Projecting Urbanity: Architecture for and Against the City

Existing histories of modern architecturetypically give their highest praise to private houses and their most severecondemnation to architect-authored urban plans, often neglecting the builtworks that are no smaller than a single building and possibly as large as anurban block, the middle or institutional scale, where culturally significanturban transformation actually takes place. Urban architecture is a timely topic as todaycities worldwide are suffering accelerated urbanisation, which is oftendehumanising and destructive, especially to the unbuilt environment, airs,waters and soils. The middle or institutional scale is shown to activate andactualise latent potentials for cultural experience and environmentalintelligence, allowing the city to surprise itself and delight in itsdiscoveries. In ProjectingUrbanity, David Leatherbarrow, via author-architect texts by his formerdoctorate students, lays out the basis for a revision of modern architecture'scontribution to cities and their culture. Presenting a series of textsfeaturing buildings or their parts of various scales - from the constructiondetail, to the room or garden, to ensembles within a neighborhood - thecontributors introduce concepts for contemporary and future urbanarchitecture, together with richly indicative examples from the past severaldecades. While architecture cannot "solve" today'surban problems, it certainly has a role to play in their productivetransformation, articulating opportunities for life and culture that are morehumane, less wasteful, and more beautiful.