Abstract
During the 20th Century, architecture’s relationship with the city underwent a profound transformation that can be most clearly seen in the changing attitudes regarding the role of the urban block as a constituent component of the urban fabric. The introduction of the car and the increasing scale of urban development prompted a reexamination of not only the block, but also its defining streets. This paper uses the prolonged rebuilding of Berlin to examine these changing attitudes from the 1957 InterBau exhibition to the 1984/7 IBA, and ends with a consideration of Bigness in relation to the megastructure, grossform, and block form. We follow these debates from Berlin to Cornell University and back again, focusing on the roles of Aldo Rossi, O. M. Ungers, Rob Krier, Rem Koolhaas, Colin Rowe, and J. P. Kleihues.
Presenters
Edgar AdamsProfessor of Architecture and Urbanism, Cummings School of Architecture, Roger Williams University, Rhode Island, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Grossform, Block Form, Collective From, Bigness, Urban Design, Urban Regeneration
