Publication

The Last Grand Tour

The Last Grand Tour
Contemporary phenomena and strategies of living in Italy

Since antiquity, Italy has been the origin of key themes of Western architecture and culture, many of which have evolved in exemplary and universally valid ways. Many of these continue to provide an inspiring frame of reference even today. Emulating the tradition and itinerary of the classic Grand Tour followed by European aristocrats, this comprehensive and visually appealing book takes a nuanced look at Italy today. Using the aspect of housing as a hub, it offers new narratives and positions on current issues and developments that are also highly relevant outside Italy.

In the format of a graphic and textual atlas, the volume explores Italy at various scales. Zooming in and out of themes, cities, and regions, it allows for associative and nonlinear comprehension and reflection. Housing is examined as a complex construct, acted upon by diverging interests and needs as well as historical legacies. The spatial aspect of living, with its huge impact on the limited resources of land and the landscape, is the starting point for the proposals and strategies the book offers. Its audience reaches beyond the professional architecture community, aiming at anyone with an interest in the much-debated topic of (affordable) housing or in 21st-century Italy.
Publishers
Michael Obrist and Antonietta Putzu
Authors
Alterazioni Video, Florencia Andreola, Franco Arminio, Marc Augé, Michael Baick, Marco Baravalle, Lorenza Baroncelli, Daniele Belleri, Alessandro Benetti, Stefano Boeri, Shumi Bose, Emanuele Braga, Massimo Bricocoli, Leonardo Caffo, Simone Capra, Francesco Careri / Stalker, Chiara Carpenter, Iain Chambers, Mattia Chinellato, Pippo Ciorra, Davide Curatola Soprana, Gianluca D’incà Levis, Giorgio De Finis, Antonio De Rossi, Irene Di Noto, Emilio Distretti, Eterotopia, Silvia Federici, Martin Feiersinger, Werner Feiersinger, Feld72, Giulia Fiocca / Stalker, Fosbury Architecture, Sarah Gainsforth, Alessandro Guida, Charles Heller / Forensic Oceanography, Sandi Hilal, Gustav Hofer, Andrés Jaque, Michael Klein, Wilfried Kuehn, Giovanni Laino, Leroy S.P.Q.R’dam, Armin Linke, Alice Lomonaco, Angelo Lunati, Roberta Marcaccio, Laura Mascino, Michael Meier & Christoph Franz, Martina Motta, Valerio Muscella, Azzurra Muzzonigro, Umberto Napolitano / Lan, Maik Novotny, Michael Obrist, Manuel Orazi, Alessandro Penso, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Gianni Pettena, Alessandro Petti, Zara Pfeifer, Andreas Pichler, Antonietta Putzu, Luca Ragazzi, Carlo Ratti, Lorenzo Romito / Stalker, Viviana Rubbo, Carina Sacher, Beniamino Saibene / Esterni, Carolina Sartori, Isabella Sassi Farìas, Luigi Savio / (ab)Normal, Lotte Schreiber, Paul Sebesta, Alexandra Seibel, Giovanna Silva, Giorgio Sokoll, Robert Storr, Pier Paolo Tamburelli, Marco Vanucci, Lowie Vermeersch, Paola Viganò, Gerald Weber, Cyrille Weiner, Alberto Winterle, Tobias Zielony, Cino Zucchi

AND STUDENTS OF TU WIEN:
Ursula Aichner, Andrea Di Tommaso, Caroline Faber, Roswitha Goy, Julian Graf, Katrin Kirschner, Isabel Köhler, Marlene Lötsch, Julia Maretzki, Diego Martínez, Marek Nowicki, Fit Phuong, Theresa Reiter, Sophie Schaffer, Lukas Spreitzer, Alexandra Torggler und andere/and others

EDITORS
Michael Obrist (feld72) & Antonietta Putzu

GRAPHIC DESIGN CONCEPT
Bueronardin

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND SETTING
Veronika Wladyga
Details
2023
Paperback
520 pages, 467 color and 71 b/w illustrations
23.5 x 32 cm
ISBN 978-3-03860-323-8
Available here
at Park Books, bookstores and at Research Unit of Housing and Design TU Wien during office hours

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta

© Paul Sebesta