Architectural Design Profiles 103: Architecture in Arcadia:

The Arcadian vision has inspired some of the world's greatest architectural works, instilling through sublime suggestion a sense of order and restraint which might, particularly in urban settings, appeal less to the designer. In light of the current discussions regarding the direction of contemporary architectural expression, the question of how to build in the countryside assumes an importance not parallelled since the end of the last century. In an age when the accelerated growth of the industrial metropolis threatens to destroy the balance between the built and natural environments, the call for a revision of modern zoning laws and the containment of indiscriminate speculative planning have become paramount. This work examines the different attitudes to building in the countryside, placing due weight on the growing concerns for the gradual loss of productive territory to the city, the problem of the car, the importance of containing new town proposals, and the value of the traditional models in urban design. The Symposium discussion, held at the Royal Academy of Arts on 21st March 1992, focuses on these and other relevant subjects, many of which are echoed in the selected built and projected work that is illustrated throughout the work.