Robert Bevan
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Articles by Robert Bevan
Belgium’s famous Menin Gate memorial to host first Armistice Day ceremony since €6m restoration
On Armistice Day, on 11 November each year, Belgium stops for a ceremony broadcast live from the Menin Gate in Ypres. The monument is a “memorial to the missing”, lined with more than 54,0000 names of First World War soldiers from across the British empire whose bodies were never found or identified. The poet Siegfried Sassoon termed it a “sepulchre of crime”.
Israel’s attacks on culture in Gaza also signal genocide
Finally, a UN report has found genocide is underway in Gaza. The analysis, provided to the UN’s Human Rights Council by its Independent International Commission of Inquiry, identified four out of five methods that meet the thresholds demanded under the 1948 Genocide Convention: killing members of a group; causing them serious bodily and mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group; and preventing births.
Kontroverzna obnova Budimskog dvorca: očuvanje povijesti ili prevara?
Zahvaljujući američkom predsjedniku Donaldu Trumpu, arhitektura povijesnog preporoda ponovno je dospjela u vijesti ove godine. U siječnju je potpisao izvršnu naredbu kojom se zahtijeva da sve nove savezne zgrade u svom dizajnu poštuju "tradicionalnu i klasičnu arhitektonsku baštinu" – odražavajući širi desničarski trend povezivanja revivalističke arhitekture s konzervativnim vrijednostima.
Buda: od zgodovinske razgledne točke do novega 'Disneylanda' Budimpešte? | Bloomberg Adria
Zahvaljujoč ameriškemu predsedniku Donaldu Trumpu je arhitektura zgodovinskega preporoda letos ponovno prišla v ospredje. Januarja je podpisal izvršilni ukaz, ki zahteva, da vse nove zvezne stavbe pri svojem oblikovanju spoštujejo "tradicionalno in klasično arhitekturno dediščino" – kar odraža širši desničarski trend povezovanja revivalistične arhitekture s konservativnimi vrednotami.
Budim: od istorijskog vidikovca do novog ‘Disneylanda’ Budimpešte? | Bloomberg Adria
Zahvaljujući američkom predsedniku Donaldu Trumpu, arhitektura istorijskog preporoda ponovo je dospela u vesti ove godine. U januaru je potpisao izvršnu naredbu kojom se zahteva da sve nove savezne zgrade u svom dizajnu poštuju "tradicionalno i klasično arhitektonsko nasleđe" - odražavajući širi desničarski trend povezivanja revivalističke arhitekture s konzervativnim vrednostima.
Budimski dvorac: Istorijski vidikovaca ili ‘Disneyland’ Budimpešte? | Bloomberg Adria
Zahvaljujući američkom predsjedniku Donaldu Trumpu, arhitektura istorijskog preporoda ponovo je dospjela u vijesti ove godine. U januaru je potpisao izvršnu naredbu kojom se zahtijeva da sve nove savezne zgrade u svom dizajnu poštuju "tradicionalno i klasično arhitektonsko nasljeđe" - odražavajući širi desničarski trend povezivanja revivalističke arhitekture s konzervativnim vrijednostima.
Контроверзна обнова на Будимскиот дворец: зачувување на историјата или измама?
Благодарение на американскиот претседател Доналд Трамп, архитектурата на историската преродба повторно се најде во вестите годинава. Во јануари тој потпиша извршна наредба со која се бара сите нови федерални згради во својот дизајн да го почитуваат „традиционалното и класично архитектонско наследство“ – одраз на поширокиот десничарски тренд, кој преродбеничката архитектура ја поврзува со конзервативни вредности.
Budapest’s Most Historic Site Gets a Controversial Rebuild
The new shell of Archduke Joseph’s Palace, built in 1902 and then demolished in 1968, rises on Buda’s Castle Hill (Bloomberg) -- Thanks to US President Donald Trump, historic revival architecture has returned to the news this year.
"The fears raised by those original renderings have been fully realised"
Selldorf Architects' renovation of the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing has eradicated most of the building's postmodern charm, writes Robert Bevan. "Flimsy corporate blandness" and an "airport-concourse aesthetic": architects, critics and heritage campaigners alike were aghast when they first saw Selldorf Architects' renderings for proposed changes to Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown's 1991 Sainsbury Wing at London's National Gallery.
"When we place people on a pedestal, we only diminish ourselves"
Statuemania is back, but the political weaponisation of memorials will not end happily, writes Robert Bevan. There's a short, cobbled street in Munich still known as Shirkers' Alley. It was the route locals took during the Third Reich to avoid passing a Nazi war memorial around the corner. Performing a respectful Hitler salute at the memorial was compulsory. Non-compliance was punished. It's an extreme example of the reverence sometimes demanded of secular monuments.
‘The Kingdom of Hay-on-Wye’: football, nationalism, and national identity in a Welsh border town
Advanced search National Identities Latest Articles Submit an article Journal homepage Full Article Figures & data References Citations Metrics Reprints & Permissions Read this article /doi/full/10.1080/14608944.2024.2429513?needAccess=true ABSTRACT This article examines the intricate layers of identity in Hay-on-Wye, a Welsh border town that symbolizes both cultural distinctiveness and national ambiguity.
Fifty years after Hans Döllgast's death, conference explores his role in rebuilding post-war Germany
Touring post-war Germany in 1950, the philosopher Hannah Arendt was struck by an apparent inability of people to face the reality of their destroyed world: “Amid the ruins,” she wrote, “Germans mail each other picture postcards still showing cathedrals and market places, the public buildings that no longer exist.” Architecturally, Germany’s attempts to face its cultural losses and reconcile the horrific recent past with an unknown future resulted in a number of tendencies.
Why cultural destruction is such a dangerous military tactic
A landmark report on the impact of heavy weaponry on civilians and cultural heritage was released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School earlier this year. “Destroying Cultural Heritage: Explosive Weapons’ Effects in Armed Conflict and Measures to Strengthen Protection” shows how, as well as causing civilian casualties, this indirectly inflicts “psychosocial, economic, and other types of harm”.
Serpentine Pavilion 2024 review: architectural noir from Korea's celebrated Minsuk Cho
(Matt Writtle) Serpentine Pavilion designs come along in cycles – if we’ve had a few years of circular parkland rotundas, an inevitable contrariness mean it’s the turn of something more freeform. So it is this year. The 23rd annual pavilion is not one object but a ring of five timber-framed volumes gathered around an empty circle where in other years a rotunda might be.
Serpentine Pavilion 2024 Review: Architectural Noir From Korea's Celebrated Minsuk Cho - Evening Standard
Serpentine Pavilion designs come along in cycles – if we’ve had a few years of circular parkland rotundas, an inevitable contrariness mean it’s the turn of something more freeform. So it is this year. The is not one object but a ring of five timber-framed volumes gathered around an empty circle where in other years
Shingles Audio Collection Volume 1
Tantor Audio presents six must-listen stories from the horror comedy series Shingles. The collection begins with 'The Ghost of Hooker Alley,' which introduces listeners to ten-year-old Sarah and six-year-old Tommy. After a quick bus ride into town to buy a gun, Sarah and Tommy think their problems are all but solved. That is, until a creepy weirdo follows them into an alley. But they aren't the only ones in that alley . . .
Learning from Bolanzo: From Sites of Honour to Sites of Shame
Learning from Bolanzo: From Sites of Honour to Sites of Shame
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Heritage destruction brings Putin one step closer to prosecution, according to landmark report
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an international arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin. The court wants the Russian leader to stand trial for war crimes. But, if Putin is ever to be held account for the intent of his actions during the war in Ukraine, then the ICC’s prosecuting case will have to rely on evidence taken from the ground in Ukraine.
Who In Gloucester City Is Looking Out For The Taxpayers?
By Robert S. Bevan Former Mayor of The City of Gloucester City GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (August 21, 2023)(CNBNews)--Think of Gloucester City as a corporation providing services to the community—public safety, trash collection, maintenance of city-owned properties and our water and sewerage department. Our Board of Directors are elected to make sure we get the best “bang for our buck”.
Herzog & de Meuron at the Royal Academy review: starchitects show we can have better buildings... if we try
Celebrity architecture has seen more than a few ‘starchitect’ halos slip in the past decade. By contrast, Swiss studio Herzog & de Meuron, designers of Tate Modern, the Laban Centre, and a luscious cylinder of luxury apartments in London – as well as cultural institutions across the globe – has an unsullied reputation.
The National Portrait Gallery’s architect Jamie Fobert has set the London gallery free
The cruel and unusual punishment that the poor old National Portrait Gallery has suffered over its lifetime amounts to a sort of architectural torture. When it opened in 1896, architect Ewan Christian presented London with a great Florentine palazzo (with a Byzantine chapel-like staircase attached) to tell the story of a nation in its imperial pomp. Yet its rooms were soon divided and divided again, ceilings were lowered, floors raised, their decorative mosaics hidden.
The Serpentine Pavilion 2023 review: Lina Ghotmeh’s invitation to dine is a bland dish
Imagine a park pavilion and chances are that something circular comes to mind. From the Temple of Vesta in Rome’s Forum, to countless picturesque follies in 18th century English estates, it is the circular that often graces the landscape. This is not conceptual laziness but architectural logic: a circle can act as the fixed hub to the surrounding 360-degree context – especially one as varied as trees in a park.
Striking displays of unequal power: Venice Architecture Biennale review
James Baldwin observed that some people wish to colonise the moon while others “dance before it as an ancient friend”. His words were a specific inspiration for the British Pavilion at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale but could be seen as informing the whole of this year’s event. The overall theme is the Laboratory of the Future, with sub-themes of decarbonisation and decolonisation set by the architect, educator and novelist Lesley Lokko.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire Pledges Faster Debt Reduction
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire pledged to accelerate the pace of debt reduction, a week after the country’s credit rating was cut. “We have to reduce our debt, and in an accelerated way,” Le Maire said Friday in an interview on LCI television.
"Even if naively, Charles is entangled in the far-right's weaponisation of architecture"
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【Free Download Architectural Cad Drawings】
With Charles III set to be officially crowned this Saturday, Robert Bevan reflects on the cultural and political implications of the king’s famous love for traditional architecture. With Charles III a freshly minted king, there has been some revisionism going on about the monarch’s record.
Haberfield House
The merest wobble in the line of a hallway cornice is one of the few physical reminders of when this Federation house, in the heritage suburb of Haberfield, was divided into two dwellings during World War II. A perfectionist would have ironed out the line. Something would have been lost. The late Enric Miralles once said that contemporary architecture is usually experienced as just a single moment in time – flattening the experience, to our detriment.
The Question of the Offensive Monument
On a recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery, I was the only loner amid squadrons of middle schoolers on field trips, their matching T-shirts printed with the names of the hometowns from which they had come to Washington, D.C., for a dose of national mythology. I was there to see the Arlington Confederate Memorial.
Western arrogance on parade in new book about culture and conflict
Culture and conflict have been entangled for the whole of recorded history: Polybius warned fellow Ancient Greeks that armies should avoid damaging religious sites unnecessarily. But in recent decades the deliberate targeting of culture in wars on the one hand and the emergence of a military-heritage complex on the other has led cultural professionals to either work alongside the military on heritage protection or be full-time officers or reservists themselves.
Guest Opinion: Community Pride Begins At Home
by Robert S.
From cosy to creepy: new displays at Bletchley Park muddle Britain's honourable Nazi-fighting history with a contested present
The breaking of the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park has become a very British story of almost cosy espionage. We may have been beastly to Alan Turing, the narrative goes, but he and fellow boffins and Wrens (The Women's Royal Naval Service)—with hair pinned up in victory rolls—still invented electronic computing and saved the world from the Nazis, fuelled only by endless tea and limited tobacco rations. The story has taken a new, and sometimes disturbing, turn with the opening of the 650 sq.
Comment | Reports say Putin is deliberately targeting Ukrainian heritage—but is that true? | Robert Bevan
A narrative is emerging that Vladimir Putin’s forces in Ukraine are bent on the erasure of Ukraine’s identity to the point—if we are to believe President Biden—that a genocide is underway. Ihori Poshyvailo, the director of the Maidan Museum in Ukraine said: “The goal is our historical memory, our cultural traditions, our national and individual identity.” A report in the Observer this week claimed that Russian destruction was “concentrated” on Ukrainian memorials and places of worship.
GUEST OPINION: Let's Do Some "Trash Talkin"
By Robert S. Bevan GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 3, 2022)(CNBNewsnet)--Drive through our community on recycling day. Paper, cardboard, and plastic bottles litter the gutters! 75% of all properties on the west side of Gloucester are rentals and are owned by out-of-town landlords. It's a "Big Business"!
The Necromancer's Wife
Can the peace of the afterlife compare to the pleasures of the flesh? Lydia Strom has an incredible love life. For her, there are no forbidden desires, fantasies left unexplored, or boundaries that can't be crossed. There's just one small problem. She died three years ago. Somehow her husband has found a way to transcend the barrier between life and death so as to bring her soul back for short periods. Each time Lydia awakens, she's in control of a different body.
The ugly pursuit of beauty: how traditional architecture has become a battleground for right-wing politicians
Prince Charles has no doubt learned patience in his wait for the top job. He’s certainly a dab hand at playing the long game. His campaign against modern architecture began with a 1984 speech at London’s historic Hampton Court where he rubbished a proposed extension to the National Gallery as a “monstrous carbuncle”. The scheme was promptly dropped. As heir to the throne, he said, with no apparent self-consciousness, he saw it as a problem that the avant-garde had become the establishment.
Mining company Rio Tinto apologises for destruction of 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site
The ancient rock shelters at Juukan Gorge were blasted with dynamite on 24 May to expand nearby mining operations Photo: Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation The mining giant Rio Tinto has apologised for blowing up a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal heritage site at the Juukan Gorge in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Heritage caught in the crossfire in wake of Arab Spring
Attacks on Timbuktu in 2012 resulted in the destruction of ten religious and historic monuments in the Unesco World Heritage city With the Amenas gas-plant hostage crisis in Algeria in January and French troops in action in Mali, the West has swivelled its gaze to the Sahel, the semi-arid region south of the Sahara. The power struggle across post-Arab Spring North Africa and the Middle East is widening. It is an ideological as much as a territorial struggle that uses monuments for target practice.
Hosni Mubarak
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Turkey's Göbekli Tepe: is this the world’s first architecture?
At around 12,000 years old, Göbekli Tepe in south-east Turkey has been billed as the world’s oldest temple. It is many millennia older than Stonehenge or Egypt’s great pyramids, built in the pre-pottery Neolithic period before writing or the wheel. But should Göbekli Tepe, which became a Unesco World Heritage Site in July, also be regarded as the world’s oldest piece of architecture?
Stockholm's revamped ArkDes centre champions design's role in public life
Sweden’s national centre for architecture and design, ArkDes, has long been overlooked, tucked at the back of Stockholm’s mighty Moderna Museet. Until recently, the centre’s future was uncertain, but its British-born director is now making changes to the building and programme that aim to put it at the forefront of national debates.
Building study: Jamie Fobert evolves Kettle’s Yard
Building study: Jamie Fobert evolves Kettle’s Yard 18 April, 2018 By Robert Bevan A remodelling of Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge struggles to retain the gallery’s original domestic spirit, writes Rob Bevan. Photography Hufton+Crow
Three to see: London
Malevich, described Monet’s Rouen cathedral series as of “capital importance for the history of art…[it] forces entire generations to change their conceptions.” The Gothic subject made Monet a prisoner of a project he called his “cliff”, returning to Rouen repeatedly in 1892 and 1893 to capture the shifting colours under different lights, times of day and weathers in 30 paintings.
Monet's urban obsession explored in major new London show
Kazimir Malevich described Claude Monet’s Rouen cathedral series as of “capital importance for the history of art… [it] forces entire generations to change their conceptions”. The Gothic subject made Monet a prisoner of a project he called his “cliff”, as he repeatedly returned to Rouen in 1892 and 1893 to capture the shifting colours under different lights, times of day and weather in 30 paintings.
First Look at the New Bloomberg HQ: Why Norman Foster's Design Is a Triumph
Not many will mourn the passing of Bucklersbury House and Temple Court. Designed in 1953 for a site next to the Mansion House and completed five years later, they set the architectural direction for the post-war City of London. At 14 and 15 storeys high, they were the first office buildings to break the 100ft height limit, entirely ignore the street pattern and prioritise parking at the expense of pedestrians.
Bremer Landesbank in Bremen, Germany by Caruso St John Architects
Bremer Landesbank in Bremen, Germany by Caruso St John Architects 11 September, 2017 By Robert Bevan Reflecting the Hanseatic tradition of expressive brick construction, the Bremer Landesbank adds to its sensitive setting with Nordsee coherence
The Most Stolen Artwork of All Time
That the Altarpiece survives at all is something of a miracle. Its folding panels have been the victim of more than a dozen major crimes – it’s been burnt, earmarked for destruction by rioting Calvinist iconoclasts, stolen repeatedly, wrenched apart and almost blown up while stashed down a mine.
Ruin or Rebuild? Conserving heritage in an age of terrorism
Debate is raging about how best to respond when historic monuments are targeted by extremists, now that digital technology enables monuments to be reconstructed n the wake of the Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan in 2001, a decision was made. The giant stone statues had been so pulverised by explosives that Unesco said it was impossible to reconstruct them using original material.
Attacks on culture can be crimes against humanity
Robert Bevan. Photo: © James Berrington, 2012 Robert BevanMember of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which advises Unesco on world heritage Only an aesthete with a warped sense of priorities would put crimes against culture on a par with crimes against people. That dusty canard has resurfaced with the trial in The Hague of Al Faqi Al Mahdi for the destruction in 2012 of a mosque and nine of Timbuktu’s World Heritage Site-listed mud-built shrines.
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