Masterplanning the Adaptive City

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MASTERPLANNING 
THE ADAPTIVE CITY
Computational design has become widely accepted in mainstream architecture,
but this is the first book to advocate applying computational urbanism to 
create adaptable masterplans for rapid urban growth, and urban heterogeneity.
Practitioners and researchers here discuss ideas from the fields of architecture,
urbanism, the natural sciences, computer science, economics, and mathematics
to find the means with which to manage urban change in Asia and developing
countries throughout the world. Divided into four parts—the historical and
theoretical background, our current situation, methodologies, and prototypical
practices—the book includes a series of essays, interviews, case studies, and
original research to accompany chapters by editor Tom Verebes, giving you the
most comprehensive overview of this approach.
Essays by Marina Lathouri, Jorge Fiori, Jonathan Solomon, Patrik
Schumacher, Peter Trummer, and David Jason Gerber. 
Interviews with Dana Cuff, Xu Weiguo, Matthew Pryor, Tom Barker, Su
Yunsheng, and Brett Steele. 
Case studies by Zaha Hadid Architects, James Corner Field Operations, XWG
Studio, MAD, OCEAN CN, Plasma Studio, Groundlab, Peter Trummer, Serie
Architects, dotA, and Rocker-Lange Architects.
Tom Verebes is Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty 
of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong, and Director of OCEAN CN
Consultancy Network.

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MASTERPLANNING
THE ADAPTIVE
CITY
COMPUTATIONAL
URBANISM IN 
THE TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
EDITED BY
TOM VEREBES

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First published 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
The right of the editor to be identified as the author of the editorial material, 
and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced 
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, 
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, 
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in 
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or 
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation 
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Verebes, Tom.
Masterplanning the adaptive city : computational urbanism in the
twenty-first century / Tom Verebes.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. City planning--Data processing. 2. Urbanization--History--21st
century. I. Title. 
HT166.V463 2013
307.1'2160285—dc23
2012046308
ISBN: 978-0-415-53479-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-53480-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-42805-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Gothic
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
Acquisition Editor: Wendy Fuller
Editorial Assistant: Laura Williamson
Production Editor: Jennifer Birtill

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Dedicated to Dean Ralph Lerner

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FOREWORD >Mark Burry
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS >Tom Verebes
INTRODUCTION >Tom Verebes
PART I  >CONTEXT: ENDURANCE, OBSOLESCENCE, AND CHANGE—
A THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
CHAPTER 1  >THE CITY AS CULTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL EXPRESSION
>Tom Verebes
1.1
Globalization and Networks
1.2
The Edge of Chaos
1.3
The Associative Logic of Urbanism
CHAPTER 2  >PROJECTIVE ARCHITECTURES: THE QUESTION OF BORDERS 
IN A CONNECTED WORLD >Marina Lathouri
CHAPTER 3  >CONVERSATION 1 >Dana Cuff with Tom Verebes
CHAPTER 4 >THE NEW NEW >Tom Verebes
4.1
Ancient China and The New
4.2
Urban Europe: A Brief History of Its Industrialization and Planning
4.3
The Paradigm of the New World Instant City
4.4
The Dubai Mirage 
CHAPTER 5  >INFORMAL CITY: DESIGN AS POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT >
Jorge Fiori
CHAPTER 6  >CONVERSATION 2 >Xu Weiguo, Xu Feng and Gao Yan
CHAPTER 7 >URBANIZATION AND ERASURE >Tom Verebes
7.1
The Trouble with Speed Freaks
7.2
Ghosts of the Past 
7.3
An Ecological Model for Twenty-First Century Urbanism
7.4
The Problem of Functionality, Endurance, and Obsolescence 
7.5
Time, Change, and Adaptation
CHAPTER 8  >PUBLIC-SPHERES: ATMOSPHERE AND ADAPTABLE SPACE 
IN HONG KONG >Jonathan D. Solomon
Something in the Air
Hong Kong’s Public-Sphere
The City as Natural Artifice
CHAPTER 9 >CONVERSATION 3 >Matthew Pryor with Tom Verebes
CASE STUDY >QIANHAI MASTERPLAN, SHENZEN, CHINA >James Corner
Field Operations
CASE STUDY >FLOWING GARDENS, INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL EXPO,
XI’AN, CHINA >Plasma Studio
CONTENTS
xi
xiii
1
20
23
28
7
40
48
54
68
69
71
73
75
80
82
5
7
13
15
28
30
34
36
54
57
60
62
64

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