Ideal City

A city cannot be planed. The design of a city is an adventure caused by its spontaneous genesis made possible by the cooperation of computers and brains. There is more than one ideal city. Probably there are as many ideal cities as human minds. – Makoto Sei Watanabe

Kroc-gu-fant by Sara Ball is a children’s flip-book book that allows one to forge utterly strange creatures out of limbs of existing animals; a crocodile head attached to a jaguar’s body and elephant feet virtually constitute a new species.

Ideal City expands this concept to urban features. It creates a framework of discrete public spaces in one image. The Project displays constructions, environments and features located in cities worldwide classified into three categories that are essential for modern living: commerce, traffic, recreation.

Using a computer interface the user creates his favourite city by combining public spaces of his choice. Brandenburg Gate might border the beach of Tel Aviv. Kikka Hamedina, Tel Aviv’s popular shopping plaza, could neighbour Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. The application enables one to build the favourite place to be.

In co-operation with Hennink Stöve (concept & algorithms).

Exhibitions

2024 Photo London, England
2004 Venice Biennale of Architecture, Italy
2003 Tirana Biennale of Art, Albenia

Project App

Compile your favourite city: ideal-city.de