On Monday, April 13, Stefano Boeri participates in the course Global Cities: Outposts of the Future Supranatural Democracy? at SciencesPo Campus de Reims, an international research university, with the lecture Archipelago Cities.
The course aims to explore the institutional, legal, political, and economic dimensions of this question, critically examining the concept of the “global city” — as globalization has advanced and strengthened the international role of sub-state authorities, urban centers have leveraged the rescaling of global economic dynamics to challenge the traditional predominance of nation-states.
In this context, Stefano Boeri presents the concept of the archipelago metropolis through the lens of the Geneva Metropolitan Constellation, a project by Stefano Boeri Architetti that places the Salève massif at its core. The image of the archipelago metropolis evokes the need to strengthen the functional self-sufficiency of the “islands” that compose it: each one is distinct, yet each participates in the same system of relationships. At the same time, this image underscores the importance of a shared identity — a “sea” — in this case formed by ecological biodiversity corridors.
The presentation also focuses on the Grand Paris project, developed with Andrea Branzi, the Animal City experience presented at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, and further research placing the plant and animal world at the center of design.
For more information about the course: https://syllabus.sciencespo.fr/en/?202220/221148