Notas do Quotidiano 3 [Daily Notes 3] – A pele da cidade [The skin of the city]

In the 3rd volume of the “Notas do Quotidiano” [Daily Notes] series, Passeio presents “A pele da cidade” [The skin of the city], a book that brings together a set of micro-essays published in our Gallery between 2021 and 2024, in which “the skin of the city is woven and its multiple meanings are negotiated”, as the editors put it:

 

“In architectural discourse, it is common to distinguish between two dimensions in the concept of the city’s skin. A first understanding that encompasses physical exterior surfaces, vertical (such as facades, walls), horizontal (sidewalks, paths…) and more ephemeral constructions such as statues or gates. And another in which the skin is understood as a representational surface, which manages social interactions and expressions of identity, it is part of a cultural expression and can represent a set of values and beliefs (Plowright, 2018, pp. 3-4). In this second sense, what is at stake are the traces and marks that can be seen as forms of “city writing”, a term used by Lefebvre to designate “what is written and prescribed on its walls, in the layout of places and their connections, in short, the use of time in the city by its inhabitants (1996, p. 115). The metaphor of the city’s skin encourages us to experience and understand the urban environment in a more personal and intimate way and can be a way of transforming spaces into meaningful places. Thinking about the city and its surfaces through the metaphor of skin invites us to (re)imagine our relationship with the city, to be aware of the synesthetic dimension of the urban environment, to appreciate the textures, colors and patterns that make up the skin of the city and its permanent mutation. As inhabitants of the city, we are inevitably in contact with its skin. We can live it, touch it, feel it, but, like the lines of a hand, we can also examine, read and interpret it. At the CECS Urban Art and Culture Platform, Passeio, we believe that an excellent way of establishing this contact is through walking. Walking through the city means experiencing the city through the body and experiencing ourselves through this embodied experience. The city and the body of each of us supplement and define each other. […] Only those who are willing to read the skin of the city will be able to appreciate its tactility.”

The book is available in open access at the University of Minho’s repository and can be read here. Currently, the book is released only in Portuguese.

 

References

Lefebvre, H. (1996). Writings on cities. Blackwell Publishers.

Plowright, P. (2018). Extending skin: Architecture theory and conceptual metaphors. ARCC Conference Repository. https://doi.org/10.17831/rep:arcc%y552

ANO

2024

EDITORES

Pinto-Coelho, Zara. Pires, Helena. CECS - UMINHO.