Die Faszination der Stadt / The Power of the City
Die Faszination der Stadt / The Power of the City
Verlag der Georg Büchner Buchhandlung, Darmstadt 1988
Editors: Oliver Gruenberg, Robert Hahn, Doris Knecht
Foreword. Frank Werner
ISBN 3 – 925376-19 – 4
German/English
“Therefore, all the anti-capitalistic, architectural visions or the anti-postmodern Agitrop-installations of the last two decades should no longer be an issue. Instead, it is to be kept in mind, that today a certain realization is gradually gaining ground more and more on the international scene: namely, just how very much Coop Himmelblau was right in those days, with all the activities, “right” in regards to its trenchant criticism of the status quo and concerning their tenacious insistence on continuing “to walk” upright; so right that by now, others copy Coop Himmelblau minutely, that competition juries and clients can no longer get around a serious discussion of the Viennese cranks’ approach.” (Excerpt foreword Frank Werner)
The book focuses on a specific urban design process that Coop Himmelblau started within the late 1970s (“The Dissipation of our Bodies in the City”) as well as three urban planning projects: Melun-Sénart, Skyline/Hamburg, and Karlsplatz/Vienna.