Carlo Ratti— One of the lesser-known casualties of COVID-19 has been a new, large-scale urban development in Toronto, led by Google sibling company Sidewalk Labs. Several years in the making, the “Google City”—as it was sometimes dubbed in the media—ultimately came to a halt because of the ongoing recession, but
Here is my selection of five books that have defined and redefined urbanism since 1850… Camillo Sitte, City Building according to artistic principles (1889) As an arts and crafts educator in Vienna in the 1880s, concerned about what he saw as the soulless and mechanical extensions of European cities, Sitte
In this conversation with eminent architectural critic Witold Rybczynski, we discuss some fascinating and truly unique architecture and urban development projects in one the most beautiful cities in the U.S., Charleston, South Carolina. YaleUniversity · Charleston Fancy Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Soundcloud
We’re looking forward to the publication this season of The Writings of Josep Lluís Sert, a volume that provides new insight into Sert’s role as the founder of urban design, and offers an intellectual context for his work as an architect. The book is edited by Eric Mumford, Rebecca and
An abstract and mysterious structure, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis conveys wonder, but leaves many visitors questioning the “why” behind the monument. Its history is surprisingly sordid. In The Gateway Arch: A Biography, a new addition to the Icons of America series, author Tracy Campbell documents the series of
Both before it was built and since, people have been boosting and bashing Boston’s Prudential Center, whose construction began in earnest fifty years ago. Insuring the City: The Prudential Center and the Postwar Urban Landscape, by architectural historian Elihu Rubin and published today by Yale University Press, captures and explains what the
In 2004, Zaha Hadid became the first woman ever to win the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor. Last year, Hadid, an Iraqi-born architect widely known for her dynamic and innovative work, was invited to join the committee of judges for the Pritzker. If that is not evidence enough of the