The city as a problem

Turning dreams into reality

Urban knowledge center

Science

Hothouses of knowledge

The development of cities represents a turning point in the history of mankind. The creation of urban structures around 5000 years ago brought with it an unforeseen boom in knowledge and innovation. And yet, the triumph of the city has always been accompanied by criticism, manifesting itself in the recurring desire for planned and ideal cities that follow political, economic or aesthetic ideals – including the concept of the campus. Whereas in the 18th century the campus used to relate specifically to university grounds, it now represents public and private clusters of knowledge that are used as rich sources of innovation and progress – such as the Novartis Campus in Basel. The campus continues to embody the original idea of the city as a place of knowledge.

Text by Goran Mijuk

Plans and reality come together. Palmanova, inspired by...

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The city as a problem

Turning dreams into reality

Urban knowledge center

This article was originally published in Agust 2013.
Published on 01/06/2020

As the British historian Peter Watson comments in his book Ideas, “The city is the cradle of culture, the birthplace of nearly all our most cherished ideas.” Schools, libraries, legal codes and the bicameral political system were all developed around 5000 years ago in the city of Ur in ancient Sumeria. Experts also assume that scripture and the wheel were first invented in these hothouses of knowledge. For the first time in history, people came together here as a unique community freed from the shackles of living in clans in order to develop a new type of cooperative living. Eridu – the oldest known city in the world whose remains are found in present-day Iraq – was considered by the Sumerians as the fountain of knowledge. At the head of this city was the god of intelligence.

As Watson argues, culture and civilization were only able to come into being with the creation of densely populated urban complexes which demanded intensive communication and cooperation. In contrast to villages or sprawling farmsteads, cities offered surroundings that were significantly more competitive and experimental than other types of settlement. In the early urban centers of Mesopotamia with their city agglomerations, specialist expertise developed which then resulted in the formation of new occupations and skills. With the creation of cities, labor was divided in order to drive the economy. To name just a few of the early urban professions, bakers, butchers, brewers, cooks, basket makers, doctors, teachers and priests built up new skills and discovered techniques that stimulated advancement in previously unparalleled ways – thus first enabling what could be described as modern standards of culture and civilization to emerge.

However, attitudes toward cities were characterized by a sense of moralizing skepticism right from the outset. The size, beauty and power of Babylon aroused not only admiration, but also feelings of jealousy and bitter hate. Expressions still in use today such as “Babylonian chaos” also betray a deeply entrenched aversion to powerful cities that destroy the ideals of an ethnically homogenous, family-run community and push the boundaries of what is technically feasible. Fast-growing cities which are keen to experiment are thus constantly confronted with accusations of crossing the barriers of nature and morals with their cultural and technical innovations. Comparisons with the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their representation of the city as a place of evil and unfettered debauchery are still regularly heard.

“The focus is on people,” says Felix Raeber about the Basel Campus.

The city as a problem

This problematic relationship with urbanity also found its expression early on in alternative and idealizing concepts of the state and city. These seek to regulate the difficult-to-tame, intrinsically cooperative and communicative dynamics of urban centers and to stem the results of negative political developments as well as economic and social irregularities. An early example of this (then predominantly literary) conflict with the phenomenon of the city can be found in Plato’s The Republic. In the dialogue form typically employed by Plato and his contemporary philosophers – which can be described as urban thinking – he formulates the vision of an ideal body politic. Around 300 years later, the Roman architect Vitruvius followed Plato’s train of thought and laid out the basic principles of ideal architecture in his 10-volume work De architectura libri decem.

With Utopia by Sir Thomas More and La città del Sole by Tommaso Campanella, the Middle Ages and early Renaissance period saw an intensive critical discussion of alternative political and urban programs. Europe was marked by war, illness and poverty in this period, with around one-third of the population succumbing to the plague in the 15th century and the threat of a return to feudal conditions looming large. The utopian alternative worlds dreamed up here were intended as a solution or ironic commentary on the status quo. Painters and architects also played an active part in designing and shaping these utopian visions, and thus laid the theoretical foundations for numerous urban development projects that have been implemented in the modern era.

One of the most important figures in this school of thought is the Italian architect Filarete. His utopian vision for the ideal city of Sforzinda was never realized and looks odd by today’s standards. Nonetheless, Filarete’s 25-volume master-work Trattato d’architettura was long considered definitive in the field and was the key source of ideas in developing Palmanova in northern Italy in 1593. The clearly structured, geometric urban plan of Palmanova became the characteristic element of many planned cities that inspired later ideal cities such as Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Washington. Above all, the creation on the drawing board of past and present capital cities such as St. Petersburg, Islamabad, Canberra and Brasilia fed off this rich source of ideas.

Even though many ideal cities – such as Chaux in France designed by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux – remained unfulfilled, these ideas contributed to lively discussions that paid testimony to the freedom and creativity of architecture. Although the plans existed solely as blueprints, they gave ideas and inspiration to future projects, such as the redesign of Paris by urban planner Georges-Eugène Haussmann in the 19th century. Even today, his modernization of the French capital is considered a prime example of successful urban planning, albeit that the work was beset with criticism at the time.

Bournville in England and...

Turning dreams into reality

Planned cities first gained real impetus during the Industrial Revolution, especially in the US and UK. Here, pioneering entrepreneurs began to create entire towns and cities for their factories and employees in the 19th century. There were over 2500 of these Company Towns in the US alone by the early 20th century, in which around 3 percent of the American population lived and worked. At around the same time, shoe manufacturer Thomas Bata also established entire cities for his employees in Zlin (Czech Republic) and Batanagar (India), together with a factory and residential area in Moehlin (Switzerland) that continues to attract tourists and sightseers to this day. Ideal towns and cities such as Bournville in England – which was built by chocolate manufacturer Cadbury – served as the inspiration for the garden city movement of the late 19th century that became a leitmotif for urban development well into the 20th century and also inspired architects such as Le Corbusier.

In the same spirit, new university complexes were also built at this time. Especially in the US, these centers of learning were built on undeveloped green sites, establishing the campus concept that continues to be imitated to this day. After all, in view of the overly congested conditions within many cities, the construction of an urban paradise in rural surroundings outside city centers appears to make sense. It is thus not surprising that companies such as Google, Apple, Samsung and Facebook are currently investing billions in new company headquarters outside densely populated city centers and with close connections to the ideals of an American university campus – the very symbol of a place of knowledge and innovation.

In contrast to the US, a more urban type of planned city is pursued in Europe. The workers’ city of Ivrea in northern Italy planned by Adriano Olivetti remains a role model for architects and designers, even though the golden age of the city and Olivetti – the world famous typewriter and calculator manufacturer based there – is now a thing of the past. But the concept of establishing an ideal city with its own research centers, social amenities, residential areas and child care facilities has many supporters – especially in densely populated Europe – because entire cities can be revitalized as a result of such projects.

...Olivetti’s Ivrea.

Urban knowledge center

Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani’s master plan for the Novartis Campus is also part of this urban tradition. In contrast to the American-style campus that is usually detached from the city, the St-Johann Campus is integrated into the urban infrastructure of Basel. As architect Jacques Herzog recently commented, in its function as a knowledge center and vibrant district, the campus resembles a cloister in the city that is embedded in the urban context and does not stick out like a sore thumb. In contrast to many of the housing estates and business districts of the past that are now identified as problem areas, Lampugnani’s plan is characterized by the fact that the campus is integrated into the urban plan of the city. It does not exclude social elements, nor does it ignore the interaction between public space and the diversity of the city inhabitants.

Echoing historic role models, Lampugnani does not consider public space simply as empty space between buildings. Instead, there should be an increased focus on people and their creative potential. Urban spaces from ancient times and the Middle Ages – such as the agora, the forum and covered streets – must be seen as hubs of social interaction and implemented accordingly. These places harbor the secret of successful and innovative cities that take their strength from the communication and cooperation of those who live and work there.

Lampugnani also implemented these structural and intensely social principles on the Novartis Campus in Basel. This was achieved by maintaining existing urban structures such as Fabrikstrasse in order to provide the Campus with a sense of identity and designing parks and plazas in such a way that they acquire their own communicative meaning, thus giving them an important function as spaces for creativity and relaxation. The role model for this clear structural style can be found in the preindustrial city, the logic of which was based on interpersonal aspects rather than processes. Plazas, parks, cafés and colonnades are not simply simulations of an urban structure. Instead they are essential hubs that enable communication, knowledge and innovation to flourish due to their inherent openness, flexibility and dynamism.

With this project, Lampugnani’s master plan fulfills the vision of Daniel Vasella, who had the idea of establishing an innovative campus at the turn of the millennium that “focuses on the people, their well-being and their creativity.” At the same time, the Novartis Campus also spans 5000 years of history and follows the ideals of ancient cities that broke new ground in human development as the first hothouses of knowledge.

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