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- March 20, 2018
Porosity and Open Form
What is the porous city? Porosity refers to the ambiguous zones, inbetween spaces, and thresholds that permeate urban environments. Such spaces merge into each other, providing the backdrop for the unforeseen and improvised, and blur the boundary between physical and social space. Experts in the fields of architecture, urbanism, and landscape design offer a wide-ranging critique of the modernist city and discuss the potential of porosity to enliven and illuminate a progressive urban agenda.
Dell, C., Kniess, B., Peck, D., and Richter, A., 2018. Porosity and Open Form. In: Wolfrum, S., Stengel, H., Kurbasik, F., Kling, N., Dona, S., Mumm, I., and Zöhrer, C., eds. Porous City. From Metaphor to Urban Agenda. Basel: Birkhäuser, 122–125.
ISBN: 978-3-0356-1578-4
contributors
Prof. Dr. habil. Christopher Dell
Professor, UFoK, OT and RFoP
Prof. Dipl. Ing. Bernd Kniess
Professor, Urban Design
M.Sc. Dominique Peck
Academic Staff, Ph.D. Candidate
Dr. Anna Richter
Post-doctoral Researcher
2017/2018
Modes of Realising

There is an elephant in the room. It writes the themes of scholarly conferences. It constitutes both standardized and alternative modes of urban development. It mobilises and immobilises vast amounts of resources. It chooses one kind of politician over another. It draws the line between what is possible and what remains wishful thinking or speculation threatening the existence of ‘abnormal’ modes …