Synopses & Reviews
Renowned for its decadence and hanging gardens, ancient Babylon was a cosmopolitan cultural centre which established the civic principles of freedom and law. In 1959, a member of the Situationist International, the Dutch artist Constant Nieuwenhuys, entitled his utopian vision of a unitary urbanism "New Babylon". With the aid of coloured perspectives, plans and models, as well as a potent narrative, Constant delivered a shocking image of a metropolitan future.
Today over 40 years later, there is a renewed interest in Constant and the thinking of the Situationist International. In two seminal essays by Mark Wigley and David Pinder, quite how substantial their impact on urbanism has been revealed. It is, however, through the publication that a highly disparate group of architectural practices and cultural thinkers emerge - the New Babylonians - all inspired in very different ways by situationism.
Synopsis
The Situationists, who first appeared on the architectural scene in the 1960s, regarded cities as the ultimate opportunity for creative self-expression. While there are many publications about the history of the Situationist International, New Babylonians offers unique coverage of how their tactics are currently employed in architectural and urban strategies. It features renowned architects and educators who were first generation Situationists and also highlights some of the most exciting international practitioners involved in urban design today.
* Contains contributions from an impressive roster of academics, designers, writers, and art practitioners
* Offers timely and lively insights about contemporary urban architecture and art
About the Author
Broad audience including scientists of various disciplines (e.g. biology, physics, and chemistry), graduate students, young faculty, engineers, economists, policy makers, personnel of funding agencies, and lay persons interested in science, science policy, and the general nature of creativity.
Table of Contents
Editorial (H. Castle).
Critique of Lines (I. Borden & S. McCreery).
The Great Urbanism Game (M. Wigley).
New Babylon: An Urbanism of the Future (C. Nieuwenhuys).
Utopian Transfiguration: The Other Spaces of New Babylon (D. Pinder).
The Surreal Foil (L. Romito).
Transborderline: A Habitable Cross Border Structure to Support Free Circulation of People (Stalker).
Images at the Edge of the Built (C. Rice).
City Hall Vauxhall X (C. Brandt).
Connections Could Be Made There: Detecting Situationist Tendencies in Adriaan Geuze and West 8 (J. Chance).
What is the Difference Between a Situationist and an Essex Girl? (General Lighting & Power).
Manoeuvre: Discursive Performance (T. Brennan).
Abstract Tours Operator (L. Ruggeri).
Weather Architecture (J. Hill).
Scene 8 (M. Taylor).
Fruin Street, Millennium Space, Possilpark (S. Nicol).
Jon Jerde's Consuming Fantasies and Other Urban Interiors (K. Jaschke).
Webbed Babylon (C. Fournier).
Out of Babylon (B. Curtis).
A Global D?rive (G. Doron).
The Indeterminate Utopia (S. Sadler).
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.
Multi-Source Synthesis: Delivering a Sustainable Future (B. McCarthy).
BuildingProfile: The ?resund Link (J. Melvin).
Practice Profile: Radical D?rive (B. Lootsma).
Book Review.
Highlights from Wiley-Academy.
Site Lines (I. Margolius).