Learning from civilia. Critical heterodoxies, historiography and urban design

Abstract

Since its first publication in 1971 as a special issue of The Architectural Review, Civilia, The End of Suburban Man has remained an anomalous document within the history of Architectural Theory and Criticism. Profusely illustrated with collages made from hundreds of photographs of buildings published in the pages of the magazine, the book described, in great detail and with a language close to that of the manifesto, a fictional English New Town built in an abandoned quarry. Located in a diffuse terrain vague between fiction, satire and true proposal, Civilia was both a critique of post-war English urbanism and the urban proposals of modernity in general, standing as a vivid illustration of the concept of Townscape that the magazine had been promoting for several decades. 'Learning from Civilia' offers a critical review of the content of the book, the circumstances of its creation and its reception, and introduces The Civilia Project. An initiative of the University of Newcastle, The Civilia Project integrates research and teaching, and proposes a reexamination of Civilia not only due to its historiographic significance, but also because of its value as a design tool and for the relevance that its discourse maintains today, especially, in relation to urban planning.