Almantas Samalavičius

Urbanism and our urban future

The last century was marked by the proliferation of modernism and many of its varieties have left lasting marks on architecture as well as contemporary cities, however, this legacy and its present forms produce ambiguous affects on architectural practices as well as on city-building. The legacy, or perhaps it is much better to call it legacies – of modernism so far remains rather controversial and sparkles ongoing debates not only among architects, theorists and critics of architecture, but affects wider layers of society, these days preoccupied with architectural and urban issues. Witold Rybcynski – an architect, urban historian as well as prolific and renowned architectural writer and author of numerous books that have been translated to many languages is professor emeritus of Pennsylvania University and co-founder of Wharton Real Estate Review. He has contributed a lot to the understanding of architectural legacy as well as it contemporary trends. A stimulating and thoughtful writer, he has discussed v...

Asymptomatic primary tumour in incurable metastatic colorectal cancer: is there a role for surgical resection prior to systematic therapy or not?

Introduction The role of the resection of asymptomatic primary colorectal cancer in patients with incurable disease is questionable. Aim To evaluate the impact of the resection of asymptomatic primary tumour on overall survival in patients with unresectable distant metastases. Material and methods Patients treated in the National Cancer Institute, Lithuania, in the period 2008–2012, were selected retrospectively. The main inclusion criteria were: metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), endoscopically and histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma, without any symptoms for urgent operation, and at least one cycle of palliative chemotherapy administered. Information on patients’ age, gender, tumour histology, localization of the tumour, regional lymph node involvement, number of metastatic sites, surgery and systemic treatment was collected prospectively. Eligible patients for the study were divided into two groups according to the initial treatment – surgery (patients who underwent primary tumour resection) and chemotherapy (patients who received chemotherapy without surgery). The impact of initial treatment strategy, tumour size and site, regional lymph nodes, grade of differentiation of adenocarcinoma and application of biotherapy on overall cumulative survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. To compare survival between groups the log-rank test was used. Cox regression analysis was employed to assess the effects of variables on patient survival. Results The study group consisted of 183 patients: 103 men and 80 women. The median age was 66 years (range: 37–91). There were no notable imbalances with regard to age, gender, number of metastatic sites, metastases (such as pulmonary, peritoneal, liver, metastases into non-regional lymph nodes and other metastases), the number of received cycles of chemotherapy, first line chemotherapy type or biological therapy. Only 27 (14.8%) patients received biological therapy and the majority of them (n = 25, 92.6%) were treated with bevacizumab. For surgically treated patients 1-year survival was 71.2% (95% CI: 62.1–78.5) and 5-year survival was 4.0% (95% CI: 1.0–10.5). In the chemotherapy group, survival rates were lower – 43.9% (95% CI: 31.4–55.7) and 1.7% (95% CI: 0.1–8.1), respectively. Better survival rates were in the palliative surgery group. Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model revealed that the initial palliative surgery and the application of biological therapy were statistically significant independent prognostic factors for survival. Conclusions Our findings suggest that palliative resectional surgery for the primary tumour in patients with incurable mCRC improves survival. Of course, one can argue that patients in the surgery group were “less problematic”. Prospective randomized trials are needed to delineate precisely the role of palliative surgery of the primary tumour in these patients.

Revisiting and rethinking contemporary urban design

Urban and architectural theorist Nikos Salingaros, a professor of mathematics at Texas University, San Antonio is affiliated with departments of urbanism in several countries and has made a significant contribution to the understanding of urban planning on a human scale. His important books on various issues in urban and architectural theory are well-known to all members of the profession and academy, especially those seeking for the application of scientific principles in urbanism. Nikos Salingaros has contributed significantly to the New Athens Charter (2003) – an important yet largely neglected document providing timely guidelines for reshaping present mainstream urbanism that still remains under the spell of urban ideology coined by Le Corbusier, Giedion and legions of their followers. A critic of Corbusian doctrines as well as more recent tendencies of urbanism based on stale legacy of Modernism, Nikos Salingaros offers a different approach to the interpretation of contemporary cities and complexity ...

Modernity and its discontents

AbstractLeon Krier hardly needs to be introduced to anyone who has a professional or academic interest in the discussions of architecture and urbanism of recent decades. An internationally established architect, architectural theorist and urban planner, he is well-known not only as the author of numerous architectural and urban design projects and master-plans, but also for his defense of what is sometimes called „neo-traditional” architecture and the values that were and continue to be associated with the role and aesthetics of the architecture of past centuries. Although he has been attacked for his non-conformist views and critical attitude towards radical modernism, Leon Krier remains an important figure in discussions of architecture and urbanism, and his interests overlap with present concerns for environment and sustainable future. The talk by the editor of the journal with Leon Krier is an attempt to discuss the flaws of contemporary architectural and urban practice as well as to indicate its root...

Public Spaces in Lithuanian Cities: Legacy of Dependence and Recent Tendencies

The object of discussion of the current paper is transformations of urban public spaces since Czarist Russias colonial rule up to the period after the restoration of Lithuanias independence. While reviewing the transformations of public spaces (first and foremost squares) of the countrys larger cities, the authors noted that this field is distinguished by extremely contradictory tendencies: on one hand, we are dealing with the urban legacy of previous regime as well as its impact on the “physiognomies” of Lithuanian cities as well as hurried often premature attempts to change the earlier function of public spaces simply by eliminating the symbols of Soviet ideology continued; on the other, a rapid campaign for creating new ideological symbols related to independence was launched, which often involved sacrificing the actual function of public spaces and the artistic quality of monuments. It is noted that similar processes took place in the earlier periods of history: whenever the repertoire of certain visual signs and symbols was exhausted, in urbanistic spaces it would be replaced with the visual symbols of the new era and a new structure of a public space. One more tendency of restructuring public spaces has recently become distinct: under the influence of interests of private capital, part of the former traditional city squares with monuments is being converted into parking lots or other uses changing their functions and meaning.

Urbanistinė Plėtra IR Racionalumo Retorika: C. A. Doxiadis'o Koncepcijų Likimas

Santrauka Naujo amžiaus urbanistinės raidos perspektyvos akina įvertinti praėjusiame [sbreve]imtmetyje klestėjusias urbanistines koncepcijas ir jų įtaką miesto raidai. Graikų architektas, urbanistikos teoretikas ir miestų planuotojas Constantinos A. Doxiadis paliko ry[sbreve]kų pėdsaką urbanistinės minties ir miestų planavimo istorijoje, kuris iki [sbreve]iol nėra adekvaciai aptartas ir įvertintas. Sukūres originalų, daugiadiciplinį ekistikos mokslą, jis sukūrė ateities miesto – ekumenopolio projektavimo sistemą, o kartu atliko urbanistinius tyrimus ir rengė projektus daugelyje pasaulio [sbreve]alių. Analizuojama, kokią įtaką graikų urbanisto idėjų recepcijai padarė jo paties scientistinės ir racionalistinės premisos bei kompleksinių tyrimų metodologija ir kokios buvo jo koncepcijų sąsajos su bendra laikotarpio atmosfera, kurioje stiprėjo pažangos ideologija, racionalizmas, persmelkes ne tik ekonomiką, bet ir kitas Vakarų visuomenės sferas. Taip pat ai[sbreve]kinamasi, kodėl bandymai globalią urbanistine ...