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:: PassaGes ::

:: architects cannot design a structure this amazing :: planners cannot award planning
permission for a structure this spontaneous :-: spontaneous not in a temporal sense but in a creative
sense :: zoning laws cannot provide the necessary framework for a genuine structure such as this
:: this transcends everything modern urbanism is capable of :: this is an insurance
nightmare :: this is a landlord-tenant nightmare :: this is a structural engineer’s
nightmare :: etc :: therefore :: this is not architecture :: this is not urbanism :: it’s just a
quaint relic from some bygone age :: not even the electric trolley-bus lines justify some transit
oriented development prototype :: with other words it’s picturesque :: and that’s it ::
:: not so fast :: architects killed the art of building :: urban planners killed the art of caring
for citizens :: this is a singular example of how we can allow layer upon layer of structure to grow
out of the earth, naturally :: without much design :: kinda like freud’s theatre of memory ::
rising :: poking through layers of unwritten history ::

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perugia :: source :?: image might be protected by copyright laws

:©: francis safaie-brown ::


:: PassaGes ::

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:: via dei asini :: donkey alley :: 2nd floor :: artisans’ shops below, apartments above ::
contemporary architects cannot dream up a solution as radical :: contemporary urban
planners cannot conceive of a solution this imaginative :: contemporary planning laws cannot
ever tolerate such a vision :: ok :: back in the grand old days of open sewers – not a bad idea :: all
that excrement from donkeys, horses, pigs, chicken, humans :: bad enough on a hot summer’s day ::
but in the rain :?: an unimaginable morass :: so :: times have changed :: really :: so what about
exhaust fumes and polluted dust from our streets :: a really hostile environment for
pedestrians :: how much more pedestrian friendly :: ok – enough already :: it’s charming ::
quaintly touristy :: and that’s about it ::
:: slow down :: urban planners are the enemies of creative and innovative thoughts :: if it
violates codes and laws, it’s out :: architects are too apathetic to force change :: architects as
citizens are scared of the law :-: planning law :: as if it were felonious to be daring ::

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brisighella :: via dei asini :: source :?: image might be protected by copyright laws

:©: francis safaie-brown ::


:: PassaGes ::

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:: climbing up towards monte caprino :: towards little goat’s hill :: what a vision :: talking
about a stairway to heaven :: architects might have the vision :: but laws will castrate the
notion even before it’s born :: think about the disability accessibility :: as if there had been no cripples
during the renaissance :: during the mediaeval – the dark ages ::
:: so it stands in solitary beauty :: sadly unique :: planners clutching their little tattered copies of
planning laws and regulations and building regulations, and regulatory
regulations will scrap the vision even as the ink dries on the paper :: but them, the planners,
they are myopic :: them, who just talk about a better urban artifact :: and them, the architects,
who dare not dream no more :: who have no will no more to stand up to moronic laws :: so it’s kind of
biblical :: a testimony to the rinascimento :: but that’s about it ::
:: no way :: this is how we have to protest our visions :: with grand gestures :: let’s face it :: 1st world
urban planners are urbanism’s worst enemy :: why should we listen to them ::

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stair from piazza del campidoglio to monte caprino, capitol hill, rome :: source :?: image might be
protected by copyright laws

:©: francis safaie-brown ::

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