Hello Stranger: Phenomenology and Topography of the Megacity

Caroline Bos of UNStudio counters the city theme of this issue of Architectural Design with the spectre of the megacity. The very recent emergence and scale of the Asian megacity, she argues, requires a very different architectural treatment to the European or North American metropolis. It is one that should be understood through an experiential approach that brings to the fore spatial and visual relations between people, and people and things, asking, for instance, how so many strangers can be so visibly at home in public urban space.     

Scarcity and Abundance: Urban Agriculture in Cuba and the US

In urban agriculture, there is a direct connection between scarcity and abundance: with the threat of food shortages so often acting as an effective trigger for food-growing enterprises. Produce can also be grown with few or limited resources. André Viljoen and Katrin Bohn of Bohn&Viljoen Architects juxtapose the experience of the organopónicos, or market gardens, in Cuba, which have proliferated since the US trade blockade of the 1990s and ensuing fuel shortages, and more recent experiments in food production in North American cities that are learning from their example.     

Digital Workflows and the Expanded Territory of the Architect

Particularly in areas of Africa and Asia, efforts are being made to accommodate new economic development without obliterating the rural way of life. Termed ‘New Ruralism’, the approach involves architects cooperating closely with local communities, ensuring that projects respect their cultural heritage and empowering them to actively participate in shaping their environment. The process is as important as the form in driving sustainability. Guest-Editor Richard Garber explains the principles and illustrates them with a project in China by his own firm GRO Architects, and one in Kenya by his former employers SHoP Architects.     

Lightness and Fluidity: Remarks Concerning the Aesthetics of Elegance

Over the last century, elegance as a term has been conspicuously absent from discussions centred on both architecture and the philosophy of aesthetics. Elegance's time has, however, now come. David Goldblatt describes how the maturation of digital discourse has led to the onset of a new, multifaceted, sensual rationality that is evident in recent designs and constructed works. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.