The Possibility of An Absolute Architecture

The theoretical concern here is how successful and creative urban architecture interacts, confronts, and redefines cities while also distinguishing itself as absolute or separate and strategic manifestation of singular space. Aureli (capital cities research program, Berlage Inst., Rotterdam; The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture Within and Against Capitalism) is a proponent of vibrant buildings and "archipelago" spaces that both counterpoise and animate the organization and politics of city space. Most of this compact disquisition is made up of his scholarly analysis and interpretation of historical urban projects by Andrea Palladio in Renaissance Venice, Giovanni Piranesi in 1700s Rome, Étienne-Louis Boullée in neoclassical Paris, and Oswald Mathias Ungers in postwar West Berlin. Visuals include historic maps, diagrams, elevations, and models.