Since 1990, 34 new nations have come into existence such that there are today ‘196’ nation states if we include Taiwan (the PR China wouldn’t). 15 of these new states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union as nationalist fervor swept Eastern Europe and the Balkans in the early 1990s. Some of these new nations, like Armenia, are modern reincarnations of ancient nations, while others, such as the states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) are truly new countries, whose borders followed those of republics within the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation was created in 1991 to comprise the former Soviet Union territory that did not break away into separate countries. Yugoslavia dissolved in the early 1990s into five independent countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Mecedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and Slovenia. Given the ongoing conflict it is highly possible that Syria could trigger a new partitioning of the Middle East. Robin Wright, a NY Times analyst, suggests that sectarian and ethnic rivalries could break Syria into at least three new states: 1. Alawite, a state based on a minority of people that have controlled Syria for decades and dominate the coastal corridor; 2. Kurdistan, which could merge Syrian with Iraqi Kurds with Erbil as capital; 3. Sunnistan, which merges Syrian and Iraqi Sunnis with Baghdad as the capital 4. Shiitestan to the South. In the longer term Saudi Arabia will confront it’s own, currently suppressed, internal divisions which could resurface with the next generation of Princes. The kingdom’s unity is further threatened by tribal differences, the Sunnite-Shiite divide and economic challenges. Saudia Arabia could then dissolve into the five regions that preceded the modern state: 5. North Arabia 6. West Arabia with Mecca as a potential capital 7. East Arabia 8. Wahhabistan with Riyadh as capital 9. South Arabia. Yemen, the poorest Arab country could break again into two states following a potential referendum in 10. South Yemen on independence leaving 11. North Yemen. Libya would fragment, as a result of powerful tribal rivalries into its historic parts 12. Tripolitania 13. Cyrenaica and possibly a third 14. Fezzan state in the southwest.

We are not quite sure what Eugenia gets up to some days but whatever it is she should keep doing it…

London Cycling Summit. Boris Johnson’s Vision for Cycling proposes investing nearly a billion pounds in new infrastructure. Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor’s Cycling Commissioner, will set out his strategy for implementing the Vision at this special half day conference. He joins speakers from TfL, the boroughs, and design and planning experts to update and discuss how the capital is improving infrastructure for cycling. The event takes place next to WHAT_office on Old Street roundabout – a recent survey carried out by City Hall showed that 49 per cent of vehicles passing through the roundabout in the morning peak were bicycles.

Architecture+Women•NZ “2013 is the 120th Anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand (the first country to give all women the right to vote), and together with the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) we have arranged for a full schedule of events which begins with a public lecture.” Lynda Simmons, co-founder ArchitectureWomeNZ. In response to Lynda’s recognition of WHAT_architecture being ‘female arch-friendly’ (Anthony worked for 3 women architecture practice principals in Louisa Hutton, Alison Brooks and Francine Houben (by way of affirmation 2 have El Croquis credentials, Alison will surely follow), WHAT_architecture wondered who might this female architect be to deliver the keynote WANZ speaker address? So here’s the ‘WHAT_woman architect’ 5 minute, office crowd source brain storm… or perhaps NZIA should look beyond the present and into the future: Magda!? Natalia? Catarina? Beatrice? Adele? Eugenia? Adriana? Zuzanna? www.architecturewomen.org.nz

(2 x French) + (3 x Polish) + (2 x Portuguese) + (2 x Italian) + (1 X NZ) + (1 x Bulgarian) + (1 x South Korean) + (3 x Spanish) + (1 X Turkmen) = British office in TransWorld House, 100 City Road, Old Street, London.

The recent event in Istanbul where anti-capitalist demonstrators took a fast-break “iftar” meal along Taksim’s İstiklal Avenue (on the first night of 2013 Ramadan) raised the spectre of mass urban dining as a socio-political event. You want a table for how many? 1. London table for 1000, 240m: 2008 Mayor’s Festival 2. Istanbul table for 5000, 1200m. 3. Lisbon table for 68,000 17km table: opening of the Vasco da Gama bridge. And of course our own office is not adverse to flash mob dining…

Thanks to Tadeáš Riha, we now know that Czech sgraffito, a decorative wall technique achieved by scratch relief, is also available in a wafer edible form…