The urban dimension of architecture : Rem Koolhaas, Aldo Van Eyck and Vittorio Gregotti, in light of the city

Abstract

The city is central to many discourses on architecture and to the making of architecture in general. This thesis explores the interrelation between architecture and the city in Europe . Through analysis of recent projects I examine and evaluate the role of the city in the making of architecture. The city is a collective artifact. In the city, the architect is confronted with present-day social , economic and cultural realities, with patterns of social and productive organization of the past and with the institution of architecture and the history of that institution. The commitment of the architect to the city, makes him an active participant in "the world". In the city the architect constructs a reality in confrontation with reality at large. The city constitutes a medium, a middle ground between the architect and reality. Through the analysis of works by Koolhaas, Van Eyck and Gregotti some of the issues described above are illuminated. For each of these architects I analyze an urban project and an architectural project. In the first analysis I evaluate the contribution of the architect to the continuous remaking of the city. In the second analysis I examine the relation of the architectural project with the city and the definition of "architecture" in relation to the city.