The Vulgar Townscape. A Proposal for a Cartography of Style

Abstract

Style is a problematic concept in contemporary discourses on the urban environment and architecture. Its relevance has declined from an essential tool for debate into a labelling of specific architectural signatures. In this text, a reassessment of style as a concept is proposed, as style is seen as having the possibility of depicting the varied forces involved in the production of our environment and of contributing to discourses bridging disciplines and communities. Style is defined by delineating its current contradictions and considering their settlement using an approach based on Actor-network theory and Assemblage theory. On this basis, a method of mapping of the built urban environment through style is articulated, and a definition of style as the Virtual Diagram of a careful mapping of the assemblage of the urban environment is proposed. Initial guidelines for producing mappings are drawn and a sketch of one contemporary style outlined as a demonstration, and the ramifications of this demonstration are discussed.