Aesthetics in Contemporary Cities

A special issue of Arts (ISSN 2076-0752).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 March 2025 | Viewed by 3349

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-659 Warszawa, Poland
Interests: public realm design; spatial composition; pedestrian traffic; participatory planning; cultural influence on spatial management; ICT and new media technologies in urban design and education; interdisciplinary collaboration between architects, urban planners, sociologists, journalists, the environment, and computer specialists
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Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Interests: urban transformation; planning history; participatory planning and community involvement; planning pedagogy; organizing multimedia exhibitions that address the public and involve planning students so they can build their capacity to communicate
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), School Of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: methods and metropolitan dimension design strategies; urban sets and landscapes; metropolitan discipline; territorial development; new approaches to mapping; metropolitan landscapes images

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, Design School, Xi’an Jiatong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215000, China
Interests: architecture; art; second-order cybernetics; design; philosophy of art and aesthetics; comparative aesthetics; continental philosophy; Chinese philosophy; philosophy of science and technology; design research; inter-disciplinary projects concerned with the ecologies, poetics, technologies, and philosophies of art and architectural design

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Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: urban design in emerging contexts; public participation and co-creation; serious games; geospatial analyses for planning purposes; active mobility; nature-based solutions in cities

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Guest Editor
Laboratori d'Urbanisme de Barcelona, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: urban design; public spaces; visual interaction analysis of urban spaces; interactions between urban planning and building typology; application of research by design to the study of urbanism; urban productive landscapes; transformation of industrial landscapes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We live in a rapidly changing world. Visual change only reflects the intrinsic process of the social and economic evolution of ideas, philosophies, and fashions, though the latter is what an ordinary observer notices as the first signal of change. So, the space “becomes” the way we “are”. Additionally, and conversely, the aesthetics of the environment in which we live are probably the most unconsciously influential determinant of our wellbeing. Thus, we would like to describe the beauty and grotesqueness of our cities through the eyes of artists, who “can feel more”. We would like to recognize alterations to our sense of beauty from the cityscapes we experience every day. As the cityscape becomes our dominant visual environment, we should focus on all dimensions of urban aesthetics. How does the appearance of the urban environment shape our attitudes towards our society, its heritage, the surrounding nature, and the technology we use?

This issue should remind us that the spiritual aura radiating from the cityscape is no less important than any elation experienced in museums and art galleries. So, do we care about the appearance of our cities? Are they fresh and healthy? Do they deserve cosmeticizing?

Manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue can be theoretical or applied; can be state-of-the-science reviews or individual case studies; and may refer to details or to the cityscape as a whole. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • The evolving aesthetics of our living environment;
  • The perception of aesthetics among different groups in society;
  • The meaning of beauty in an urban context;
  • The influence of aesthetics on human wellbeing and behaviors;
  • Different philosophical approaches to urban aesthetics;
  • Heritage preservation in cityscapes;
  • Experiments in shaping the image of the future city.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Maciej Lasocki
Dr. Martina Koll-Schretzenmayr
Dr. Antonella Contin
Dr. Claudia Westermann
Dr. Aura Luciana Istrate
Dr. Álvaro Clua Uceda
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Arts is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • landscapes of urban spaces
  • public realm aesthetics
  • aesthetics in the urban context
  • street art
  • aesthetics perception

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 6456 KiB  
Article
The City of Muses Project: Creating a Vibrant and Sensual Metropolitan Landscape through Architecture
by Antonella Contin
Arts 2023, 12(5), 207; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12050207 - 22 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1878
Abstract
The Metropolitan Architecture Project aims to create an artistic metropolitan landscape, which captivates visitors. It focuses on the relationship between the form’s image and the surrounding context, emphasising the structural image in architectural design. The project draws inspiration from the City of Muses [...] Read more.
The Metropolitan Architecture Project aims to create an artistic metropolitan landscape, which captivates visitors. It focuses on the relationship between the form’s image and the surrounding context, emphasising the structural image in architectural design. The project draws inspiration from the City of Muses Project, incorporating a symbolic mediator as a propeller, which represents the connection with the contemporary society’s cultural symbols and bridges the gap between the past, present and future. The methods employed in the Metropolitan Architecture Project involve integrating artistic elements into the metropolitan landscape. This includes incorporating the symbolic mediator and designing the structural image to interact harmoniously with the surrounding environment. The project has successfully introduced a new type of built form characterised by a relational figure and a vibrant and sensual image. By embracing this approach, the architectural design actively engages with the environment and enhances the overall architectural experience. The Metropolitan Architecture Project demonstrates the significance of incorporating an artistic dimension in creating a metropolitan landscape. The project achieves a captivating and interactive architectural design by considering the dynamic relationship between the form, context and structure. This understanding of architecture contributes to a deeper comprehension of the society which constructs it, resulting in a rich and engaging architectural experience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aesthetics in Contemporary Cities)
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