Mobility: A Room With A View

by Odile Decq

The theme of the first Rotterdam International Architecture Biennial was mobility--as it relates to the city and the landscape, and the design culture that comes with it. Held between May and July 2003, the biennial brought together numerous universities, architects, urbanists, spatial planners and designers to swap experiences and discuss new strategies for giving shape to (car) mobility. This unique book shows the results of this international research in its various statistics, photography, text, visual collage and design proposals. These together give a tangible and insightful look at the mobile cultures found in a wide range of cities and countries, from Mexico City, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, to Djakarta, Budapest, the Ruhr Valley, Beirut, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Peking and Holland. The aim of the publication is twofold. On the one hand, to understand infrastructures and motorway culture by studying their different cultural and geographical contexts. On the other, to draw up an agenda for the future, one that establishes the role to be played by various design disciplines. This research and publication endeavor is the fruit of a collaboration between the universities of Wuppertal, Aachen, Berlin, California, Monterrey (Mexico), Tokyo, Hong Kong, Peking, Beirut, Budapest, Bandung and Delft.

448 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Odile Decq is a French architect, urban planner and academic. She is the founder of the Paris firm, Studio Odile Decq and the architecture school, Confluence Institute. Decq is known for her self-described goth appearance and style.