The Faces of Contemporary Cities

In the last fifty years, much public attention has focused on individual iconic buildings—such as the Sydney Opera House, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, or London’s Shard—as well as on skylines—like the waterfronts of New York, Shanghai, or Hong Kong. These buildings, along with the surrounding city fabric and urban life, give a recognizable face to their respective cities. However, the explanation of how they were created and transformed over time typically remains cloaked by architectural and political narratives. In The Faces of Contemporary Cities, an interdisciplinary group of scholars led by Davide Ponzini explores the histories and geographies of the multinational firm that supported the design and construction of many of these iconic buildings and areas: the Permasteelisa Group. The book’s findings, maps, and photographs show, for the first time, how the availability and transfer of design technologies has cumulatively transformed the faces of contemporary cities.