Tomáš Valena: Instead of the City

Lecture by Prof. Tomáš Valena on Friday, October 25, 2013, at 4:00 PM in the auditorium of the Academy of Art, Architecture & Design in Prague.

Place of the City - Between Image and Identity

When we analyze the identity of a city, we are essentially searching for our own identity, our place in the world. The analysis reveals specific elements and constellations of the place. Such a place has character and therefore has meaning for us. It represents a counter-project to the "non-place," the generic city. It is not until Kevin Lynch that we conceptualize such a place as an image. Fundamentally, we always seize reality only through the images we create of our places. And it is in the medium of image that we manipulate reality before changing the world. The place of the city is fundamentally determined by its topography, and it is precisely the terrain's relief that decisively influences both the image and the identity of the city.



Prof. Dr. Tomáš Valena works at the Faculty of Architecture in Munich. He is the author of the book *City and Topography: The European City in Topographical Context.*

The lecture is part of the program “Settlement, Landscape, Society...” It launches a series of lectures for the winter semester. For further information, contact atelier@echtarchitektura.cz

Entry free