The Urban Dreams lecture series was part of the study abroad program that the College of Architecture of the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago conducted in Berlin in 2022. The seminar discussed the architectural history of Berlin over the past three centuries as an urban laboratory of radically different forms of society: Monarchy, Industrialization, Totalitarianism, Post War Reconstruction and the Post-Industrial society of today. Each historic phase pursued a distinct urbanism to establish its vision of the city and the world. Partially enlightening and partially devastating, they reflect the struggle for modernity. The fabric of the city as we see it today is composed of fragments from each of these phases. They coexist in the sandy ground that the city is built on. Selected case studies were analyzed with references into the arts and the historic framework of the time of their creation. The lectures were complemented by site visits and field trips. 

Category: Teaching
Location: Chicago, Berlin
Year: 2022
Authorship: Professor Georg Windeck