Camillo Sitte Edition vol. 2

As part of the project P16901-G06 financed by the FWF (Austrian Science Fund), the complete writings of Camillo Sitte are being published for the first time in a "critical complete edition" planned in six volumes. The edition is based on the inventory of the Sitte Bequest Archive owned by the Technical University of Vienna. The 52 articles edited in volume 2 include Camillo Sitte`s publications on urban design and architecture over a period of three decades (1872-1903/04), written besides his famous book "Der Städte-Bau nach seinen künstlerischen Grundsätzen". It mainly consists of now barely accessible publications in daily newspapers and specialist magazines, supplemented by eight separate articles kept in the Sitte Bequest Archive. The writings on urban design allow keener insight into the ideas of the city planning theoretician and urban designer Camillo Sitte and place his book of 1889 on urban planning in a more comprehensive context. They testify firstly to Sitte`s critical reflections on developments in Viennese urban design of that time, and secondly his intense preoccupation with urban planning projects in other cities of the monarchy (Olmütz [Olomouc], Teschen [Cieszyn]) and in Germany (Bielefeld, Mannheim). Through their case-study character and their critical assessment of current projects they round off Sitte`s well-known positions within urban design. In addition, the articles counteract the conventional idea of Sitte being a Viennese "traditionalist" and cast a new perspective on the "modernist" Sitte - among the things he actively supported was the cut-through of a street in Vienna`s historic city to improve traffic, and he welcomed "Neu-Wien" [New Vienna] as a modern capital and cosmopolitan city. The articles on architecture - written from 1873 until Sitte`s death - range over a great variety of themes. These include discussions of contemporary major projects in Vienna, investigations dealing with the history of architecture, questions of the preservation of historic buildings, and articles on church and theatre architecture. Four of Sitte`s articles are devoted to Gottfried Semper and describe his influence on contemporary building and the current theory of architecture. Four introductory articles by Michael Mönninger, Wilfried Posch and Mario Schwarz place the edited writings in a historical context and establish connections to Camillo Sitte`s other spheres of influence and activity - these are addressed in the other volumes of the catalogue. Short editorial introductions and brief commentaries help to clarify the source texts. The editors of the Camillo Sitte Complete Edition are Klaus Semsroth, Michael Mönninger and Christiane C. Collins. Editors of volume 2 were Sonja Hnilica and Bernhard Langer and - in conclusion - Andreas Zeese and Ann Katrin Bäumler.