Envisioning Tomorrow’s Cities. O.M.Ungers’ Urban Reflections

Issue 12 of HPA Histories of Postwar Architecture on the topic of Envisioning Tommorrow's Cities: O. M. Ungers' Urban Reflexion poses the question of the innovative power of O. M. Ungers today in the 21st century. The question is about the significance of Ungers' theory and practice under the changing conditions of climate-friendly development, the remodelling of the city, the problems of dealing with natural resources, global warming and changing models of living in general. The need to rethink the conception of architecture and the city calls for possibilities of orientation and especially for theoretical models as bases for current practice. For this end this issue of HPA propose to turn once again to the work of the German architect O. M. Ungers (1926-2007) and to investigate the visionary and experimental aspects that are hidden in his work and went unnoticed so far. The question is whether and how Ungers can serve as a starting point for new models and visions of the cities of tomorrow. We asked our authors to unearth and bring to light those new aspects in the work of Ungers, that may serve as key concepts for the solutions in the current crises of the city.