Overwriting the European City
CARTHA, The Form of Form

Our map of central Lisbon does not represent a utopian notion of city, depicting instead the condition of today’s city in a critical analysis. In a way, it depicts a contemporary image of the European core city in general. Over the course of various crises and the accelerated globalization of our economy and society, these cities are undergoing latent changes. In terms of its historical and cultural quality, the physical substance of the city is being reduced to containers that are refilled with globalized content. We read headlines of how vacancies are hollowing out the centres from within, how Airbnb is becoming the newest mode of gentrification, and how Asian buyers of property also get a European passport when purchasing a home. The permanence of the form (Rossi) shifts from the ground plan and the building type to the facade and the simple codes of so-called urbanity. The text of the city is rewritten, and the palimpsest of the urban fabric acquires yet another layer.

Konzept
Ron Edelaar, Elli Mosayebi, Christian Inderbitzin, Thomas Toffel, Jakub Gondorowicz

Ausstellung
Mãe d‘Água das Amoreiras, Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Portugal, 8. bis 14. Dezember 2016

Fotos: CARTHA / Francisco Nogueira