Book Launch: The Grand Projet

Anna and Kees will present comparative research on the making and impact of urban megaprojects undertaken at the multidisciplinary ETH Future Cities Laboratory over the past four years. The work draws from the analysis of eight urban megaproject case studies in Asia and Europe from the perspectives of a broad range of stakeholders.

Following their presentation there will be opportunities for questions and a drinks reception.

About the book: The Grand Projet, Understanding the Making and Impact of Urban Megaprojects (Christiaanse, Gasco, Hanakata. 2019. nai 010 Publishers)

Rising above our cities, often with iconic architecture like the Shanghai Tower in Lujiazui or La Grande Arche in Paris La Défense, urban megaprojects provide more than additional programmes to their existing built environments. They frequently create a new image for their cities and a link to global networks tied to the ground within their sites.

Grands Projets are carefully laid-out urban developments; in many cases, they are the direct translation of a city’s political and/or economic objectives into an urban layout and morphology. They are comprehensively planned, hosting a variety of uses, and are realised and/or operated under the authority of a single or concerted governing body, often composed of complex combinations of stakeholders.

Grands Projets absorb primary local and global investment capital, enable new or exceptional practices and host programmes and tenants of acclaimed global relevance. In doing so, Grands Projets impact local economies. The number and size of Grands Projets have increased over the past decades and pose many challenges for the future of our cities.

With a focus on the spatial practices of Grands Projets, the book contributes to a better understanding of urban mega projects in relation to their urban environments, including the contemporary challenges and opportunities that lie within such developments given their central and increasing roles in shaping our cities.

The Grand Projet, Understanding the Making and Impact of Urban Megaprojects is available to purchase online.

Biographies

Kees Christiaanse

Kees Christiaanse is an internationally renowned architect and urban planner. He is founder and partner of KCAP with offices in Rotterdam, Zurich and Shanghai. Throughout his career, Kees has always combined his work with teaching and research and has held professorships at TU Berlin and ETH Zurich. His work focusses on complex urban assignments and guiding challenging urban processes.

Anna Gasco

Anna Gasco is a chartered architect and urban designer. She is the founder and director of Studio UPLA, a consultancy firm dedicated to design, research and education. Skilled in sustainability and transdisciplinary environments, she represents KCAP in Singapore, leading projects on multiple scales for private and public clients in Southeast Asia. She has previously worked for KCAP Rotterdam & Zurich, SOM London and BURO II Brussels. Committed to cultivating synergies between professional and academic worlds, she is a senior researcher at the ETH-Future Cities Laboratory, teaches at the National University of Singapore and has lectured at The Bartlett UCL, the ETH Zurich and for Singapore governmental agencies.

Image: Singapore Megaproject , The Grand Projet 2016