Anton Falkeis Books

Urban Change investigates the massive change processes in urban space within a world of rapidly progressing urbanization. In the face of the complexity of this transformation, internationally renowned experts analyse these changes from different perspectives. Scientific results from change theory research are interlinked with practices of inclusive space production, as are artistic practices in the public realm with new urban design approaches. The book describes transformation processes that are driven by artistic interventions and the desire for social inclusion, and discusses new models of urbanization that make reference to informal cities, refugee camps, and ephemeral urbanism.

This book compiles speculative contributions on disruptive, nonlinear futures of urban agglomerations, based on research conducted on urban innovation at the Department of Special Topics in Architecture at the Institute of Architecture of the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Students, alongside renowned experts, also comment on questions concerning our urban future. The novel reading structure, which is realized and suggested by the concept of the book, is also nonlinear: thematic, graphic cross-references enable contextual reading in addition to continuous reading. The enhancement of the printed book with digital augmented reality (AR) components offers networked, simultaneous reading on several levels and thus reflects the complexity of urban systems.

Social Design is a term with a wide range of meanings: from Whole System Design, Regenerative Design, Sustainable Design and Service Design to Green Urbanism and Urban Metabolism. All of these design concepts are driven by the desire to reduce the human impact on our planet. Above all, these concepts share the motivation for taking responsibility, as well as taking position. „Social Design : Public Action“ enlarges this definition by introducing a series of practices, tactics and speculations presented by international experts in the field. The book reviews the contributions to the Social Design : Public Action international symposium held at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2013, questioning the transformational power of new forms of the social, political and cultural within the urban realm. It aims at connecting artistic research and scientific knowledge with hands-on spatial production, interweaving the discourse into the very fabric of society.