the canal, where the strangely alluring hotel was built in 1969 in a collaboration between composer Iannis Xenakis and urban planner Panos Spiliotakos, two visionary friends expressing their common architectural heritage.

Iannis Xenakis | Photo via © Adelmann Collection of Françoise Xenakis

Xenakis was perhaps the most well-known of the duo. He was a Greek multidisciplinary artist with a passion for music and engineering and an unquestionable aptitude in both. He survived the war suffering a terrible face wound - caused by shrapnel from a shell fired by a British tank into a crowd of Communist protesters demonstrating in the streets of Athens in December 1944. As a qualified engineer, he left for Paris in 1947 where he worked under Le Corbusier at the Unite D'Habitation and Convent De La Tourette.

Le Corbusier with Iannis Xenakis. | Photo © Iannis Xenakis

During that period, and through his own musical culture, Xenakis soon realised that the same complex spatial geometrical patterns applied in Le Corbusier's architecture - the structural calculations, the intersecting tones and curves - could be applied to the composition of music too. His seminal 1955 musical work Metastaseis (lit.transmutations) was inspired by Einsteinian ideas about time and space, and utilised the mathematical principles of the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Section structured around Le Corbusier's architectural calculations. It shocked the world of contemporary music at the time: this was original Brutalist music, with all the sonic cantilevers, rebar and board marking you could handle.

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The Algorithmic Compositions of Metastaseis

Xenakis' knowledge of architecture allowed him to use graphic notation to represent his music. The string glissandi and other musical motions of his piece, representing sonic beams with time on one axis and pitch on another, looked less like sheet music, and more like a blueprint. With Le Corbusier occupied in the construction of Chandigarh in India, Xenakis went on to design the Phillips Pavilion in Brussels Expo 58 on his behalf. It's a unique marriage of music and architecture, with its hyperbolic paraboloid masses deriving from the musical landscape of his own Metastaseis.

Inside the Pavilion, an expansive array of speakers and dials were arranged in an acousmonium: an avant-garde playback device used to spatialize musical scores. The array had been invented in the 1940s by proponents of musique concrète, an experimental circle of composers with whom Xenakis was associated. Further musical scores by Xenakis and Edgard Varese were performed this way throughout the pavilion, creating a unique meta-experience that fused architecture and music like never before.

The Phillips Pavilion in Brussels Expo 1958. | Photo © Wouter Hagens

True to the genius of Iannis Xenakis, the building by the Corinthian Isthmus emanates a classical aura throughout. Built as a modern diversorium (a roadside inn), it reflects the long Graeco-Roman resort heritage of the area. The sulphur baths at nearby Thermae (today's Loutraki) attracted visitors since the antiquity. Many classical villas and baths have been discovered in the region through the years. It makes perfect sense that Isthmia Prime's characteristic main entrance colonnade is made of 12 stern, board-marked concrete columns, a Modernist throwback to the Doric order of the nearby Temple of Apollo. The colonnade is supporting the 3-storey main residential block, with the rooms arranged obliquely to the main axis to maximise the beautiful views of the Gulf of Corinth beyond.

The colonnade is supporting the 3-storey main residential block, with the rooms arranged obliquely to the main axis. | Photo by Exporabilia

The triangular concrete antefixeson the flat roof is another wink to the floral anthemiaof antiquity, the decorative palmettes that adorned the eaves of ancient Greek and Roman buildings. The block is intersected by the reception and services area at ground level, allowing for a practical green area at the front with a star shaped pond. Iannis Xenakis reminded us that rhythm, as symmetrical repetition, is the ancient, supernatural bond that links mathematics, music and architecture. Isthmia Prime is an elegant, if somewhat forgotten example of these classical and artistic traditions, fused expertly together with his characteristic elan.

The building at Corinth is a Modernist throwback to certain familiar artistic traditions of Classical antiquity. At the corollary of this Athenian-centric luminary ethos, there’s a counterpart a Spartan-centric ethos, founded on the principle of selfless sacrifice as the pinnacle of civic achievement. Naturally, there’s less opportunity to go down fighting under a hail of arrows in our day. But dedicating one’s life in the service of the state is here presented as a visual metaphor of Sparta’s finest traditions in the Modernist Necropolis of Magoula.

The waveform of the Magoula Cemetery is symbolic of the up's and downs we go through life. | Photo by Exporabilia

The new city of Sparta was founded in 1834 at the behest of Otto, the Bavarian prince who became the first King of Greece in the aftermath of the nation’s successful war of independence. He embarked on a revivalist program that aimed to modernize and urbanize Greek towns. The project was led by Eduard Schaubert,a Prussian architect and topographer who studied under Karl Friedrich Schinkel in Berlin’s Bauakademie. Schaubert also re-designed Athens, Pireaus and other major Greek cities, finely tuning their plethora of Classical and Byzantine sites with the Neoclassical neighborhoods, squares, and administrative buildings that typified the Greek national revival. This is how Sparta, previously obliterated by the Goths in the 4thcentury, was restored by royal decree in 1837. The re-established Sparta became, in fact, the first of the new Greek towns whose design was based on an actual urban plan – thus breaking with the disorderly, vernacular yoke of medieval urban spaces.

A century later, Sparta remained a quaint agricultural town, virtually unchanged since Schaubert planned it. The beautiful neoclassical facades were crumbling, and the street grid had deteriorated and was unsuitable for the ever-increasing motor vehicle traffic. The sewage system was old, and problematic. What’s more, modern Sparta was a city with a distinctive lack of modern facilities and monuments – it was becoming lethargic, almost as if the Goths had somehow travelled forward in time, sacking it again into oblivion.

There are entrances to either end of the arches, one leading to a small functions area, and another to the ossuary. | Photo by Exporabilia

The man who changed all that was Georgios Sainopoulos, the philanthropist who became mayor of Sparta for two terms, over a period of 8 years between 1964 and 1978 (interrupted by the Colonels’ Junta, who ousted him between 1967 and 1974). Sainopoulos dedicated his life to the improvement of urban life in Sparta, delivering numerous projects related to sport and cultural facilities, new road & water network infrastructure, and monumental public art. The 1964 cemetery at the satellite hamlet of Magoula was created at his behest - this was his birthplace, and where he seemed to make an almost personal statement about his intention to take the city out of its enduring quagmire, and into an era of progress. The cemetery, alongside other luminary philanthropic projects, was realised via donations he secured from close relatives Ioannis and Catherine Sainopoulos, Greek emigres based in Oklahoma, USA. He then invited local architects Charilaos and Sophia Polychronopoulos to deliver his vision of a surprising modern necropolis that exceeded conventional expectations.

Windows reflect the bright Peloponnesian sunshine in the��colors of the CIAM grid green, red, yellow and blue, creating a kaleidoscope of colours inside the space where the funerary chests are kept. | Photo by Exporabilia

Sainopoulos might have been informed by his own experience of monumental modernism as a visitor during the Olympic games of Helsinki in 1952. It would have been an inspirational showcase of Nordic Modernism, exemplifying Olympic ideals, and much of it can still be admired to this day. The waveform these arches form at Magoula is said to be symbolic of the ups and downs we experience throughout life. There are entrances to either end of the arches: one leading to a small functions area, and another to the ossuary, both decorated with saints and religious figures made out of bent rebar. The windows reflect the bright Peloponnesian sunshine in the colours of the CIAM grid: green, red, yellow and blue, creating a kaleidoscope of colors inside the space where the funerary chests are kept.

Ancient Spartan traditions exemplified order and simplicity in all aspects of life, which often carried into funerary rites. Spartans were buried among the living, in anonymous graves inside the city walls. Only those fallen in battle, or women dying in childbirth were deemed important enough to merit their names on gravestones, typically lined up along busy thoroughfares & promenades – therefore transforming their tombs into public monuments. Further inside the Magoula cemetery proper, it is evident that several graves have been created in deviation to the unremarkable, marble-clad basilica orthodoxy of Greek cemeteries: the scale, shapes and materials are different, and there are statues, busts, carvings and funerary symbols that simultaneously reflect a sense of civic grandeur, and a closer affinity to the Western European funerary canon.

Shapes and materials of graves are different, statues and symbols reflect a closer affinity to European funerary traditions. | Photo by Exporabilia

Leonidas, the famous king who fell in Thermopylae was perhaps the most well-known son of Sparta. It is said that his remains were posthumously transferred to Sparta and deposited at Leonideon, a rectangular tomb close to the agora that can still be seen today. And as opposed to the more modern, extra muros Roman burial traditions, there’s consequence in the way that the tombs of all true citizens become very much a part of the living urban space. But especially the tombs of those who, like Leonidas, contributed significantly more to perpetuate the lore of their communities, become monuments of civic pride, and public remembrance. Uniquely, Sainopoulos' own resting place is a sizeable vault, accessible through a flight of steps near the entrance to the cemetery. It is a feature rarely - if ever - seen in contemporary Greek cemeteries, and underlines the important character of the site’s mastermind. Arguably, this space represents a somewhat obscure link between the principled simplicity of the Spartans and the visual clarity of Modernist architecture. Deciphered in the key of the region’s Spartan heritage, the beautiful ensemble at the cemetery of Magoula is so much more than the average burial site usually seen in Greek towns : it is a poignant memorial showcase of lives well lived in the service of the local community, beautifully conveyed through the avant-garde architectural mind set of the 1960s.

An eclectic, monumental ensemble that fuses Classical, Byzantine and Romantic architectural styles. | Photo © M. Hulot

The civic principles of the Hellenistic world eventually clashed with the tenets of Christianity. In Greece this tectonic collision created new philosophical and artistic planes that inadvertently radiated their common roots, despite the necessities of doctrinal contrasts. Understanding this blend is quintessential to understanding the modern Greek psyche. The temple of Agia Foteini of Mantineia is the ideal visual representation for this melding process.

In the sunlit Arcadian plain close to the ancient city of Mantineia, there’s a church like no other. It’s an astonishing melange of styles, combining elements of Classical, Byzantine and Modern architecture, and yet remaining true to none. Its construction is the life’s work of architect and iconographer Kostas who has delivered an epic display of drama, faith and devotion that has astonished and divided ever since.

Heroic Tomb, Jacob’s Well and the Church’s Entrance. | Photo © M. Hulot

Papatheodorou was exposed to gothic religious architecture, particularly influenced by Erwin Von Steinbach's work in Strassbourg Cathedral. After his studies he returned to Greece in 1967, where he worked for the Ministry of Culture, studying further under the architect Dimitris Pikionis. During his tenure there, he was exposed to the idea of building a monumental church on behalf of the Mantineian Association, a cultural group dedicated to the preservation of the antiquities of Ancient Mantineia in the southern region of Peloponnese. Bewildered by the beautiful scenery, the majesty of the ancient site, and the character of local customs, he proposed the design of an extraordinary building that captured the region’s quintessence: a visual link among the Classical, Byzantine and Modern traditions of Arcadia.

A mosaic inside the church. | Photo © M. Hulot

He resigned his public service role in 1970 to dedicate himself to the project, which eventually became a lifelong commitment. No formal contract was drawn, funding was scarce, mostly based on charity grants and donations from locals and members of the Mantineian Association. Driven by an almost divine inspiration, Papatheodorou moved on location, living in a tent pitched next to the site. This way, he could absorb the spirit of the locality, and focus on the formative stages of the project unhindered. He was often seen roaming construction sites and recycling centres in nearby towns, gathering reject materials: cornerstones from demolished townhouses, leftover marble slab fragments, or broken clay tiles from old roofs. He worked mostly alone, collecting, measuring, chiselling the materials, shaping and piecing the fragments together into an astonishing monument that soon began taking shape. His only help was unskilled manual labour provided by local farmhands. The Classical and Byzantine parts and techniques merge into one another on the walls and bell towers of the church, creating a visual disruption that expresses the forward motion of history - as one era blends into another, leaving its indelible mark at the seams of history. The church becomes a visual representation of the area’s disparate yet interlinked memories, converging through the aeons to create a homogeneous body of local culture.

The main entrance. | Photo © M. Hulot

The main structure was completed by 1974, then the interior work began. Inside the church, we see the expression of the architect as an iconographer: The concept of stylistic variety continues, with sequences of religious and pagan themes combining on the mosaics and wall paintings. Classical symbolism such as meanders, pastoral or hunting scenes abound, and figures in ancient togas blend with Christian saints dressed in modern attire, such as jeans and t-shirts. It was too much for a portion of local clergy, who began raising eyebrows: certain offending visuals are then amended to avert the church being characterised as inappropriate for consecration. Conservative circles begin to gossip Papatheodorou, accusing him of irreverence and idolatry. Some others allege that he has unlawfully appropriated materials from the ruined temples and shrines of Ancient Mantineia to incorporate in his church.

But those who recognized and appreciated his work also lend their support – architects, archaeologists and art curators underlines the multidisciplinary reach of his work. The famous Greek painter Yiannis Tsarouchis described the church vividly as fresh water for those in thirst: “When I saw the church, I felt the elation one feels when a justified complaint is suppressed. I’ve heard people characterise Kostas Papatheodorou as an “aping architect”. What I found at the church, however, was a genuine heartbreak, a desperate confession. In our age of fake moralism and ludicrous rationalism, these rare qualities become as important as a vein of fresh water during drought”

The next few years saw the construction of two ancillary buildings, a miniature Classical shrine dedicated to local war heroes, and a fountain with a circular colonnade, representing the biblical fable of Jacob’s Well. The Church is considered work in progress to this day. Some contemporary critics stated that the Church of Agia Foteini of Mantineia is the Greek Sagrada Familia. This may be a somewhat flattering, even inflammatory characterisation for some. There are parallels, however, between the work of Antonio Gaudi and Kostas Papatheodorou as both churches are considered incomplete, both architects deployed their proficiency in a number of related disciplines, incorporating these in their design - ceramics and wrought ironwork for Gaudi, it’s iconography and mosaics for Papatheodorou. Gaudi pioneered the use of trencadís, his famous mosaics made of reject materials, broken tiles, shards of glass, china or shells. Papatheodorou employed a similar technique by fashioning reject materials - such as stones and tiles - as found into walls, towers and mosaics. Last, both architects are inspired by Gothic religious architecture, and they are driven and inspired by their faith, which leads them to wholly devote their lives in their work. Agia Foteini of Mantineia might not have the scale or monumental appeal of the Sagrada Familia. It is however an equally unique spiritual monument, and an important symbol of the historic, cultural and religious ties that bind the people of Arcadia together.

Conceptual Scale Model of the Round School. | Photo © leximata

The resurgent Greek culture of the 19th century was inspired by the glow of its classical heritage, yet emerged fatefully disconnected from it. The impetus with which Greeks used to strive to make sense of what constitutes justice, of what makes an ideal community, or what is good governance - all philosophical questions explored in Plato’s Republic - had become secondary to the medieval moral and civic conventions of the late Byzantine era, and its disastrous outcomes. By the 20th century, a Neo-Hellenic culture has taken hold, characterised by romantic reminiscence, counterproductive self-pity, blind revanchism, and endemic corruption. Inside this purgatory, a vicious circle of astonishing success is always followed by stupefying failure, in an unplanned state of permanent complacency that is always attributed to certain fantastical others. It is a moral decline that Constantine Cavafis alluded to in his poem “Waiting for the Barbarians”, and is without doubt the starting point of the country’s recent string of financial and political failures.

Breaking this craven mould, Takis Zenetos was the Greek modernist architect who demonstrated unbridled optimism and progressive vision through his work. He has a rightful place in my obscure pantheon, another important 20th century personality that epitomized the virtue of living up to one’s own high standards of moral and civic duty.

Round School top down view. | Photo © Dimitris Vosios

Agios Dimitrios (often referred to with its pre-1928 name, Brahami) is one of the most densely populated suburbs of Athens with a density comparable to Cairo or Seoul. The typical expedience and maladministration that characterized post-war Greece has left its indelible mark in the suburb’s architecture: its arbitrarily arranged streets define pocket upon pocket of unimaginative apartment blocks that connect to those of surrounding suburbs to form a veritable sea of concrete and tarmac. This is the result of the “flats for land” legislation of 1929, which enabled owners to give up their neoclassical houses in return for a flat or two in the uninspiring concrete tenements and high rises that soon began to blot out the quaint early 20c. suburban landscape. The desperate measure was initially brought in to manage the pressing housing needs of destitute immigrants from Asia Minor in the 1920s and 1930s. The 1.6 million displaced were joining a country of 5 million. This summary convenience was extended to solve later rapid urbanisation problems, such as the Axis occupation and its aftermath. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, people fled the Civil War and the prospect of a hard life in their devastated villages and sought a better future in the capital, whose extant high density infrastructure had been equally ruined in a month of tenacious urban confrontation between Communist guerrillas and Government forces (the Decembriana of 1944).

The new architecture principle is educational autonomy, its curves disrupt the sea of high rise blocks that surround it. | Photo © Thomas Andreopoulos

This short term, anarchic character of Greece’s urban planning mentality was deeply troubling for Takis Zenetos. Born and active in Athens for most of his life, he must have witnessed the entire devastating process first-hand: the consequence of conflict in the capital’s urban grid, coupled with the inexcusable sloppiness of the state managing it. The occupation interrupted his studies at the National Technical University (the Metsovion), but in 1945 he moved to Paris to continue at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts under Otello Zavaroni. He was influenced by the order and principles of Modernist architecture in France, before coming back to Athens to practice in 1955. For the next decade, Zenetos designed and built sensational, distinctively Modernist factories, apartment blocks and private villas, always in partnership with his friend Margaritis Apostolidis.

In 1962, Zenetos presented his theoretical concept of Electronic Urbanism founded upon his understanding that science and technology will revolutionize human living. He imagined the new social interaction and communication protocols of the future world; his ideas describe, in principle, what we know today as email, video calling and cloud sharing. His faith in the catalytic influence these would have in our daily lives was well ahead of its time, and informed his architectural designs. His “Furniture 2000”, a multimedia lounge chair for controlling the connected household of the future won a honorable mention in at the Interdesign 2000 competition in 1967.

Furniture 2000 | Photo via Tomorrows project

Zenetos envisaged futuristic networked cities, evolving around frameworks of massive, flexible cables. These web-like networks would solve the problem of urban regeneration once and for all, allowing the constituent components of the urban landscape - such as buildings, services, or amenities - to attach and detach, becoming replaceable parts of a whole that would easily adapt to the flow of an evolution driven by technology. At the same time, the natural environment would remain at ground level, unaffected. It would have been a landscape pure from infrastructure, with high-tech cities literally hanging from the skies.

Takis Zenetos The Hanging Hotel (1967). | Photo via Mascontext

We can take a glimpse at this unconventional approach, the capacity to innovate, his desire to disrupt the grim post-war urban architecture of Athens at the Round School of Agios Dimitrios. The Modernist rotunda is perhaps his most ambitious surviving work, and the one that still remains closest to his vision – since many of the private residences and factories he designed have either been demolished by municipal authorities on a whim and without consultation, or significantly altered. The reason the school survives mostly unaltered can be credited to the way Zenetos infused the built structure with his vision.

But there’s also a visual message. A new language emerges in the refined way the Round School’s Modernist curves disrupt the sea of high-rise blocks that surround it. This is an empowering environment of uniqueness and self-determination, and an anti-hierarchical symbolism designed to unclutter the young minds from the institutional architectural cues they are confronted by in educational spaces. It’s a bastion against the inner-city uniformity of Agios Dimitrios, of any Greek town. By raising the bar well above the Ministry of Education’s typology of schoolhouse ergonomics, Zenetos created an outstanding building that facilitates communication with its occupants, and a space that attunes them to the concept of individuality. His message hasn’t been lost to many generations of students, many of whom still reminisce of their journey in learning at the Round School with feelings of immense pride and appreciation.

The Round School is a personal statement, a defiant stand against an overwhelming standard of mediocrity. | Photo © Thano Baf

There’s no other Greek school like it, either before, or after this veritable piece de resistance. It is different, inspiring, a beautiful affront to an entire country’s post-war urban architecture manual. It is the product of a vision lost, but not entirely forgotten. Zenetos grew increasingly alienated by the lack of appreciation for his futuristic vision by the establishment. Frustrated by his inability to influence the change he believed in with all his heart, he took his own life in 1977.

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#FOMA 37: Evan Panagopoulos

Evan Panagopoulos is the urban storyteller behind alternative site Explorabilia. He’s an avid fan of Brutalist and Mid-century architecture, likes engaging with abandoned spaces and obscure history, and expresses what he’s passionate about through writing and photography. His Forgotten Greece tour is available to book on Airbnb and Atlas Obscura.

#forgotten masterpieces #foma

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bopinion · 3 years ago

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2021 / 33

Aperçu of the Week:

"You must not believe everything you think!"

(Heinz Erhardt, German humorist of the 1950s)

Bad News of the Week:

Joe Biden currently faces as much criticism for developments in Afghanistan as any other leader in the Western "alliance against terror." One could have assessed the strength of the Taliban just as well as the weakness of the Afghan government and its army trained and equipped by the West. The estimates of the intelligence services should have been questioned, diplomats should have been listened to better. The predicament of the so-called "local forces" could have been avoided. This is obviously confusing cause and effect.

It was the Republican George W. Bush (or rather the hawks around Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz) who started the so-called "war on terror", first in Afghanistan, and invented the carte blanche of pre-emptive strikes with the Bush Doctrine ("National Security Strategy"). For those interested in the background, Bob Woodward's book "Bush at War" is highly recommended. And it was Republican Donald J. Trump who signed the virtually unconditional troop withdrawal agreement with the Taliban last year, which is now being executed according to plan. To now blame the current administration for the development is ridiculous.

Equally ridiculous is the current pretense that the Afghanistan campaign was a success. After all, its objective was to dry up the retreats of Al-Qaeda and, above all, to kill Osama bin Laden. Fun facts on the side: none (!) of the 19 attackers of 9/11 came from Afghanistan, Iraq or the African Horn, but 15 (!) from Saudi Arabia, like bin Laden himself. But especially for the Bush family the Sunni fundamentalists from Saudi Arabia have always been untouchable. And where was bin Laden finally caught and killed? In Abbottabad. And that is not in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan.

According to Time the rise on Taliban would have been impossible "without Pakistan's shelter and support". Associated Press writes about the role of Islamabad that it "does permit the Taliban leadership on its territory and its wounded warriors receive treatment in Pakistani hospitals. Their children are in school in Pakistan and some among them own property. Some among Pakistan's politicians have rebranded the insurgents as 'the new, civilized Taliban.'" To understand the complex relationship between the two states, it helps to look at the history books. Spoiler alert: it's not the U.S. that's to blame, but the British.

The hereditary enmity - yes, you can call it that by now - is based on the so-called "Durand line." The British colonel who gave it its name drew a border line between the two states, which had strategic reasons but completely ignored ethnic regionality. Thus, the West's ignorance of the cultural distinctiveness of this region already has a long history. The Durand Line cut right through the tribal areas of the Pashtuns. After the Pashtuns proclaimed "their" state Afghanistan, this border was of course never officially recognized. And independence or affiliation efforts of the cut Pashtuns, often on the brink of civil war, were actively supported. In turn, Pakistan has been trying to destabilize the Afghan state with political and economic measures for almost 70 years.

What do we learn from this? It has never worked when a Western power has tried to impose its values on a colonial people, ignoring their culture and history. Not with the British in Central Asia, not with the French in Indochina, not with the Americans in Korea or Vietnam. Or before that the Spanish in South America or practically all Europeans in Africa. So have we learned that by now? I'm afraid not...

Good News of the Week:

During the lockdowns, there was a real boom in Germany to get pets. The cat was supposed to replace the missing social contacts, the dog to guarantee the possibility to leave the domestic quarantine. So not the best conditions to ensure the welfare of the creatures - pets are not toys!

The thematically responsible cabinet member, Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner, now wants to counteract with new animal welfare regulations. Thus for example the chain keeping of dogs is to be forbidden, they must get daily at least one hour free run and also the puppy raising is to become more kind-fair. And also in the zoo specialized trade more expert knowledge becomes obligatory, in order to prevent among other things that domestic animals are given into a care, which could not be animal appropriate.

In the wake of recent developments such as the ban on chick shredding, the requirement for more species-appropriate housing with more space for cows and "employment material" for pigs, and the ban on imports of wild birds, this gives me hope. Of course, these are all just (too) small steps, but at least they are going in the right direction.

Sidenote: Tonight my son gets a "vacation dog" for two weeks once again. So the requirement "at least one hour of exercise in the fresh air per day" will not only apply to the dog Tzela, but also to the prospective professional gamer... ;-)

Personal happy moment of the week:

I could listen to music all the time. And of course, in a family household, I can't ruthlessly "acoustically dominate" everyone all the time. And I like good sound quality - so 5.1 surround sound for Netflix, DAB in the car and HomePods in the living room are a must. In addition, the increasingly digitalized communication in the home office with web conferences and Teams meetings demands a good headset. The solution for everything is - of course - good headphones. So last year I did a test run for several weeks with a pair of cheap Bluetooth headphones to see if I could live well with a permanent Mickey Mouse on my head. It made sense before investing, because after all, there were more and more rumors last year that Apple would eventually merge its experiences with AirPods and Beats by Dr. Dre into its own high-end headphones.

And then they really came on the market: the AirPods Max. When I finally went to order them as a birthday present to myself, my ears were shaking: more than three months of delivery time? OMG... No wonder that in that time span (and at my age) I had at some point forgotten that yes, there was still something in the pipeline. Until I finally got them last Thursday. And they also fully met my expectations. Now I'm happy, my roommates have their peace and everyone else has something to laugh about when I'm out and about with "Apple's purse" (because that's exactly what they look like in their Smart case).

I couldn't care less...

...that possible coalition partners of the German government after the elections at the end of September are already bickering about the typical German topic "speed limit on highways". As a driver of an electric car, I hardly ever drive faster than 100 km/h anyway. I prefer to stay in the right lane "attached to" a bus with cruise control and distance radar and ride towards my exit in a relaxed manner. And the famous, equally typical German driving pleasure? I get it from the barely comparable acceleration power - with which I can overtake practically everywhere and also make most of the big gasoline-powered cars look stupid at the traffic lights. Nice!

As I write this...

...I run every ten minutes first to the basement and then upstairs to the office. In the former, the freezer is defrosting and I have to constantly wipe up the new puddle of ice water from the floor. And in the second, the system update is running on the Mac and I have to keep clicking "Okay" - or read for what feels like the seventeenth time that the next step will take "about five more minutes". Every third time I go over to the neighbors, whose cat I'm taking care of for the weekend, to see if the madam has deigned to show her face, so that I can let her into the garden. Presumably the activity rings on the Apple Watch tonight will let me know I've had an athletic day.... ;-)

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lewisclark019-blog · 6 years ago

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Hoverboards Christmas Sale in UK 2018

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rankertopgoogle · 1 year ago

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usman-1234 · 3 years ago

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R3 Stem Cell Clinic Pakistan

Introduction

R3 stem cell offers these stem cell therapies for several diseases and conditions, such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease, and regulates patients with:

Arthritis

Diabetes

Erectile Dysfunction

Kidney Failure

COPD

Autoimmune Diseases

Cartilage Defects

Diabetes

Neck & Back Pain

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sciatica

Stroke

Chronic illnesses

Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells are cells with the possibility to form into a wide range of kinds of cells in the body. They serve as a maintenance framework for the body. They are unspecialized, so they can't do specific functions in the body.

The primary goals of stem cells are that they can transform themselves into any type of cells present in the body.

They repair, regenerate and replace those cells which are dead or affected by diseases.

Stem cells provide new cells to the body as they grow, and replaced specialized cells that are harmed or lost because of any disease. They have two extraordinary properties that empower them to do this. They can divide again and again to deliver new cells. As they divide, they can change into different sorts of cells that make up the body. Stem cells, if they can be coordinated to separate into different cell types, offer the chance of a sustainable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat sicknesses including Parkinson's, stroke, heart disease, and diabetes.

R3 Stem Cell’s Procedures

Currently, there are several sorts of regenerative procedures available to individuals which will involve stem cells, growth factors, exosomes, cytokines, and more.

For the past several years, umbilical cord stem cell therapy has been used excessively. All of the best and qualitative R3 Stem Cell centers use that is correctly taken and processed at FDA-certified labs.

In the same way that the umbilical cord, placenta, and amniotic fluid protect the growing baby and help it grow, these biological cells have been determined to be effective in stimulating repair, restore, and regenerate damaged tissues within the body. It’s been very interesting to visualize the outstanding outcomes achieved with the usage of umbilical cord materials!

R3 stem cell merges Consumer Guide to Amniotic and Umbilical stem cell Therapy.

R3 Stem Cell Pakistan’s Perspectives

R3 Stem Cell Pakistan is proud to offer advanced regenerative medicine procedures to help patients say goodbye to surgical treatments. Modern biological researches have already brought completely safe and non-surgical treatments to the world through stem cell rejuvenation procedures.

We’re Pakistan’s leading healthcare center to bring such a ground-breaking medical discovery to the country that has the potential to treat more than 82 chronic diseases and illnesses. It is to the credit of R3 Stem Cell for bringing FDA — USA and DRAP — Pakistan regulated stem cell rejuvenation treatment herein Pakistan.

#stem cell therapy #stem cell therapy clinic #stem cell treatment #alternative treatment #stem cell therapy clinic in Pakistan

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estateworld · 3 years ago

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annieboltonworld · 4 years ago

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Juniper Publishers- Open Access Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources

Different Land Scaping Design in Bagh E Jinnah (Cantonment Board Nowshera)

Authored by Abdur Rehman

Abstract

A general field experiment about "different landscape design in bagh e Jinnah cantonment board Nowshehra” was carried out about the landscaping and maintenance of parks and avenues etc. under cantonment board. The internship was done to identify lot of plants and main purpose of this project was to assess the different phases of landscaping and an effort was made to learn different aspects of its practical implementation with such a renounced organization. During this project we learnt about landscape plants (especially identification of plant species), Softscape and Hardscape. It was good research in gaining the practical knowledge and implementation of design and maintenance of the park as well as to know about the tremendous varieties of trees, shrubs, ground cover, cactus, seasonal flower, palm trees, climber and creeper This project enabled us to identify different ornamental plants and properly manage to arrange them and design an eye catching landscape and practically implement these types of projects without presence of head instructor.

Keywords: Nowshera; Cantonment; Baghejanah; Softscape

Introduction

First of all we have to understand Landscape and Landscaping to have clear idea. Landscape is a piece of land having natural and build environment including both living and non-living things. e.g., plants, trees, birds, fountains, walls, electrification. It is the art and science of developing or transforming a piece of land in such a way that is gets aesthetic value and becomes more functional. Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as (ice-capped) mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of land use, buildings and structures, and transitory elements such as lighting and weather conditions [1].

There are two types of landscaping, one is Softscape and another is Hardscape which are described. Softscape is that part of landscape which consists of living things or natural things and with which landscape architecture work, such as plant materials and soil itself. It is also known as Non-permanent part of landscape. Hardscape is the non-natural or dead portion of landscaping. It is also known as Permanent part of landscaping e.g., walls, irrigation pipes, electrification, sculptures, and fountains etc. It is also known as Non-living or Permanent part of landscaping.

History of Landscape Architecture

The history of landscape is very much old and anyone can not specifically say about the history of landscaping. However, it is said that history of landscaping came into being in Bronze Age 4000-1000 BMA.”Landscape architecture” was first used by Gilbert Laing Meason in his book On the Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters of Italy (London, 1828). Olmsted and Vaux then in 1863 adopted ‘landscape architect’ as a professional title and used it to describe their work for the planning of urban park systems. Landscape architecture has since become a worldwide profession, submitted for recognition by the International Labor Organization and represented on a world-wide basis by the International Federation of Landscape Architects. Garrett Eckbo and Dan Kiley were prominent modernist landscape architects in the mid-20th century. Their work is represented by a shift away from what might be termed the "Wild Garden" aesthetic of earlier landscape architects influenced by Romantic Naturalism, and toward a more spare and rectilinear aesthetic.

Importance of Landscaping

There are numerous benefits of landscaping. It transforms ugly and dull areas into beautiful and spectacular ones. It is possible to alter ordinary homes into spectacular ones and office buildings into warm, livable spaces through careful landscaping. Professional landscaping increases property value of homes. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recommends that "you invest 10 % of your home's value in landscaping. This invest enhance your property appearance and can increase 20% of your home's value" Increases the value of your home. Makes your home more attractive to prospective purchaser reduces the time your property is on the market reduces heating and cooling costs reduction of storm water runoff reducing local flooding. Control temperature extremes, stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter erosion control reducing loss of soils in waterways.

Reduction in evaporation and soil degradation creates a healthier home by filtering pollutants and providing cleaner air. Keeps the family fit by fostering an active lifestyle. Creates a beautiful environment to decrease your stress levels provides privacy creates green buffer zones to increase the livability of our communities. Local noise and heat reduction attractive environment for entertaining and relaxing enhances livability of high density developments. A cantonment is a military or police quarters. The word cantonment is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district. Cantonments in Pakistan are permanent military stations, which are administered by Cantonment Boards under the control of the Military Lands & Cantonments Department (ML&CD), Ministry of Defense and Government of Pakistan. Cantonments are established under and governed by the Cantonments Act 1924. The powers and functions of the Cantonment Board are synonymous to Municipal Committees in the cities.

The Cantonment Board is an organ of the local government and is free to formulate policies for local development within the frame work of the Cantonments Act and other Government Regulations. All Cantonments Board work under the administrative control of the Director General, Military Lands and Cantonments the Director General issues various directives on important policy matters from time to time and the Cantonment Boards comply with the same. The Cantonment Executive Officer is the principal executive at the local level. The Board normally decides and lays down policies and the Executive Officer executes these policies. He is the chief exponent of the Board’s policies. He acts as an adviser and is a permanent Officer specially trained in local administration. He is sufficiently empowered to carry out the policies and decisions and ensure adherence to the various laws and bye-laws. Cantonment Board is a public benefit corporation responsible for providing municipal services in the Nowshera. There are different departments which are assigned different tasks and they are performing their duties, functions and responsibilities for the management and beautification of the city.CBN is responsible for coordinating all endeavors for the development of the whole of region so that unity of purpose is ensured at all times.

Responsibilities and Services

Act as Regulatory Authority

a) Building Code Standards.

b) Environment Standards.

c) Public Safety Standards.

Maintenance

a) Local Roads Maintenance and Repair Work.

b) Public Infrastructure Maintenance.

c) Garbage Collection

Developer and Planner

Future planning

Objectives of Internship

a) To understand the basic horticulture and landscape activities (Soft and Hardscape) which were done by cantonment board nowshera.

b) To acquire knowledge about landscape plant species. i. e. trees, shrubs, creepers, hedge plants, edge plants, ground covers, climbers, seasonal lowers, its importance and proper utilization.

c) To identify the problems faced in the field during implementation.

d) To get over all practical experience of landscaping.

Review of Literature

The aim of this chapter is report the previous studies of different researchers regarding landscape planning in conservation of environment. As this is a bit new for Pakistan as well as for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and very limited work is done on this important field. Anyhow, some references from abroad are viewed to understand the subject. Keeping in view the nature of problem, the findings of previous research are discussed in the following paragraphs [2]. Explained that Landscapes, their character and quality, help define the self-image of a region, its sense of place that differentiates it from other regions. It is the dynamic backdrop to people's lives. The Earth has a vast range of landscapes including the icy landscapes of polar regions, mountainous landscapes, vast arid desert landscapes, islands and coastal landscapes, densely forested or wooded landscapes including past boreal forests and tropical rainforests, and agricultural landscapes of temperate and tropical regions [3] designed a survey to determined public landscape.

Results indicated that 90% ofthe respondents felt that grasses have ornamental value and 96% felt that municipalities should utilize these plants material and public landscape [4]. Explained several landscape architects practicing in the 1980s and 1990s moved the discipline beyond its roots in High Modernism. These include Martha Schwartz, Peter Walker, and Michael Van Valkenburgh. Starting in the mid-1990s, a new disciplinary shift occurred toward what has been called Landscape Urbanism, a term that attempts to merge urban design, infrastructure design and landscape [5]. Described that Landscape may be further reviewed under the following specific categories: landscape art, cultural landscape, landscape ecology, landscape planning, landscape assessment and landscape design. The activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land is named Landscaping [6]. Green design and sustainable landscaping are not just buzz-words for environmentalism but can be sold to owners and developers to be a value-added component of the construction process. Once the project is complete, sustainable landscape will continue to add value to the property in time as the landscaping grows and matures [7].

Reports that the failure of urban landscape to meet the modern requirements of the users and the interest of some professionals provide a background against which any new design can be viewed [8] mentioned that Landscape architecture' was then taken up by John Claudius Loudon and used to describe a specific type of architecture, suited to being placed in designed landscapes. Loudon was admired by the American designer and theorist Andrew Jackson Downing and 'landscape architecture' was the subject of a chapter in Downing’s book A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America (1841) [9]. formulated a study in Atlanta to examine the association between the Physiological health of the community and physical environment (e.g., landscaping and nearby land use) and socio cultural environment (e.g., population density and income). Results indicated that the characteristics physical and sociocultural environments were about equally important in explaining the variations in the psychological health of the community [10] installation of landscape is considered a cost effective way to reduce adverse effects of polluted or stressful environments. Tolerance of plants to environmental and man- made stresses varies with species and cultivar. Nebraska, USA and Hungary have many climatic and geophysical similarities. Irish (2000) describes that importance of landscape planting in modern town planning for the production of high quality environment. Data are given from questionnaire determining the requirements for land for different leisure activities in relation to age groups [11].

It argued that sustainable landscape planning and use depends on understandings the nature-culture relationship, the natural world, human needs and spirituality; being towards of the country side; recognizing the importance of natural process; engaging an ecological design and restoration; and conduction responsible tourism in sustainable landscapes [12] conducted an experiment on students, who were under stress because of examination. He divided them into two groups. One group was taken into parks while other remained in the hostels. After Lapse of time, students taken into the gardens were no more stress, so he concluded that parks and green places play very positive role in reducing mental stress and tension [13] discussed the development of the awareness of the need for rural landscape planning in Japan. The aspects in which such a plan must be taken into account are including the need for landscape resources to be used in relation to the environment in which they are set and culture of the population of the area. Present land use produces a disorganized appearance to the landscape and the quality of the landscape is declining continuously due to the various developments and changes, which are taking place. Such development gives a complex landscape and simplification of the existing pattern would be a step towards improvement.

Harris (1992) outlines a plan for public recreation and he involved consolation with the Department of environment, community interested groups, other governmental Department and authorities, undertaking numerous field trips, inspection of Fara, publicity and suggested comprehensive partnership for the establishment of public parks, landscape, conservation of environment , cultural and historic features [14]. reported that people might get recovered from mental fatigue in parks and green spaces. Similarly the condition from senile people can be improved with contacts with natural environments Grahn (1991), [15] conducted a survey and notices that the second important thing after marriage is parks. However, Getz et al. (1982) conducted an experiment on road side plantation and conducted that most important thing after education is parks. So we can see the importance of landscaping from these statements Barbaro et al. (2004). Respective influence of habitat conditions and management regimes on prealpine calcareous grasslands.

Plan of Work

This is the most important chapter of the project. This chapter includes all the practical methods adopted to complete the project. Here we will discuss how we practically perform project with CBN.

Planning the project

In Cantonment Board Nowshera, our co-advisor Mr.KhawarRiaz planned the project. He said that first you people should learn and memorize so many plants, trees, shrubs, ground covers, flowers and different ornamental plants that are used in landscaping and collected bio data of each plants, then visit different places in which landscaping is already done, most of the landscaping was planned by. After that we allowed to perform practically. We started our project in the following manner by visiting these places one by one.

I. CBN Nursery

II. Visit to different Cantt areas

III. Collect bio data of each plants

IV. Landscaping in Bagh e Jinnah

I. CBN Nursery

First of all we visited nursery and meet Mr Shujat, working as supervisor. He instructed about different plants their propagation, type, flower color and their usage in landscaping. There we learnt those plants which were not present in our university nursery. Some of them are

a) Trees (Table 1).

b) Shrubs (Table 2).

c) Climber and creepers (Table 3).

d) Summer flower (Table 4).

e) Ground cover: Duranta, Iresen, Euphorbia, Nenthera, Silvery, Silver dust, Junipers, Rascus, Eunanimus japonica, Rasilia, Chlorphytum, Black grass, Keronda, exocaria,

f) Palm: Phoenix palm, Kangi palm, Ravenia palm, Italian palm, Alexander palm, cana palm , washingtonia, becaurnia , Bottle palm, bismarkia, fish tail palm, little lady palm

g) Indoor plants: Aloe vera, syngonium, purple heart,coleus, dracaena, zebra plant, English ivy, agloanema, begonia rex, schefflera, money plant (golden pothus) crussulabrophylum, asparagus, aurocaria.

After training for one week in the nursery we were able to know different plants visually, and then we visited such places where proper landscaping along with plenty of ornamental plants was arranged. We were advised by our co-advisor to visit cantt area, he gave us brief description about the landscape design. He appointed two guides for our visit of the entire cantt area and showed us the landscape arrangements. There we saw beautiful landscaping along with a lot of roses, ground cover, shrubs and different ornamental plants and trees. Here are some pictures cantt. The locality visited added a lot to our knowledge and was very enjoyable because we saw landscaping like European countries in Pakistan. Here are some pictures of the town landscaping.

III. Collection the bio data of plants

The main aim of the internship was to know about the ground and park activities of the garden branch of cantonment board with focus to acquire information regarding plants with special emphasis on the following:

a. Trees

b. Shrubs

c. Ground cover

d. Summer flower

e. Palm trees

f. Indoor plants

a. Trees: Trees are valuable assets providing many benefits such as an attractive outlook, shade, wildlife habitat, serve as screen as well as protect from wind, release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide and dust particles. The detail of the five trees species are below:

i. Alastonia: Alstonia is a widespread genus of evergreen trees, family Apocynaceae. Alstonia consists of about 40-60 species, native to tropical and subtropical Africa, Central America, southeast Asia, Polynesia and Australia, with most species in the Malesian region.These trees can grow very large, such as Alstoniapneumatophora, recorded with a height of 60 m and a diameter of more than 2 m.

ii. Chinnar trees: latanusorientalis, or oriental plane, is a large, deciduous tree of the Platanaceae family, growing to 30 m (98 ft) or more and known for its longevity and spreading crown. The oriental plane is found naturally in revering settings, together with such trees as alder, willow and poplar. However, it is quite capable of survival and success in dry soils once it is established. Like other plane trees, its leaves are borne alternately on the stem, deeply lobed, and palmate or maple-like [16].

iii. Eucalyptus: It is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs family, Myrtaceae.. There are more than 700 species of eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small number are found in adjacent areas of New Guinea and Indonesia. One species, Eucalyptus deglupta, ranges as far north as the Philippines. Only fifteen species occur outside Australia, with just nine of these not occurring in Australia. Species of eucalyptus are cultivated widely in the tropical and temperate world, including the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, China and the Indian Subcontinent, though most species do not tolerate frost [4].

iv. Pines: These are evergreen, coniferous resinous trees growing 3-80 m tall, with the majority of species reaching 15-45 m tall. The smallest are Siberian dwarf pine and Potosi pinyon, and the tallest is a 268.35-foot 81.79-meter tall [9].

v. Azadirachtaindica: It is known as Neem and Indian Lilac is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta and is native to India and the Indian subcontinent including Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Typically growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Neem trees now also grow in islands in the southern part of Iran. Its fruits and seeds are the source of Neem oil [17].

b. Shrubs

i. Hibiscus: Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek word which was the name Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40-90) gave to Althaea officinalis [5].

ii. Gardenia: Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania. They are evergreen shrubs and small trees growing to 1-15 metres (3.3-49.2 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three or four, 5-50 centimetres (2.0-19.7 in) long and 3-25 centimetres (1.2-9.8 in) broad, dark green and glossy with a leathery texture. The flowers are solitary or in small clusters, white, or pale yellow, with a tubular-based corolla with 5-12 lobes (petals) from 5-12 centimetres (2.04.7 in) diameter. Flowering is from about mid-spring to midsummer and many species are strongly scented [18].

iii. Cestrum nocturnum: Cestrum nocturnum is a species of Cestrum in the plant family Solanaceae (the potato family). The species is native to the West Indies, but naturalized in South Asia. Common names include Raatraani, "Night Queen", night-blooming cestrum, Hasna Hena, lady of the night, queen of the night, night-blooming Jessamine and night-blooming jasmine. It is an evergreen woody shrub growing to 4 metres (13 ft) tall. There is also a variety with yellowish flowers. There are mixed reports regarding the toxicity of foliage and fruit

iv. Cestrum diurnum: Oestrum diurnum (Din Ka Raja) is a species of Cestrum, native to the West Indies. Common names include Day-blooming Cestrum, Day-blooming Jessamine, and Day-blooming Jasmine. Also known as Din ka Raja (King of the day), in Urdu and Hindi. The scent of this quick-growing and evergreen woody shrub, often used for screens and borders, is released by day. Cestrum diurnum is easily propagated from the seed, which it produces in abundance [19].

c. Summer flower

i. Zinnia: Zinnia is a genus of 20 species of annual and perennial plants of the family Asteraceae. They are native to scrub and dry grassland in an area stretching from the Southwestern United States to South America, with a centre of diversity in Mexico. Members of the genus are notable for their solitary long-stemmed flowers that come in a variety of bright colors. The genus name honors German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn [7].

ii. Balsam: Impatiens balsamina (garden balsam, garden jewelweed, rose balsam, touch-me-not) is a species of Impatiens native to southern Asiain India and Burma. It is an annual plant growing to 20-75 cm tall, with a thick, but soft stem [20].

iii. Cockscomb: Celosia is a small genus of edible and ornamental plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word kelos, meaning "burned,” and refers to the flame-like flower heads. Species are commonly known as wool flowers, or, if the flower heads are crested by fasciations, cockscombs. The plants are well known in East Africa's highlands and are used under their Swahili name, fungus.

iv. Helianthus or sunflower: It is Greek word Helios "sun" and hanthos, "flower” is a genus of plants comprising about 52 species in the Asteraceae family, all of which are native to North America. The common name "sunflower” also applies to the popular annual species Helianthusannuus. The genus is one of many in the Asteraceae that are known as sunflowers. It is distinguished technically by the fact that the ray flowers, when present, are sterile, and by the presence on the disk flowers of a pappus that is of two awn-like scales that are cauducous i.e., easily detached and falling at maturity [3].

v. Cosmos: Cosmos are herbaceous perennial plants growing 0.3-2 m (1 ft 0 in-6 ft 7 in) tall. The leaves are simple, pinnate, or bipinnate, and arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are produced in acapitulum with a ring of broad ray florets and a center of disc florets; flower color is very variable between the different species. The genus includes several ornamental plants popular in gardens. Numerous hybrids and cultivars have been selected and named.

d. Indoor plant

i. Aglaonema: It is a genus of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae. They are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. They are known commonly as Chinese evergreens. These are evergreen perennial herbs with stems growing erect or decumbent and creeping. Stems that grow along the ground may root at the nodes. There is generally a crown of wide leaf blades which in wild species are often variegated with silver and green coloration. Plants of the genus are native to humid, shady tropical forest habitat [21].

ii. Dracaena: Dracaena derived from the romanized form of the Ancient Greek - drakaina, "female dragon”), is a genus of about 40species of trees and succulent shrubs. It has also formerly been separated (sometimes with Cordyline) into the family Dracaenaceae or placed in the Agavaceae (now Agavoideae). The majority of the species are native to Africa, with a few in southern Asia and one in tropical Central America. The segregate genus Pleomele is now generally included in Dracaena. The genus Sanseviera is closely related, and has recently been synonymized under Dracaena in the Kubitzki system [2].

iii. Begonia: Begonia is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains about 1,400 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown indoors as ornamental houseplants in cooler climates. In cooler climates some species are cultivated outside in summertime for their bright colourful flowers, which have sepals but no petals [8].

iv. Coleus: Coleus was a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. In recent classifications, the genus is no longer recognized, and the formerly included species are instead placed in the genera Plectranthus and Solenostemon. Because the type species, Coleus amboinicus is now placed in Plectranthus, Coleus is regarded as a synonym of Plectranthus. The term "coleus” is often used as a common name for species formerly placed in the genus Coleus that are cultivated as ornamental plants, particularly Coleus blumei (Solenostemonscutellarioides), which is popular as a garden plant for its brightly colored foliage [22-28].

IV. Landscaping in Bagh e Jinnah

After visiting different places, we were instructed to a task to draw some designs on paper and the best drawing was selected by the supervisor to practically perform the design without any help of landscaper or administrator. We practiced 4-5 designs there in which one is selected [29-31]. In this design we utilized duranta, Irseen, Nenthera, euphorbia, washingtonia and bismarkia. Some pictures are taken before and after the work which is given below:

Summary

Major emphasis of the internship was to know about the ongoing activities pertaining to landscaping and maintenance of parks and avenues etc. under cantonment board. The internship was done to identify lot of plants and main purpose of this project was to assess the different phases of landscaping and an effort was made to learn different aspects of its practical implementation with such a renounced organization. During this project we learnt about landscape plants (especially identification of plant species), Softscape and Hardscape. The horticulture staff in Cantonment Board was very cooperative and well experienced. They were well aware of day today changes in the field and bringing those changes in Cantt Area. It was good internship in gaining the practical knowledge and implementation of design and maintenance of the park as well as to know about the tremendous varieties of trees, shrubs, ground cover, cactus, seasonal flower, palm trees, climber and creeper. This project enabled us to identify different ornamental plants and properly manage to arrange them and design an eye catching landscape and practically implement these type of projects without presence of head instructor. I got the chance to handle few running projects in Bagh e Jinnah at Canttarea. In short, the project was much beneficial for us and enhanced our creativity.

Recommendations

As it is clear that landscaping is highly conceptual and technical task, so a lot of flaws were there in design and its implementation mostly due to unskilled labors and shortage of some expansive plants, to minimize the cost of landscape structures. Some of them are listed below:

a) A lot of weed problem was there in grass/turf lands (parks), so before grass/turf implementation the land should be properly prepared by special treatments.

b) Some of the work was carried out by contractors and not by professionals, so there should be right person for right job to have quality work.

c) Repetition of some designs was there which were destroying the whole symmetry, so there should be innovation in designs to have more esthetic value.

d) Maintenance of landscape designs and plantation must be managed properly.

e) There should be a botanical garden for the knowhow and interest of the public.

For more articles in Open Access Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/ijesnr/index.php

#juniper publishers publons #Juniper Publishers Review #Geography #Mineralogy #Climatology #Aquatic Ecology #sustainability #natural resources

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brookstonalmanac · 4 years ago

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Events 11.30

977 – Emperor Otto II lifts the siege at Paris and withdraws. His rearguard is defeated while crossing the Aisne River by Frankish forces under King Lothair III. 1707 – The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida. 1718 – King Charles XII of Sweden dies during a siege of the fortress of Fredriksten in Norway. 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Treaty of Paris: In Paris, representatives from the United States and Great Britain sign preliminary peace articles (later formalized as the 1783 Treaty of Paris). 1786 – The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, becomes the first modern state to abolish the death penalty (later commemorated as Cities for Life Day). 1803 – The Balmis Expedition starts in Spain with the aim of vaccinating millions against smallpox in Spanish America and Philippines. 1803 – In New Orleans, Spanish representatives officially transfer the Louisiana Territory to an official from the French First Republic. Just 20 days later, France transfers the same land to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase. 1804 – The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate begins an impeachment trial of Federalist Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. 1829 – First Welland Canal opens for a trial run, five years to the day from the ground breaking. 1853 – Crimean War: Battle of Sinop: The Imperial Russian Navy under Pavel Nakhimov destroys the Ottoman fleet under Osman Pasha at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey. 1864 – American Civil War: The Confederate Army of Tennessee suffers heavy losses in an attack on the Union Army of the Ohio in the Battle of Franklin. 1872 – The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England. 1883 – The style of western calendar, Common Era is conveyed to Joseon (Early-Modern Korean kingdom). 1916 – Costa Rica signs the Buenos Aires Convention, a copyright treaty. 1934 – The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman becomes the first steam locomotive to be authenticated as reaching 100 mph. 1936 – In London, the Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire. 1939 – Winter War: Soviet forces cross the Finnish border in several places and bomb Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the war. 1942 – World War II: Battle of Tassafaronga; A smaller squadron of Japanese destroyers led by Raizō Tanaka defeats a U.S. cruiser force under Carleton H. Wright. 1947 – Civil War in Mandatory Palestine begins, leading up to the creation of the state of Israel. 1953 – Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda is deposed and exiled to London by Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda. 1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap; this is the only documented case in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space. 1966 – Barbados becomes independent from the United Kingdom. 1967 – South Yemen becomes independent from the United Kingdom. 1967 – The Pakistan Peoples Party is founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who becomes its first chairman. 1967 – Pro-Soviet communists in the Philippines establish Malayang Pagkakaisa ng Kabataan Pilipino as its new youth wing. 1971 – Iran seizes the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from the Emirates of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. 1972 – Vietnam War: White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler tells the press that there will be no more public announcements concerning American troop withdrawals from Vietnam because troop levels are now down to 27,000. 1981 – Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe. (The meetings end inconclusively on December 17.) 1982 – Michael Jackson's sixth solo studio album, Thriller, is released worldwide, ultimately to become the best-selling record album in history. 1994 – MS Achille Lauro catches fire off the coast of Somalia. 1995 – Official end of Operation Desert Storm. 1995 – U.S. President Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland and speaks in favor of the "Northern Ireland peace process" to a huge rally at Belfast City Hall; he calls IRA fighters "yesterday's men". 1999 – Exxon and Mobil sign a US$73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world's largest company. 1999 – In Seattle, United States, demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies. 1999 – British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merge to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world. 2001 – Gary Ridgway is apprehended and charged with four murders as the Green River Killer. 2004 – Lion Air Flight 583 overshoots the runway while landing at Adisumarmo International Airport and crashes, killing 25 people. 2005 – John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York. 2012 – An Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane belonging to Aéro-Service, crashes into houses near Maya-Maya Airport during a thunderstorm, killing at least 32 people. 2018 – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake with its epicenter only 15 miles from Anchorage, Alaska causes significant property damage but no deaths.

#Events

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earthpaks · 4 years ago

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to revive Safari Train to boost tourism.

Peshawar – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, in a bid to boost tourism activities in the province, on Wednesday decided to revive steam engine Safari Train from Peshawar to Attock Khurd and from Peshawar to famous archaeological site Takht Bhai.

Similarly, it was decided to set up Motorsports Arena in Nowshera district under a public-private partnership. Besides, motorsports and indoor game facilities, the proposed Motorsports Arena will have facilities of horse riding, rafting, boating, swimming, family huts, shopping centre, hotels, restaurants and many more.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the Board of Directors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KP-CTA) held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan.

The meeting was informed that a project with an estimated cost of Rs.3044 million had been approved for the construction of two different access roads to the historical Shaikh Badeen tourist site situated in the southern part of the province.

The meeting was attended besides others by MPA Ayesha Bano, Additional Chief Secretary Shakil Qadir, Secretary Tourism Abid Majeed, Secretary C&W Ijaz Hussain, Secretary Finance Atif Rahman, Secretary Environment Shahid Ullah, Director-General KP-CTA and private members of the board.

Apart from recruitment plan for the newly established Tourism Authority, the meeting also approved annual grant-in-aid 2020-21 for the authority and regulations for the scrutiny committee constituted for the absorption of Tourism Corporation employees into the Tourism Authority.

The meeting was told that, under the recruitment plan, 77 employees would be recruited in the first phase, 17 in the second phase and 15 employees in the third phase while the entire process of recruitment would be completed by December 2020 whereas appointments on top administrative posts of the authority would be made on deputation basis.

According to Abid Majid, Secretary Sports, Tourism and Culture Department, tangible steps were being taken for the promotion of heritage tourism in the province to create employment opportunities for the youth on one hand and generate revenue on the other.

Later, the Tourism Department launched Steam Safari train to Attock Khurd, located in Attock district of the Punjab province.

Attock Khurd houses the historical Attock Fort built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1581. Bahram ki Baradari is another Mughal-era monument situated at the ridge of mountains on the southern side of the Grand Trunk Road near Attock Khurd.

The KP-CTA meeting was also briefed on multiple projects of construction of access roads to tourist spots, development of Mahodand Lake Swat and development of tourist spots in various districts including newly merged areas had been reflected in the Annual Development Programme.

The forum was informed that land acquisition process for the establishment of tourism zones in Ghanol Mansehra, Madaklasht Chitral, Thandiani Abbottabad and Mankial Swat was underway while work on master plans and feasibility study of the above-mentioned tourism zones would be started next month. Similarly, eight new sites have been identified for setting up of tourism zones.

The Chief Minister directed the authorities concerned to expedite work on the absorption of Tourism Corporation employees into Tourism Authority while ensuring strict adherence to the rules and regulations in the matter.

He also directed for expediting work on the establishment of Kalam Development Authority and developing Mahodand Lake for boosting tourism activities in the area.

Earth Pakistan Property Portal

#Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government #Safari Train

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stonesdesire · 5 years ago

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This rare one of a kind K2 Granite Azurite pendant has been hand wrapped in 14 gauge polished 925 sterling silver wire. Handcrafted in Arizona. Stone from K2 Mountain Range in Pakistan. K2 Granite Azurite is a rare, unique stone whatever the mineral make up, allowing one to reach the highest “peaks” of consciousness and grounding energy into the third dimensional reality. K2 Stone increases one’s insight so that one is able to find answers to questions concerning issues in one’s life, it aids one’s intuition so that one is able to connect with the “all knowing” part of one’s being. The energy of K2 Stone opens one’s consciousness to receive guidance from the higher dimensions which enables one to make decisions in one’s highest good. Besides its extremely rare and distinctive aesthetic, the K2 crystal stone vibrates with a powerful energy, which makes it an excellent stone for healing. This combination crystal gets its celestial quality from Azurite and its grounding and stabilizing properties from Granite, giving you the benefits of a peaceful mind, the stepping-stone to spiritual enlightenment. If you seek universal truths, meditate with the K2 crystal and go deep, as far back as past lives and ancestral lineage. It’s when the past and present merge that we begin to see the divine truth of the universe unfolding before our eyes. #stonesdesire #K2granite #Azurite #azuritejewelry #intuition https://www.instagram.com/p/B8QZPByhKAN/?igshid=rnu2u55te5m0

#stonesdesire #k2granite #azurite #azuritejewelry #intuition

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loyallogic · 5 years ago

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From the Creation of Article 370 and 35A to Abolition

This article is written by Gauraw Kumar, a 2nd-year student of BVP-New Law College, Pune. In this article, he covers the story from the Creation of Article 370 and 35A to Abolition and tries to discuss the history, fact and provision of the constitution related to it.

Introduction

Article 370 and Article 35A were very important provisions for the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 35A was a unique provision included in the Indian Constitution that provides Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir complete freedom to make provision for permanent residents of the State. It provides special rights and privileges regarding the acquisition of property, providing job in the public sector, scholarships and other public welfare. Article 370 gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir within India. Article 370 was the most controversial provision in the Constitution of India. Article 370 was a temporary provision. The President of India could declare by public notification to cease Article 370 to exist and can modify this Article also.

Story of creation of Article 370

When Pakistan did an attack on Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, then Maharaja Hari Singh (King of Jammu and Kashmir) demanded assistance from Indian Government. But, Jammu and Kashmir was not part of India at that time. On this matter, there was an instrument of accession signed on dated 26th October, 1947 between Maharaja Hari Singh and Indian Government. From that day, Jammu and Kashmir become an integral part of India.

After that, the Indian Government sent armies to Jammu and Kashmir and forced the Pakistan armies to go back.

Pakistan did not accept Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India even after the instrument of accession at that time. They blamed that instrument of accession was not signed in the free consent of Maharaja Hari Singh.

Then, the Indian Government approached the United Nation to solve that dispute. UN declared Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed area by giving very less value to the instrument of accession.

In order to solve the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, the UN suggested a way of Plebiscite in which people of Jammu and Kashmir will vote that where they want to merge (Pakistan or India). But there are some preconditions put by the UN, in order to conduct Plebiscite. Conditions are:

Pakistan has to remove its army from the area of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has to reduce the volume of the army in the area of Jammu and Kashmir.

But, both countries were not ready to remove the army from the area of Jammu and Kashmir at that time, and Plebiscite did not happen.

A new personality named ‘Sekh Abdullah’ stood in the State of Jammu and Kashmir during that time. Sheikh Abdullah had a party named ‘National Conference’. This Party represents issues and problems of the suppressed and majority of the class of Jammu and Kashmir. During that time, he was emerging as a hero of Jammu and Kashmir.

There was a meeting held between the Indian Government and Sheikh Abdula named as Delhi Agreement. In this meeting, Instrument of accession was discussed and Article 370 was introduced in the Constitution of India for the incorporation of this instrument of accession.

Article 370

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution discusses temporary provisions with respect to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 broadly covers three areas:

Laws making power of parliament for the state of Jammu and Kashmir: Generally, Parliament has the power to make laws for all the matters of the central list and the Concurrent list. But Article 370 restricted the law-making power of Parliament for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. According to Article 370, parliament can only make laws for Jammu and Kashmir on the concurrent and central list which was decided while signing the instrument of accession. There were three areas in which parliament can make law for Jammu and Kashmir, i.e. Defence, Communication and External Affairs. These three areas cover 31 matters of central and State list. If Parliament wants to extend its scope beyond 31 matters, then the permission of the Jammu and Kashmir government is required. Generally, When parliament makes any laws such as RTI, GST etc, it applies to every state directly except Jammu and Kashmir. But in case of Jammu and Kashmir, any laws passed by parliament should be ratified by state assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. If State assembly ratifies that law, then only it will apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Provisions of the Indian Constitution which are applicable in the state of Jammu and Kashmir: Article 1 and Article 370 of the Indian Constitution will be applicable in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Along with these two articles of the Indian constitution, provisions of the constitution which was specified by the order of President in 1954 will be applicable in State of Jammu and Kashmir. This order of President is modified from time to time. Remaining parts and provisions of the Constitution of India will not be applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Procedure to cease Article 370 of the Indian Constitution: When does Article 370 cease to exist? Answer to this question is also given in Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. If Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir agrees that Article 370 should be ceased and President of India declares the same by the public notification, then only Article 370 will cease to exist. But Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was dissolved in 1957.

Story of creation of Article 35A

During the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846, the British Government has given Jammu and Kashmir to Maharaj Gulab Singh and Jammu and Kashmir was treated as Princely state. Legal provisions were made between 1912 to 1932 for Jammu and Kashmir.

After the adoption of Article 370 in the Indian Constitution, the citizenship of India was also extended to people of Jammu and Kashmir, but leaders and constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir wanted that existing laws and state subject of Jammu and Kashmir should be afforded different treatment.

For fulfilment of the desire of leaders and constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Rajendra Prasad has introduced Article 35A in the Indian Constitution with the help of presidential order, 1954 by Delhi Agreement.

Article 35A

Article 35A defines the Rights of the Permanent Residents of Jammu and Kashmir. These residents are then eligible for special rights and privileges which the legislature can provide. According to this Article:

Definition of a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir will not change even after any such provision is given in Indian Constitution regarding this or any existing law in force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or any law enacted by the legislature of the State.

Nothing in Article 35A will be void even after other citizens of India suffers a violation of their rights in respect of employment in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, or acquisition of immovable property of the state, or settlement in the state or right to scholarships and such other forms of aid as the State Government may provide.

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Story of the Abolition of Article 370 and 35A

You must have heard about the fact via. TV, Newspaper or other social media that the Government has abolished Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian Constitution. But, have you ever thought that by what procedure and by which bill, this abolition is made? Name of the bill was “The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019” which was introduced by the minister of home affairs Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha on 5th August 2019. The bill was passed in Rajya Sabha on the same day and passed by Lok Sabha on 6th August 2019. Assent of President was also given to this bill on dated 9th August 2019. “The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019” was that bill by which passes results abolition of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian Constitution.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is an act of the Indian Parliament. It was introduced in Rajya Sabha on dated 5th August 2019 by Ministry of Home affairs. The main features of this Act are:

Reorganisation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir: This Act gives provision for reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territory, i.e., Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (consists of Kargil and Leh districts) and Union territory of Ladakh (remaining territories of the state of Jammu and Kashmir except for Kargil and Leh districts).

Lieutenant Governor: These two Union territories will be administered by the President, through a Lieutenant Governor (appointed by the President).

Legislative Assembly: This Act provides the concept of new Legislative Assembly for the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and says about the various characters of the same.

Total number of seats- 107 seats.

24 seats out of 107 seats will remain vacant as their areas are occupied by Pakistan.

Seats of Assembly will be reserved for SCs and STs according to their population in UT.

Lieutenant Governor can nominate any two members for the representation of women to Legislative Assembly if they are not sufficiently represented.

The Assembly term will be of five years and it is mandatory for Lieutenant Governor to summon the assembly at least once in six months.

The Legislative Assembly can makes laws for any part of UT of Jammu and Kashmir which is related to:

Matters mentioned in State list of the constitution, except “Police and Public Order”.

Matters which are in Concurrent list applicable to UT.

Parliament has the power to make laws for Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Council of Ministers: The UT of Jammu and Kashmir has Council of Ministers of not more than 10% of members in the Legislative Assembly. The COM will advise Lieutenant Governor in the matter of making laws. The Chief Minister has to communicate each and every decision of COM to Lieutenant Governor.

High Court: There will be only one High Court for both Union Territory. UT of Jammu and Kashmir will have an Advocate General who will give legal advice to the Government of UT.

Legislative Council: The Legislative Council of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be abolished and all bills which are pending in Legislative Council will lapse.

Advisory Committees: The Central Government will appoint Advisory Committees for various purposes, such as-

Distribution of assets and liabilities of the state into two union territories.

Issue of generation and supply of electricity and water.

Issue of State Financial Corporation.

The extent of laws: 106 central laws of the Schedule lists will be applicable in both UTs from dated which is notified by the central government. These include:

The Aadhaar Act 2016;

The Indian Penal Code 1860;

Right to Education Act 2009; etc.

From the Creation of Article 370 and 35A to Abolition

In this composition, the complete story of issues is given from creation to abolition. Summary of the above story follows:

In 1947, the Instrument of Accession was made.

In 1949, Article 370 is taken into consideration that it will be in the constitution of India.

In 1950, the Constitution of India came into force.

In 1954, Article 35A came to exist by the 1st Presidential order.

In 1956, the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir came in force.

In 1990, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act imposed.

In 2018, Presidential rule was declared in State of Jammu and Kashmir.

In 2019, Abolition of Article 370 and Article 35A.

Views of people of Jammu and Kashmir who were against this Bill

There were some people who were opposing The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 on the basis of their different views as follows:

The recent CM of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti said it the “blackest day of democracy in India”. She said that the Indian Parliament will snatch away everything from the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Former CM Omar Abdullah said the Government’s move as “unilateral and shocking”. According to him, the decision of the Government is a betrayal of the trust of people of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Asgar Ali Karbalai (former Chief Executive Councillor of Kargil’s Hill Development Council), it is undemocratic to divide the state on the basis of “religion, language or region”.

Views of people of Jammu and Kashmir who were in support of this Bill

There were some people who were supporting The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 on the basis of their different views as follows:

Jamyang Tsering Namgyal (a member of Lok Sabha for Ladakh constituency) support this Bill and hoping the move of Government will encourage jobs and development in their areas.

Leaders of the Kashmiri Hindu community (who were displaced from the Kashmiri Valley) were in support of this Bill and hoping for the justice to their communities.

Conclusion

The issues related to Article 370 and Article 35A were very sensitive and complex issues which were raised in India. It was a Historical decision that Indian Government cancelled the special status which was granted under Article 370 to Jammu and Kashmir, which has been a matter of dispute among India, Pakistan and China since 1947.

References

Bare Act of the Constitution

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