Joseph Rykwert

Roman towns and their history are generally regarded as being the preserve of the archaeologist or the economic historian. In this famous, unusual and radical book which touches on such disparate themes as psychology and urban architecture, Joseph Rykwert has considered them as works of art. His starting point is the mythical, historical and ritual texts in which their foundation is recounted rather than the excavated remains, such texts having parallels not merely in ancient Greece but also further afield Mesopotamia, India and China. To achieve his reading of the Roman town, he has invoked the comparative method of the anthropologists, and he examines first of all the Etruscan rite, a group of ceremonies by which all, or practically all, Roman towns were founded. The basic institutions of the town, its walls and gates, its central shrines and its forum are all of them part of a pattern to which the rituals and the myths that accompanied them provide clues. Like in other closed societies, these rituals and myths served to create a secure home for the citizen of Rome and to make him feel part of his city and place it firmly in a knowable universe. It is refreshing to look at standard themes of the history of urban design from a nonrational point of view, to see surveyors as quasi priests and orthogonal planning as a sophisticated technique touched by divine mystery . . .. Rykwerts lasting worth will be to wrench us away from rationalist simplicities, and to make us face the fundamental disquietof the human spirit in its claim to a permanent place on the land. Spiro Kostoff, Journal of the Society Architectural Historians

El origen, la razón de ser, el nacimiento de una ciudad no es tan inmediato, tan directo, como a veces se nos pretende hacer creer sal insistir en los accidentes naturales que la explican. Fundar una ciudad siempre ha estado acompañado de razonables temores cuando no de explicitos sentimientos de culpa. Rykwert reconstruye estos remotos y oscuros origenes con la ayuda tanto del material que le proporciona la arqueologia como con el auxilio que le prestan la historia de las religiones, la filologia o el psicoanalisis. Su labor no es muy distinta a la de un detective que aventura como fueron los hechos sirviendose de la mas ligera pista para comprobar, mas tarde, con un abrumador volumen de argumentos, lo que parecia ser, simplemente, fruto de una imaginacion desbordada. Y en el origen, una vez mas, aparece la obligada complementariedad entre transgresion y reparacion, necesaria urdimbre para que la vida social se produzca.

"A venticinque anni dalla sua prima pubblicazione, viene qui riproposto uno degli studi capitali di Joseph Rykwert, ormai divenuto un indispensabile punto di riferimento non solo per architetti e urbanisti, ma per chiunque abbia a che fare con la nozione di citta. Di fronte alla desolante poverta del pensiero urbanistico contemporaneo, che ha irrimediabilmente smarrito la concezione della citta come forma simbolica, Rykwert si interroga sul modello che gli abitanti elaborano e sognano. E attraverso lanalisi delle strutture architettoniche dellurbe romana - le mura, le porte, il foro, i templi - giunge a individuare in quello che chiama rito etrusco il principio di una precisa e ricorrente configurazione, stabilita al momento stesso della fondazione: la morfologia del paesaggio urbano scaturisce cioe da una serie di miti e di credenze religiose che rispecchiano la visione del mondo di unintera civilta, e che la citta tende a riprodurre simbolicamente per consentire a chi la abita di sentirsi pienamente inserito in un microcosmo sicuro e accogliente, con una collocazione certa allinterno delluniverso conosciuto. Miti e credenze che Rykwert collega, con accostamenti illuminanti, a fenomeni e testi di varie civilta arcaiche - indiane, africane, amerindie -, dimostrando con straordinaria forza argomentativa come la citta sia, prima che una realta fisica organizzata sulla base di fattori sociali ed economici, una dimensione psicologica e una categoria antropologica.Lidea di citta e apparso per la prima volta nel 1963"

What do our cities say about us? What have we made them, and how ought they to be? How has our vision of the city evolved over time, and can we really influence change and effect improvements? In this vibrant cultural history of the city, Joseph Rykwert explores the great cities of the modern world, examining their fabric and assessing how successfully they have met the needs of their inhabitants. From the teeming city centres of the industrial revolution to the exclusive gated suburbs of the 21st century, from the Parisian boulevards of Haussmann to the 'green' architecture of Emilio Ambasz, Rykwert charts the complex story of the growth of the city, setting architectural development firmly within a political, economic, social, and cultural context. Drawing on examples from Brasilia to Islamabad, Shanghai to Houston, Rykwert presents a fascinating analysis of urban growth, arguing forcefully that as voters and consumers we need to consider the economic, social, and cultural implications of developments and demonstrate our resistance to them if necessary. The arguments over the future of the Ground Zero site in Manhattan encapsulate the conflicting demands of civic pride and public utility set against private gain that vie for dominance in the 21st century, and exemplify the choices that, as citizens, we must all eventually make.

The acclaimed and provocative architectural historian Joseph Rykwert explores the history of the city and calls for the return of a human agenda to city planning. Focusing on a range of urban environments around the worldfrom 19th-century London and Paris, to contemporary New Delhi, New York, and Celebration, FloridaRykwert discusses the evolution of ideas about urban planning and where and why they have succeeded or failed. He investigates public spaces, architectural styles and schools, the role of city planners and developers, and how they affect our experience of cities. With wit, elegance and an uncommon range of references, Rykwert makes an inspiring case for lively and imaginative urban projects that meet all the needs of city dwellers, even as they seduce us with their sense of place.

¿Cómo fue la primera casa? La construcción por el hombre primitivo de una primera morada para refugiarse ha sido una de las imágenes más atrayentes y controvertidas para los arquitectos de todos los tiempos. Rykwert repasa en este libro los mitos y las leyendas de las principales civilizaciones de la antiguedad y las teorias sugeridas por criticos, tratadistas y arquitectos como Vitrubio, Alberti, Piranesi, Quatremere de Quincy, Serlio, Laugier, Winkelmann, Hegel, Ruskin, Viollet-le-Duc, Loos, Wright o Le Corbusier. Para todos ellos la descripcion de la cabaña primitiva resulta esencial pues constituye el punto de referencia de todas sus especulaciones sobre la naturaleza de la construccion. Este recorrido introduce a su vez al lector en algunas de las discusiones teoricas que han marcado la evolucion de la arquitectura (el origen de los ordenes, la disputa entre los Antiguos y los Modernos o la evolucion de la cabaña de madera al templo de piedra), mostrando como las distintas explicaciones historicas han tenido su origen en convicciones opuestas y enfrentadas.

En este libro se ofrece un repaso a la biografía de este espléndido y conocido arquitecto, así como a sus más destacadas y conocidas creaciones. Encuadernación: Tela.

La idea de ciudad es mucho más que un libro de arquitectura. Se trata, ante todo, de un testimonio perenne de las inquietudes espaciales del ser humano de todas las épocas, y de sus conexiones profundas. El estudio del espacio permite a Joseph Rykwert reflexionar sobre los arquetipos antropologicos, metafisicos y religiosos que se esconden en el interior de toda obra humana fundamental.La obra se divide en seis capitulos: 1. Ciudad y rito: Roma y Romulo; 2. La ciudad y el solar; 3. El cuadrado y la cruz; 4. Guardianes del centro, guardianes de los limites; 5. Los paralelos; 6. La ciudad como un mal curable. Ritual e histeria.