Citymakers: Pragmatics of the Picturesque

The outcome of our third annual Citymakers conference is the publication of 'Pragmatics of the Picturesque: Strategies for the Contemporary City'. Both traditional and more current definitions of the picturesque are attempted, as are musings on how the picturesque can be repurposed as tactics in achieving sustainable urban design outcomes. Different strands, including modernism and colonialism, are included. There is a richness too in the geographies explored, with perspectives and projects drawn from Britain to Beirut.

The publication features extracts from lectures delivered in our studios from academics including John Macarthur (Professor of Architecture, University of Queensland), Dirk van den Heuvel (Associate Professor of Architecture, TU Delft), Divya Subramanian (Lecturer in History, Columbia University), Emily Mann (Lecturer in History of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art) and Otto Saumarez Smith (Assistant Professor of Architectural History, University of Warwick).

There are essays by those working in practice: Cany Ash (Ash Sakula), Eelco Hooftman (GROSS.MAX), Lisa Woo (Meridian Water), Rashid bin Shabib, Tim Stonor (Space Syntax and Professor, The Bartlett) and William Mann (Witherford Watson Mann); as well as contributions from Allies and Morrison's own Alfredo Caraballo, Antje Saunders, Bob Allies, Graham Morrison, Helen Logan and Hendrik Heyns. The editor is Daniel Elsea.

You can read the publication here.