topos 114: fringes

In topos 114 we explore that which lies at the edges, that which is located in the transition between two systems; that which sets a mark, but which also merges fluidly or even in fragile ways from one element into the other while still being able to accommodate one or more centres within it. We define fringes as in-between spaces, transitional spaces, and sometimes non-places. Above all, we define fringes as spaces of possibility and experimentation. Get a free preview of our current issue – enjoy the read.

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topos - The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design - focuses on landscape architecture as well as increasingly on architecture and urban planning. It sees itself as an interdisciplinary think tank aimed at addressing the challenges urban areas will face in future. The professional magazine strives to inspire planning practitioners, urban experts and professionals who shape the cities of tomorrow. Every issue of the periodical, that is published quarterly, is dedicated to a different topic and deals with a broad array of projects and planning work in countries all over the world.

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Temperatures of Urbanity

How to approach fringes? How to approach a zone of transition, a short-distanced difference, an in-betweenness charged with opportunities? In fact, these territories of uncertainty inherit a certain kind of urbanity, albeit they resist classifications such as peripheral or sub-/peri-urban. However, fringe territories could be a field of experimentation outside the big city cores – generating new ideas on how we will live together in an urbanised world. So, it's high time to (re)interpret the fringe as a dynamic component of an agglomeration’s agency and creativity. (Article written by Ute Meyer, professor for urbanism and design and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Energy-Engineering at Biberach University of Applied Sciences). Read more in the print issue or the ePaper.


 

Metropolitan Ecotone

How to design the metropolis of the future? How to face urban expansion and at the same time make sure that both, cities as well as peripheries and surrounding areas – becoming increasingly interconnected – off er an environment worth living? In this article the authors put forward a vision for the urban fringe of Berlin as a Metropolitan Ecotone between the built-up area of the city and rural Brandenburg. As an area of experimental multifunctionality and partial self-sufficiency, the Ecotone could be the new urbanity. It could enable Berlin and Brandenburg to function as a single complex realm whose systems are continually learning from and adapting to each other. (Article written by Stefan Tischer, landscape architect and urban designer as well as Alex Wall, architect and Design Critic in Landscape Architecture at GSD). Read more in the print issue or the ePaper.


 

Manual for Mongolia

The fringes of the city of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, are areas of transformation. The land and its people are undergoing a process of becoming urban. Given that fringe districts are often in a state of emergence, questions of how people live together are open for definition and urgent. This article presents an Incremental Development Manual. It comprises an architectural approach to district upgrading and a call to action for architects. (Article written by Joshua Bolchover, Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong). Read more in the print issue or the ePaper.


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