Urban space is a product of social interaction rather than merely of a planer’s design intent. Or, as David Harvey once wrote: “The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights.” But how is this right exercised? Not only is Switzerland a direct democracy, but it also has a long liberal tradition aimed at equitable development, which only recently began to be eroded by liberalization. The spaces of politics and of economy have drifted apart through globalization. Singapore practices an active combination of both in a global context. When the city-state gained independence from Great Britain and was excluded from Malaysia, it had to excel and create relationships proactively to survive. Entrepreneurial urbanity by decree was the only way forward.

Cities are more than ensembles of well crafted volumes. Their defining factor is not just built density, but also interaction intensity. Only when urban growth results in urban quality will it be accepted by its inhabitants. Modernity resulted in a loss of local identity and in a globalization of architectural styles and technologies. Yet, Yoshiharu Tsukamoto of Atelier Bow-Wow’s research shows that progress and local identity do not need to be mutually exclusive. Jan Gehl has documented how modern cities repel human interaction through a lack of human scale and an overabundance of infrastructure. He argues that we can build cities in a way that takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account. This has little to do with style or ideology but rather with how architects and urban designers think about people and their interactions.

Partner: Laufen Bathrooms AG

Sponsor: Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction

Furniture sponsors: USM U. Schärer Söhne AG; Cassina

Media partners: Das Magazin; Specialist journals TEC21, Tracés, archi / www.espazium.ch; Opendata.ch; werk, bauen + wohnen