After-sprawl Research for the Contemporary City

Increasing urban sprawl throughout Western Europe is giving rise to more and more areas characterized by a diffuse urbanization or urban network. In After Sprawl, the Brussels-based firm of Xaveer de Geyter Architects examines this phenomenon by focusing on six such areas: London, England; Randstad, Holland; Brussels-Antwerp-Ghent, Belgium; the Ruhr area, Germany; Zurich-Basle, Switzerland; and the Veneto region, Italy. Their research distills a method for analysing the spatial hallmarks of today's city, replacing old urban strategies with new methodologies appropriate to the new questions being raised by these new types of cities. With a modest batch of projects to their name, Xaveer de Geyter Architects have amassed an international reputation for unpretentious architecture and urban design born of a discerning and radical strategy. De Geyter himself is noted for his longterm practice with OMA, the office of Rem Koolhaas.