Public Catalyst - by Manuel Bailo (Paperback)

About the Book

"Against Indifference is an atlas of public urban situations. It is a non-exclusive endeavor to track down the uncertain and transient boundaries of urban intensity. We bring urbanism onto a smaller scale, focusing our attention on apparently insignificant situations. We discover the power of catalyzing both designed and spontaneous public space with lighthearted actions."--Cover.

Book Synopsis

Demonstrates the existence of public space catalysts, as well as the need for their presence for an expectant or indifferent place to be activated.

This work -- which understands that the city, now and always, has had and must have public spaces of intensity -- proposes urban catalysts as agents that are capable of activating a place that was previously indifferent.

The comparative work of historical and recent cases, developed by research and drawings, has allowed us to discover that the vivid public spaces of identity and reference have been formed due to the urban effect caused by these agents that we call "catalysts." Manuel Bailo's work includes a wide range of projects, ranging from urban scale to interiorism. It has been widely published and presented with awards.

Co-published with University of Virginia: School of Architecture.

Review Quotes

"Based on its contents, and the fact it's really two books in one - Public Catalyst and Catalysts Drawn - Esteve's interest in the city is wide-ranging, focused broadly on life and what can be done to catalyze it. The first book within a book is more academic, delving, for instance, into Werner Hegemann, Camillo Sitte, Edmund Bacon, and others that came before the author. Here we see the big picture, while the second "book" takes aim at the details, doing so through twenty beautifully illustrated case studies. Most of the examples are real (e.g. a shade structure designed by Enric Miralles and Carme Pinós), but the inclusion of a scene from Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle illustrates that inspiration can come from fiction as well as reality." --A Daily Dose of Architecture

"This book profiles the work of architect Manuel Bailo, founder of Bailo+Rull Architecture. His projects in Europe and America offer inspiration for the design and creation of urban public spaces, looking at the possibilities of spontaneous public spaces in addition to designed public space. The art program features color and b&w photos, drawings, illustrations, and images." --ProtoView