Urbanism as Civic Art: A Handbook of 150 Exemplary German Precedents

Book

Urbanism as Civic Art

A Handbook of 150 Exemplary German Precedents

Edited by: Christoph Mäckler and Deutsches Institut für Stadtbaukunst e. V.
In collaboration with: Birgit Roth

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2025

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About this book

Urbanism as Civic Art presents essential expertise on the art of building cities. Showcasing 150 examples from over 70 German cities, it illustrates, analyzes, and compares a wide range of city spaces, courtyard spaces, plaza spaces, and street spaces. The book impressively documents the distinctive qualities of European cities: their beauty, durability, mixed usage, social diversity, density, and the clear separation between public and private space. Editor Christoph Mäckler builds on the foundations laid by early twentieth-century urban design pioneers such as Cornelius Gurlitt, Raymond Unwin, and Josef Stübben, offering a comprehensive framework for city planning.

With an introduction by Stefanos Polyzoides

Featuring contributions by Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, Christoph Mäckler, Werner Oechslin, Alexander Pellnitz, Jan Pieper, Birgit Roth, Mirjam Schmidt, Wolfgang Sonne, Jürg Sulzer and Anne Pfeil, and Thomas Will

The definitive guide to the foundations of urban design, now in English
Comprehensive analysis of 150 case studies from 70 cities
Collaboration with the University of Notre Dame

Author / Editor information

Christoph Mäckler is an architect based in Frankfurt am Main, professor emeritus of urban design at TU Dortmund, and director of the Deutsches Institut für Stadtbaukunst, which he founded in 2008. From 1990 until 1997 he held visiting professorships in Naples, Braunschweig, and Hanover, and was a member of the Internationale Bauakademie Berlin.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	4
CITY SPACES
INTRODUCTION Stefanos Polyzoides Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Christoph Mäckler Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	8
THE CITY AS AN ARCHITECTURAL STUCTURE— A GUIDE TO ITS DESIGN Christoph Mäckler Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	12
EMBELLISHMENT— THE BEAUTIFICATION OF THE CITY Werner Oechslin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	20
EXAMPLES OF CITY SPACES AS GUIDES FOR DESIGN Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	26
THE CITY AS AN ENSEMBLE Thomas Will Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	36
EXAMPLES OF URBAN STRUCTURES AS GUIDES FOR DESIGN Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	41
THE URBAN QUARTER AS A TECTONIC ENSEMBLE Jürg Sulzer and Anne Pfeil Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	60
THE MIXED-USE DISTRICT Birgit Roth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	72
COMPARISONS OF URBAN SPACES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	80
COURTYARD SPACES
THE URBAN BLOCK Wolfgang Sonne Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	134
THE CITY—FORMS AND CONSTANTS Alexander Pellnitz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	146
EXAMPLES OF COURTYARD SPACES AS GUIDES TO DESIGN Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	152
COMPARISONS OF COURTYARD SPACES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	154
PLAZA SPACES
THE PLAZA—A FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT OF EUROPEAN CITIES Jan Pieper Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	242
EXAMPLES OF PLAZA SPACES AS GUIDES TO DESIGN Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	254
COMPARISONS OF PLAZA SPACES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	262
URBAN ARCADES Mirjam Schmidt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	380
EXAMPLES OF ARCADE SPACES AS GUIDES TO DESIGN Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	386
STREET SPACES
THE URBAN STREET Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	394
EXAMPLES OF STREET SPACES AS GUIDES TO DESIGN Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	400
COMPARISONS OF STREET SPACES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	412
APPENDIX
AUTHORS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	500
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	502
PICTURE CREDITS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	506
DRAWING REFERENCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	508
IMPRINT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	512

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

June 16, 2025

eBook ISBN:

9783986121037

Hardcover published on:

June 30, 2025

Hardcover ISBN:

9783986121020

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Main content:

512

Coloured Illustrations:

1000

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783986121037

eBook ISBN: 9783986121037

Hardcover ISBN: 9783986121020

Keywords for this book

urban planning; urban design; architecture; urban spaces; urban squares: courtyards; design manual; design theory; architectural theory; Deutsches Institut für Stadtbaukunst; European city; density; mixed use; city planning

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Urbanism as Civic Art

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

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