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Case Study - Demolition
Vera Durao, CEIFA Ambiente, Case Study 8 -- Demolition (Portugal), (03/2014)

By: Zero Win

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Case Study - Demolition - Video

However, in a recent speech the provincial official in charge of religious affairs hinted at Communist Party discomfort at how fast congregations were growing in what is already considered Chinas most Christian region. More than one million of Wenzhous nine million residents are thought to be practicing Protestants, according to some estimates.

Feng Zhili, the chairman of Zhejiangs ethnic and religious affairs committee, said Christianitys growth had been too excessive and too haphazard.

China is an officially atheist state that only offers formal recognition to five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism and Taoism.

Religious beliefs are officially discouraged, particularly among the Communist Partys more than 85 million members.

However, support is offered to many officially sanctioned churches and some within the Communist Party view religion as a useful ally in maintaining social stability.

Xi Jinping, the president, has been quoted as saying that China is losing its moral compass and thinks traditional faiths such as Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism could help fill a void that has allowed corruption to flourish, Reuters reported last year, citing sources close to the leadership.

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China denies church 'demolition campaign' but says Christianity's growth 'excessive'

HAZLETON On Thursday, workers finally started removing the debris from an apartment building in Hazleton that was hit by fire a year ago.

Its not pretty, and its loud, but neighbors who live along McKinley Street in Hazleton are happy to hear the sounds of a demolition cleanup.

It feels good, finally, finally, you know? After almost a year of it just sitting there, finally, it feels good, said Belisa Ramos of Hazleton.

Before the pile of debris, here stood a vacant home. It was an apartment building that was hit by fire last April.

But the landlord, Lyla Younes, lives in New Jersey and only paid Penn Earthworks last year to take the building down, not to clear the debris.

The city didn`t have the money to clean it up on our own dime, and we needed to figure out a way to hold the owners responsible, said Hazleton Police Chief Frank DeAndrea.

Chief DeAndrea said the city cited the landlord for $30,000 worth of code violations. Officials promised to charge her if she didnt clean up the mess. This week, she paid the rest of what she owed for the demolition.

Another example of blight that city officials are hoping to get rid of is an old bar.

The city, through the mayor`s office, decided we cannot allow these absentee landlords to get away with this, said Chief DeAndrea.

But some neighbors said thats easier said than done.

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Demolition Cleanup in Hazleton

The man who ordered the demolition of the historic Majestic Theatre has defended his decision, saying restoration could have cost in excess of $18 million.

In a letter to the city council, Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU) director Warwick Isaacs said he had not made the decision to demolish the theatre lightly or in haste. He went on to strongly reject the council's assertion the planned widening of Manchester St was the main driver for his decision.

"While I understand your position in relation to this building I would like to point out some relevant factors to my decision which your letter does not cover,'' Isaacs said.

"Firstly, your own engineering advice agrees that a reasonable portion of the building needs to be demolished due to earthquake damage. Following this, restoration of the building could cost in excess of $18 million which, despite your heritage team's best efforts over the last three years, had not been found prior to my decision-making.''

Isaacs said the CCDU had asked the heritage team to provide any further reports or advice on the building in February of this year but they had simply referred staff to a report they prepared in 2012. They had also advised they did not wish to seek the retrieval of any heritage items from the building.

"I am unable to halt the demolition as you have requested,'' said Isaacs, pointing out that contractors had begun work on demolishing the building on March 31.

Addressing the issue at today's council meeting Cr Yani Johanson questioned whether the council should now be looking at whether it could get a High Court injunction or seeking a judicial review of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (Cera's) powers to order its demolition.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel said the internal advice she had received was that there was no grounds for a judicial review but she was happy to seek a further legal opinion.

Councillors voted 11 to 3 to get urgent legal advice on whether there were grounds for the council to seek to halt the demolition of the Majestic, and on the validity of Cera's reliance on section 38 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act to order the 1930s-era building's demolition.

"It is really important we look at what we can do in this regard - we have lost so many heritage buildings,'' Johanson said. "We have lost about 50 per cent of our listed heritage buildings within the central city.

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Majestic Theatre decision 'not made lightly'

The man who ordered the demolition of the historic Majestic Theatre has defended his decision, saying restoration could have cost in excess of $18 million.

In a letter to the city council, Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU) director Warwick Isaacs said he had not made the decision to demolish the theatre lightly or in haste. He went on to strongly reject the council's assertion the planned widening of Manchester St was the main driver for his decision.

"While I understand your position in relation to this building I would like to point out some relevant factors to my decision which your letter does not cover,'' Isaacs said.

"Firstly, your own engineering advice agrees that a reasonable portion of the building needs to be demolished due to earthquake damage. Following this, restoration of the building could cost in excess of $18 million which, despite your heritage team's best efforts over the last three years, had not been found prior to my decision-making.''

Isaacs said the CCDU had asked the heritage team to provide any further reports or advice on the building in February of this year but they had simply referred staff to a report they prepared in 2012. They had also advised they did not wish to seek the retrieval of any heritage items from the building.

"I am unable to halt the demolition as you have requested,'' said Isaacs, pointing out that contractors had begun work on demolishing the building on March 31.

Addressing the issue at today's council meeting Cr Yani Johanson questioned whether the council should now be looking at whether it could get a High Court injunction or seeking a judicial review of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (Cera's) powers to order its demolition.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel said the internal advice she had received was that there was no grounds for a judicial review but she was happy to seek a further legal opinion.

Councillors voted 11 to 3 to get urgent legal advice on whether there were grounds for the council to seek to halt the demolition of the Majestic, and on the validity of Cera's reliance on section 38 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act to order the 1930s-era building's demolition.

"It is really important we look at what we can do in this regard - we have lost so many heritage buildings,'' Johanson said. "We have lost about 50 per cent of our listed heritage buildings within the central city.

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Decision to demolish Majestic Theatre 'not made lightly'

The man who ordered the demolition of the historic Majestic Theatre has defended his decision, saying restoration could have cost in excess of $18 million.

In a letter to the city council, Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU) director Warwick Isaacs said he had not made the decision to demolish the theatre lightly or in haste. He went on to strongly reject the council's assertion the planned widening of Manchester St was the main driver for his decision.

"While I understand your position in relation to this building I would like to point out some relevant factors to my decision which your letter does not cover,'' Isaacs said.

"Firstly, your own engineering advice agrees that a reasonable portion of the building needs to be demolished due to earthquake damage. Following this, restoration of the building could cost in excess of $18 million which, despite your heritage team's best efforts over the last three years, had not been found prior to my decision-making.''

Isaacs said the CCDU had asked the heritage team to provide any further reports or advice on the building in February of this year but they had simply referred staff to a report they prepared in 2012. They had also advised they did not wish to seek the retrieval of any heritage items from the building.

"I am unable to halt the demolition as you have requested,'' said Isaacs, pointing out that contractors had begun work on demolishing the building on March 31.

Addressing the issue at today's council meeting Cr Yani Johanson questioned whether the council should now be looking at whether it could get a High Court injunction or seeking a judicial review of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (Cera's) powers to order its demolition.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel said the internal advice she had received was that there was no grounds for a judicial review but she was happy to seek a further legal opinion.

Councillors voted 11 to 3 to get urgent legal advice on whether there were grounds for the council to seek to halt the demolition of the Majestic, and on the validity of Cera's reliance on section 38 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act to order the 1930s-era building's demolition.

"It is really important we look at what we can do in this regard - we have lost so many heritage buildings,'' Johanson said. "We have lost about 50 per cent of our listed heritage buildings within the central city.

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Majestic Theatre demo decision 'not made lightly'

Clayton Home Improvements Savings
Custom Home Builders (919) 582-5900 Clayton North Carolina - http://www.claytonhomecontractors.bestmobilevideo.com Home improvements Clayton Home Cotnractors...

By: Marion Mansions

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Clayton Home Improvements & Savings - Video

With the economy still in recovery, improved homes, rather than new homes, will likely be the interest of visitors to the Pike County Builders Association Home and Garden Show this weekend at Delaware Valley High School, says custom builder Ed Nikles.

So, vendors will accommodate them with innovations that help with economizing.

After a snowy winter, ways to save money while staying warm may be particularly appealing, and Nikles points out a variety of ways to keep heat indoors, including high-efficiency doors, triple-pane windows and special insulation.

Foam, Fiberglas or cellulose insulation can be sprayed or blown into wall cavities to fill them without gaps, resulting in better insulation, he says. And joints in wall sheeting and ceiling plates can be sealed with caulk or foam.

At least one home show vendor, Superior Walls, sells pre-cast concrete foundation walls, with interior insulation.

The walls come in sections on the back of a tractor-trailer, says Nikles. A crane sets the walls in place. It's all done in one day.

Plus, new thermostats can be adjusted remotely with smartphones.

On your way home from a vacation, you can adjust the heat or air conditioning before you arrive, says Nikles.

For those who get miles away from home and wonder whether an oven was left on, now you can turn it off without turning around. Other appliances and light fixtures can also be controlled from a distance. And vendors will bring various home fixtures in new colors, finishes and styles.

The show will include an array of licensed building professionals, he says, including builders, remodelers, electricians, landscapers and vendors selling roofing, gutters, generators, siding, sun rooms, fireplaces and more. Representatives from insurance and security companies and banks will also be on hand.

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Pike home show this weekend highlights renovations

Cosmogony, in a few words, is any theory regarding the origin of existence or sentient beings. What is real? How did we get here? What explanation is there for our mental attributes? These are the sort of questions that endlessly torment philosophers and physicists but Carol Emmons explores these questions as an artist in her exhibition Cosmogony 2.0, which is available to see in the Kohler Gallery of the Wriston Art Center.

The exhibits inspiration is the origin of art. Using examples of environment, genetics, determination and luck, among others, Emmons visualizes each possible theory through her art. The resulting installation resembles a star cluster that serves as the allegory for the act of creation.

The installation takes up the entire room. Metal spheres of various sizes, colors and substances dot the walls like stars, while various opening lines from different creation myths (I found Genesis and the Greek creation myth) scrawled across the walls, occasionally intersecting in a very Jungian way to suggest that creations details do not matter and that instead the process is the same: there is nothing and then there is something.

All around the area of the installation are numerous objects that represent one of the aspects of creation; Emmons attributes to the common theories about arts origins. All of them are visualized in various ways, ranging from the more obvious and literal to the blurred and opaque.

Emmons does not limit herself in the sorts of objects she uses to visualize creation. A sort of sand-less, glassless hourglass dominates the center of the room, while train tracks with cars filled with things such as mirrors and other artwork are parked in various positions around the room.

Perhaps the most traditional image and the most profound is located against the wall, just out of notice. It is a ladder meant originally, as Emmons noted self-deprecatingly in her lecture, as a metal ladder that reached up through an unusual piece of ceiling in the Kohler art room, the geometry and architecture having created a tiny gap between the wall and the ceiling. Emmons sticks the ladder through and lets it go beyond our range of vision, and in doing so summarizes the truth about making things, and art specifically. It is a journey, a climb and sometimes, it takes us to some place we cannot see.

Tagged a & e, art, cosmogony, exhibit, henry dykstal, installation

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Installation explores cosmogony, the origins of art in Cosmogony 2.0

What: Family Day Arts & Science

When: 10 a.m. through 3 p.m., Saturday

Where: The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

Cost: Free

Contact: 325-653-3333

SAN ANGELO, Texas Artist Anastasia Gabriels ceramic installation Passage of Memory features 200 porcelain monarch butterflies dangling from the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts ceiling.

Gabriels use of glycerin and Karo Syrup, a common ingredient in pecan pie, as an underglaze creates a smooth, realistic look to the piece while serving as an example of the correlation between art and science, said Bekah Coleman, SAMFA education director.

Part of being an artist is trying to push the boundary and try new things, Coleman said. With ceramics, its using different compounds to cause different chemical reactions.

The fluttering exhibit, along with 122 other works from the 20th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition at SAMFA, will be on display at Family Day Art & Science on Saturday. Angelo State University chemistry students and faculty will lead interactive tours through the galleries and host an array of activities.

The chemistry folks will look at artwork from a scientific perspective, such as the properties of ceramics and their use as insulators and conductors, Coleman said. Groups will relate artistic materials to real-world applications, including the use of porcelain to create veneers and clay used in the tiles of space shuttles, she said.

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Exhibit's formula mixes science, art