Contemporary thinkers such as Lieven De Cauter, Michael Sorkin, and Bruce Robbins argue that urban diversity is now giving way to growing worldwide uniformity. Public life is gradually moving from the squares and the streets to hotel lobbies, shopping malls, and entertainment centres.

As the twenty-first century begins, architects still face the task of designing public buildings and spaces – whether libraries, squares, or airports. They are in search of forms they can use to connect the many different gradations of the public sphere that exist today. 

Architectural Positions presents the views of thirty-six international architects who, over the past fifty years, have made their voices heard in the debate on the public sphere. They include Aldo Rossi, Rem Koolhaas, Mathias Ungers, Daniel Libeskind, Luis Barragán, and Peter Eisenman. The essays in this book give an overview of the past fifty years of architectural discourse on this theme. A detailed introduction provides background and context, focusing on the links between architecture, modernity, and the public sphere.