Urban literacy

Urban Literacy. Reading and Writing Architecture discusses how literature offers valuable ways to become aware of how people experience, use, and imagine places. It argues that Lefebvre's concept of lived space, experienced and lived through by characters, evoking memories and imaginations, is the space that we encounter in the evocative descriptions of places and spaces by literary writers. The hypothesis of this book is that if existing literature can provide such insights, a literary approach using instruments from literature is also conceivable within the domain of architectural research and architectural design. To address the different perspectives that a literary approach to architecture can provide, the work proposes a triad of interrelated concepts: description, transcription and prescription. Within this framework, the book includes analyses of the written and architectural work of Steven Holl, Bernard Tschumi and Rem Koolhaas. Urban Literacy concludes with chapters about the potential of a literary approach for architectural education, research and design practice.