Lecture's IaaC - IaaC Lecture Series 2008-2009 > Lucy Bullivant

Masterplanning Futures Lucy Bullivant While spatial masterplans for cities historically set their physical structure and form, today’s masterplanners attempt to bring about on a more holistic basis the physical, social and economic revival of urban centres or districts. Their work is optimally part of a participatory, multidisciplinary process, and counteracts laissez-faire attitudes towards planning with various forms of urban identity management. For some planners, strengthening social equality of citizens is central to this process, while in other cases differentiating a ‘must visit’ destination and diversifying land uses is of highest priority. Whether top down or more bottom-up in attitude, masterplanners are more likely nowadays not to prescribe a rigid blueprint, but instead aim to incubate the future. Lucy Bullivant is an architectural curator, author and critic. The author of many books including Anglo Files: UK architecture’s rising generation (Thames & Hudson, 2005), Responsive Environments: architecture, art and design, V&A Contemporary, 2006) and 4dsocial: Interactive Spatial Environments (AD/Wiley, 2007), she has curated numerous exhibitions including Space Invaders (2001, British Council), Kid size: the material world of childhood (1997, Vitra Design Museum) and The near and the far, fixed and in flux (1996, XIX Triennale di Milano) and conferences such as Softspace (Tate Modern, 2007). She writes for The Financial Times, Domus, The Plan, a+u, Harvard Design Magazine and Indesign, and is preparing her next book on masterplanning and two new exhibitions in London. One explores the revalorisation of landscape design for public spaces in the UK; the other, new responsive architecture. Image caption: Rafael Viñoly Architects: aerial view of his masterplan for Battersea Power Station, London, a scheme announced in June 2008 that reinvents the site - the largest of its kind in the city - with a mix of uses and a new-build, green energy ‘Eco-Dome’.