Are we happy with the cities we live in? Do our homes match our expectations in terms of housing and the structure and dynamics of our relationships?
The design of the urban models and types of housing in which we now live dates back over a century, when the socio-economic structure was radically different from today’s. The profound changes we are experiencing during the second decade of the 21st century cannot fail to have notable consequences on the urban structure and types of housing.
In this book, the author outlines a different approach to urban issues that are no longer treated as a mere elaboration on some theoretical model to be applied to reality, but rather as an inquiry into urban desires intrinsically linked to the very nature of human beings, the patterns of social relations between them, and their desire to live
as urban beings. A new paradigm for housing geared to the age in which we live: no longer an era of change, but a change in era.
Urban Beings
The relational city and new paradigms of living
with written contributions by Ilde Kantzas, Federica Colzani, Elena Coda
preface by Carlo Masseroli
Joseph di Pasquale is an architect, university lecturer with a PhD in architecture, and multi award-winning designer and urban planner with extensive international experience. He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Architecture at Milan Polytechnic, where he was awarded a PhD in Modular Hybrid Architecture for Emerging Behavioural Patterns in Housing. He received an Honorary Degree in Political and Social Sciences from ISFOA University, Zurich, in 2024 and a Diploma in Storytelling and Film Directing from the New York Film Academy in 2001. He has been engaged in extensive cultural outreach/promotional work since 2008, holding conferences in Italy, China, Russia and the United States, as well as publishing books and articles in many international journals and academic publications. He is the founder of Joseph di Pasquale Architects and the winner of numerous awards including: the 2015 WGDO World Green Design Contribution Award for Guangzhou Circle Building; the 2017 WT Smart City Award from Well Tech and the Metropolitan City of Milano for ChorusLife; the 2018 ICONIC LANDSCAPE AWARD from Eco Tech Green and the magazines “Topscape” and “Paysage”.