Formation is ideal and utopian thinking, whereas Transformation is the adaptation of the ideal to the real or existing conditions. Are the two mutually exclusive? Or do they exist in conversation, a constant back-and-forth, push-and-pull between the idealised and the pragmatic? This book examines the dialectical relation of Formation and Transformation in the creation of the city. Taking Rome as its central case study, it develops a contextual theory of urban development that incorporates Italian Renaissance, Baroque architecture, and classical history. Similarly, this book encourages the aspiring architectural student to consider the ramifications of practice and praxis. How can utopian thinking, and the actualised execution of that thinking, continue to operate in existing urban contexts? How can we relate the complexity of Roman urbanism to the role of Roman architecture in its urban context? This book manoeuvres through such difficult questions deftly, illuminating its points with a wide selection of colour images.
