Trans-urbanism: getting Wigley with it

Colombia University Professor of Architecture, NZer Mark Wigley bemoans the divide between theory and practice at a Rotterdam symposium to debate the future of the city. Sharing the hustings with Rem Koolhaas, Edward Soja and Scott Lash, Wigley opines that architects see themselves as “friendly aliens … giving plans which will solve everything … and zoom they’re gone”. Wigley is one of the foremost architectural theorists and critics of his generation, credited with deconstructing the discipline: getting the builders thinking about the map view and as much as the built object.