X-Urbanism

Author: (American) Mario Gandelsonas, translated by Sun Chengren, Fu Hongjie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: In Mario Gandelsonas' view, American cities are key to understanding modern urbanism in thought and practice, as well as cities in the 21st century. This book presents architectural discussions on American urban issues through a series of analytical diagrams, covering the emergence of new urban spatial structures and the formation of diverse urban landscapes. It examines and visually demonstrates the morphological characteristics of American cities, dissolving the opposition between traditional texture and object, figure and ground, writing and reading. It reveals the underlying urban structures of New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Newark, Des Moines, and Atlantic City. In the process, this book alters our perception, allowing us to see the subtle order in the chaotic Los Angeles and the random fragmentation of the rigid grid in Chicago. The book clearly reproduces Gandelsonas' diagrams, ranging from detailed and elegant ink drawings to vibrant computer renderings, which are not only rich in meaning but also visually stunning.