Vertical Landscapes Towards a Density of Openness
Florian Busch Architects and a group of industry speakers, will discuss how Vertical Landscapes introduce a new urban structure: the continuation of the city’s land in the air.
For this symposium, Florian Busch Architects have invited their collaborators and other speakers from different fields to discuss the wider implications of the Vertical Landscapes, exhibited in Time Space Existence at Palazzo Mora during this year’s Architecture Biennial in Venice. Vertical Landscapes introduce a new urban type: the continuation of the city’s land – streets, squares, parks… – in the air.
Vertical Landscapes are not a building. They are infrastructure multiplying the city’s ground without architecture’s compulsive desire to determine. Urbanisation keeps progressing around the globe. 15 years ago, for the first time in history, more than 50% of humanity lived in cities. 25 years from now, according to the United Nations, this number will have risen to almost 70%. Adding the obvious benefits of sharing much of the infrastructure one needs, it is no surprise that urban density is widely regarded as the only way towards a sustainable future for humanity. Yet despite the city’s innate complexity, architects’, planners’, and developers’ vade mecum for urban density has been surprisingly biased towards solidified enclosures.
The knee-jerk reaction in order to increase floor area has been vertical stratification, severing most of the built from its urban environment. Vertical Landscapes lead another way: density in openness. When open and continuous, more ground means more of the bottom-up evolution which lets a city thrive. Conceived in Tokyo, a constantly evolving city with a remarkable diversity reflecting its spatial and historical continuity, Vertical Landscapes show us a path to continuing the urban fabric vertically. Exploring the potential of the vertical as integral part of the urban outside, increasing urban density will no longer be synonymous with inserting solitary fortresses but with an openness that fills the city with the dynamic diversity of engaged interaction.
Vertical Landscapes, designed by Florian Busch Architects in collaboration with Arup and Braid Technologies, is on display at Palazzo Mora until 26 November 2023.
The symposium will be held at Palazzo Michiel and simultaneously live-streamed in Tokyo 6.00 – 9.00pm JST.
Speakers
Florian Busch, Architect, Florian Bush
Tim Carr, Associate Principal, Lighting Leader, Arup Sydney
Paolo Cresci, Head of Sustainable Development, Arup Milan
Christian Dimmer, Associate Professor, Waseda University
Andrew Johnson, Principal, Structures Leader, Arup Sydney
Joachim Nijs, Project Leader, Florian Busch Architects
Elizabeth Oda, Researcher, Braid Technologies
Dario Trabucco, Associate Professor, Università Iuav di Venezia