Utopian Thinking vs Design Making. The ideal and the real

The book Rome: Urban Formation and Transformation by professor and architect Jon Michael Schwarting presents a critical reading of ancient Rome through drawings, raising the question of the ‘making’ of the city. The city is taken as a case study to develop a contextual theory of urban development. Throughout the book, the theoretical discussion highlights the dialectical notions of the ‘ideal’ and the ‘real’, theory and praxis, utopian thinking and its adaptation to existing conditions, that is ‘formation’ and ‘transformation’ as determinants of urban design processes.

In the exhibition, the original illustrations of the book will be presented. Drawn with ink on mylar, they show how the urban analysis was done in the Seventies, thus also offering an opportunity to reflect on the role of technology, technique, and representation in urban studies.

Event curated by Antonella Contin – Dept. DaStU – PoliMi