Assistant Professor Komgrij Thanapet, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University. February 27, 2015 1:00 am

In the West, the profession of urban planning developed at key moments in the interconnected relationship between city form and socioeconomic circumstances. Before the industrial revolution, no distinction was made between the design of building components, buildings, and building complexes - all were continuations of one practice.

The industrial revolution collapsed this generalism and consolidated urban or city planning into a stand-alone discipline. Incorporating principles taken from economics and public works engineering, urban planning became a discipline that organised and coordinated the operations of the town and its environs in order to support economic productivity and efficiency.

As the profession grew, so did an associated body of knowledge, which became the theoretical discipline of urban sociology.

Early urban planning was critiqued for its disassociation from the needs of society. In countries with exploding cities, "urbanism" emerged as an inter-disciplinary approach to investigate the city with the goal of enhancing the lives of its inhabitants.

More recently, the discipline has increasingly focused on the effects of greenhouse gases and pollutants on weakening environmental health.

The interdisciplinary nature of urban planning, which can be considered the "practice" of urbanism," requires skilled, versatile practitioners drawn from a variety of concentrations. However, most practitioners are guided by three lead disciplines: urban planning, architecture and landscape architecture.

In Thailand, practitioners of city design are officially recognised as "urban architects". These professionals are constantly in demand as the population in cities such as Bangkok swell and strain its existing infrastructures and services.

The Bangkok metropolitan region and other Thai cities will experience severe challenges in the 21st century. To alleviate the ill effects of environmental degradation, we must be encouraged to give up our car-centric transportation network for a robust, multimodal transportation system that is responsible for the mobility of both people and goods.

Bangkok has evolved into more than just Thailand's industrial centre. It is also the heart of the tourism and service sectors, of enterprise businesses, and of entrepreneurship, and, as a result, needs to attract and nurture talent to sustain these industries.

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Urban architects - agents of change

Mount Arlington, N.J. and New York, N.Y. (PRWEB) February 26, 2015

Exigent Technologies welcomed in the New Year with news of its first business merger. The New Jersey-based managed IT and cloud services company is pleased to announce it has acquired Information Architects, a Morris County, New Jersey-based IT services company specializing in systems integration, core platform technologies, managed services and virtualization.

This strategic business agreement is a major marker in our companys 18-year history and positions us to better serve our customers by broadening our expertise and creating more customer value for each technology dollar invested, says Exigent President Dan Haurey. We are honored to welcome Information Architects to the Exigent family and work as one team, under one roof and one brand, to meet our customers needs and forge new relationships with business owners and managers that view technology as a strategic asset within their organizations.

The merger strengthens and extends Exigents advanced technical expertise around custom IT solutions and enhances the firms cloud services and managed services portfolio by expanding its specializations in disaster recovery, security, networking and virtualization. It also provides a more comprehensive service engagement model to Information Architects existing customers.

As part of the merger, Exigent welcomes the leadership of Information Architects founders Eric Burke, who joins Exigent as vice president of technology, and Frank Vizzuso, who serves as vice president of sales. Exigent is also pleased to expand its technical engineering, support and operational teams to include all of Information Architects associates.

Were all very excited by this union, says Burke. The deal brings together two high-caliber, customer-focused organizations with long track records of success, creating a very capable team with uncommon depth and breadth in the New Jersey, New York IT consulting marketplace.

The founders of Exigent Technologies and Information Architects met several years ago at an Ingram Micro VTN Invitational. The two firms maintained a friendly, yet competitive relationship over the years. Haurey approached Burke and Vizzuso about a potential merger in early 2014. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Weve always admired Dans passion for the business and quickly learned that we share the same values, says Vizzuso. At the end of the day this is a huge win for all involved, especially our customers and associates.

For more information about how Exigent Technologies enables small and midsize businesses to use technology as a strategic asset, visit http://www.exigent.net; call 1.855.NO DOWNTIME; or email contact(at)exigent(dot)net. Follow Exigent Technologies on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/exigenttechnologies.

About Exigent Technologies Exigent Technologies LLC is a full-service information technology consulting firm that implements and maintains high-performance IT systems for small and medium-sized organizations in a wide range of industries. Established in 1997, Exigent brings proven experience and expertise to every engagement, and differentiates itself on integrity, responsiveness and exceptional customer care.

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Exigent Technologies Merges with Information Architects to Create New York Metro Area IT Services Powerhouse

Although money is often seen as a taboo topic in art schools, a group of Yale alumni is urging professional architects to place more value on the relationship between money and architecture.

The Yale Architectural Journals latest edition, titled Money, discusses the controversial role of money in the field of architecture. With articles written by a diverse group of professional architects ranging from Frank Gehry to Yale School of Architecture Professor Keller Easterling, the issue urges architects to reconsider the financial side of their work. Yale Architectural Journal Editor Marcus Addison Hooks ARC 12 noted that many architects choose to avoid thinking about money in their work and do not view the topic as a serious area of inquiry.

Its a big question that the other editors and I discussed about three years ago, Hooks said. Architects dont talk about money a lot, but in every work of architecture you need to find what the economic system can allow.

When compared to other forms of art, Hooks explained, the large scale of architectural projects makes them significantly more expensive than other artistic works. Hooks added that while contractors and developers typically contribute substantial amounts of money to these projects, architects must still work within budgetary restrictions. Architects have to consider both the aesthetic appeal and monetary viability of their projects, he noted.

Addison said that while artists in other fields can maintain control over the materials that they work with throughout the creative process, architects must design their work around their budgets.

No matter what financial model that youre practicing on, it doesnt change your passion for the design aspect, Addison said. Taking on a more active financial role can only help the design aspect and is not at all against the tradition of wanting to create something beautiful.

Yale Architectural Journal Editor Avi Forman ARC 12 said that while contractors and carpenters may prioritize monetary concerns above other factors, architects focus more on the artistic aspects of their projects.

Forman said he thinks it is impossible for architects to ignore the financial side of their work, adding that professional architects are consultants to some of the most expensive industries in the world, including real estate and construction.

Even if you say its an art, architecture is connected more closely to money than any other art field, Yale Architectural Journal author James Andrachuk ARC 12 said. Its important that architects understand how their financial imperatives, needs and designs tie into a much larger picture.

Andrachuk said the same financial principle is not limited to commercial real estate development but also applies to other areas, such as designing houses and school districts. By having both an economic and design justification, clients are more likely to give architects increased control over their proposals, he said.

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Yale Architectural Journal articles emphasizes importance of money in architecture

The New Zealand Institute of Architects is urging Auckland Council to stop a wharf extension it says will ruin views from the city's waterfront.

The call comes as Auckland Council relitigates its stance on port reclamation in an extraordinary meeting today.

Ports of Auckland is due to begin work in April on two 100 metre extensions which will stick out into the Waitemata Harbour on either side of the Bledisloe container wharf.

Laura Walters Laura Walters Laura Walters Laura Walters

A small gathering down at Bledisloe Wharf gather to protest a wharf extension.

Protesters gather down at Bledisloe Wharf.

Protesters gather at Bledisloe Wharf.

The protest was timed to coincide with arrival of a large cruise ship.

Opponents say they will block an iconic view of the harbour entrance from the end of Queen's Wharf, which is a public area.

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Architects urge rethink on wharf plans

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