‘Programming the Urban Surface’ is the title of Alex Wall’s contribution to Recovering Landscape, edited by James Corner and published in 1999. In those early days of landscape urbanism, the article looked at the emergence of projects, nascent theories and the potential significance of an ‘extensive’ design of the urban landscape. Since publication of that piece, the twin forces of urbanisation and climate change bring a far more urgent focus on the performance of public space and the public realm. The lecture will consider design of the urban surface with respect to the city as a context ‘as found’, to questions of density, social equity and, as Philippe Rahm has put it, ‘public space becomes the place where the quality of air is defined’.

Each year, an international and diverse range of speakers are invited to offer new perspectives on the issues that concern the practice of Landscape Urbanism at the AA. This series will open up the possibility of actively contributing to the (re)definition of landscape urbanism as a new operative field.
The series continues as follows:
Wednesday 2 June, Steve Graham
Thursday 3 June, Erik Swyngedouw
Thursday 10 June, Alejandro Zaera Polo (tbc)
Wednesday 16 June, 2.30 Simon Marvin and Mike Hodson
Wednesday 16 June, Chris Reed
Thursday 17 June, Alberto Clementi

All the lectures take place at 6.00 unless otherwise specified, at 16 Morwell Street  G.04.