With Thom Mayne and Wolf D. Prix, on the occasion of the exhibition Houston: Genetic City. Envisioning a Future Post-Industry, Post-Oil, Post-Sprawl at Aedes Architecture Forum.
The panel discussion takes a close look at the specific urban condition, typology and development of the City of Houston. Together with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis and Wolf D. Prix of Coop Himmelb(l)au – both visionaries and provocateurs in the field of architecture and urbanism – the panel critically discusses Houston’s unique evolving urban form. In addition to the soon to be third most populous and most sprawling city in the US, Houston also completely lacks zoning regulations and thereby allows for unusual development patterns that can react quickly to changing market conditions. This opens up immense opportunities beyond conventional city planning for the urban revival of Houston, as much as it puts the city at the stake of commercial developers. The panel aims to explore questions raised by the specific regional urban condition of Houston also against the backdrop of a wider global narrative in contemporary urban planning and renewal.
