Yasmin Ali
Urbanism // Design
The Urban Transect - from Urban to Rural
November 8th, 2011
The Urban Transect is a concept in Urban Design which can be applied at varying
scales. This scalar versatility is where its success stems from.
The Urban Transect / Andres Duany DPZ
This is a theory pioneered by New Urbanists. New Urbanists are those who further placemaking based on walkable neighbourhoods and sustainable placemaking.
From a recent book, by Andres Duany and DPZ, published by The Prince's Foundation, entitled 'Theory and Practice of Agrarian Urbanism', this appears to draw links with the Garden Cities Movement, as pioneered by Ebenezer Howard in the fifties.
Image: Ebenezer Howard
The key to its application lies with density. This movement started in Northern America where land is plentiful and development is unabashedly car-centric. Through pages of delicate illustrations this book, the Garden City concept is translated to a distinctly urban scale.
GmbH moves into The Lighthouse
August 2nd, 2011
Erstwhile housed slightly east of town at The Modern Institute as a pop-up, the store became an instant success with orders continuing online while between residences. Having a store in the Merchant City is a good acid test for a shop - if it can survive just shy of the main shopping area, it must be on to a winner. There are also plenty of creative shops and start-ups in the Merchant City/Trongate area worth seeking out.
On the shelves...
GmbH stocks a range of titles - both glossies and zines- some familiar, others more niche. A personal favourite of mine introduced to me via GmbH is UAE-based contemporary design and lifestyle magazine BROWNBOOK. Subtitled 'An urban guide to the Middle East', with clean graphics and sharp commentary, it resembles in many ways, an Arab version of MONOCLE (also stocked here!).
I'm also a fan of film magazine Little White Lies (LWL); a recent addition to the stocklist. Self-published by London creative agency The Church of London, it's film journalism...but not as you know it. Sharp, insightful commentary is matched by creative graphics. Their screenprinted covers, also available as posters, are fast-becoming cult classics in themselves.
PIN-UP is another favourite of mine, billing itself as 'The magazine for architectural entertainment'. The bi-annual New York-based publication is nicely laid-out and and doesn't take itself too seriously. I've only ever seen it in American Apparel, of all places, so it's good to know there's another place that stocks this on its shelves.
Also stocked is grafik, the International magazine for graphic design. The long-running design title recently bounced back from its publishers' having gone bust in mid-2010, and is now back in print, independently produced and with a slick new i-Pad-ready website.
Read on for selected titles
// Interview with shops' founders to follow...
