The Urban Fact

Book excerpt: The Urban Fact examines Aldo Rossis formulation of a theory of the city, developed over the period of roughly ten years, from Architecture of the City published in 1966, to Analogous City exhibited in 1976. Rossis theory is not taken as an abstract argument, but is seen through his work from that period. A careful selection of twenty-three projects is presented here at face value. These projects, bound by the reality of their setting, but also charged with cultural and civic ambition, illustrate the intricacy of an architectural project as a complex 'whole'. They also demonstrate how architecture could contribute to the changing urban context of the field, hinting at an oeuvre painfully aware of its limitations and stubborn in its intentions.