The city in the city. Berlin: a Green Archipelago

Florian Hertweck, Sébastien Marot (ed.), Critical Edition of: Oswald Mathias Ungers, Rem Koolhaas with Peter Riemann, Hans Kollhoff, Arthur Ovaska, The city in the city. Berlin: a Green Archipelago (1977), in three languages: English, German and French, Lars Müller Publishers, Zürich 2013.

The city in the city – Berlin: a Green Archipelago (1977) is one of the most intriguing urban manifestos of the late 20th century. Authored by both Oswald Mathias Ungers and Rem Koolhaas, in collaboration with Peter Riemann, Hans Kollhoff, and Arthur Ovaska, this project was the first to introduce the notion of the archipelago in the urban design sphere, and certainly the first to both address and endorse the contemporary phenomenon of urban degrowth. But despite its strength and originality – and some kind of mythical fame – which make it a close relative to Collage City and Delirious New York it has remained relatively unknown for more than 35 years, even though its relevance has only increased since then. Including yet unpublished material and a facsimile of the original manifesto, this critical edition clarifies the condition of its genesis and, most of all, reloads it in our debates on the future if cities and territories.