Carte Blanche
Rise Again
WE’LL RISE AGAIN. BUT HOW?
Every skyline tells a story. It shows the ever-changing face of a city. Some have been transformed in decades. Others bear the scars of military conflict, natural disaster or industrial catastrophe - often caused in seconds.
Even time a city is mutilated beyond recognition; it creates the unstoppable desire to build bigger, better and brighter. Dramatic changes to the urban fabric lead to new landmarks and unexpected opportunities. Some go beyond the psychical appeal of the city and transform the very foundations of society itself. Here’s a selection of cities that turned total devastation into unseen opportunity.
RISING FROM THE RUMBLE
During WW2, the lion’s share of carpetbombing came down on Berlin. Everybody remembers the image of a Russian soldier waving the Soviet flag on top of a ruined Reichstag. Right after the war, rebuilding started and Berlin finally became the proud capital of a united Germany again. To mark this occasion, the Reichstag was crowned with a Norman Foster designed glass dome.
RISING FROM THE ASHES
In 1871, the Windy City was consumed by flames, leaving 100.000 inhabitants homeless. Instead of recreating the same old thing, the Great Chicago Fire inspired the Great Rebuilding. This radical rethinking lead to one of the world’s best designed cities and ultimately to the creation of the first ‘skyscraper’: the 10-storey Home Insurance Building.
RISING FROM THE FUMES
São Paulo is a fast growing metropolis constantly struggling with population explosions. Apart from housing shortages, inadequate public space and environmental issues, the city was strangled by traffic jams. Adding more roads only resulted in more cars. So visionary planners focussed on making São Paulo a walkable city, spreading the pedestrian-friendly DNA from the center to the outskirts.
RISING FROM THE WATER
When hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury on New Orleans, it caused unimaginable damage to buildings, infrastructure and human lives. The massive storm made 53 breaches in the levee system, submerging 80% of the city. During reconstruction, one NGO transformed abandoned land into sunflower gardens, which increased the green spaces and became a beacon of hope.
RISING FROM HELL
The most unexpected urban success story comes from Medellín, Columbia. Back in the 80s and early 90s the city was ravaged by drug lords like Pablo Escobar. How did they manage to transform the world’s biggest drug den into a model city? By creating the concept of ‘cultura ciudadana’ or ‘citizen culture’ - a collective investment into the city’s future, involving every community. Libraries and parks were built while transportation access in the comunas was pushed. So what about Beirut? In its 5000-year existence the city was destroyed and rebuild no less than 7 times. So hopefully we can learn from history and global success models. “But how will we survive?” somebody asked on Facebook. A quick response followed “Like our fathers.”
And rise they did.