They do it with layers. How design by layers is killing urban complexity

Design by layers is no longer a surprise. The spread of this pervasive narrative strategy can be traced back to diverse possible discourses within architecture and urbanism. While it has become common praxis, the use of layers has partially lost the capability to produce a significant new knowledge of the inhabited environment. The repetition of the very same categories, families and names, reveals that in most cases, layers are not but a symptom of a deterministic way to conceive architecture and urbanism. The present paper traces some critical considerations about contemporary layering strategies. By investigating recent outstanding experiences, we will point at the possible re-emergence of a strong reductionist and functionalist approach. This is paired with the overwhelming presence of organizational and procedural concern, at the loss of the figurative content of urbanism and its channeling into an exclusive relation with the landscape. But what is left behind?