The Making of a Town documents the creation of Kirchsteigfeld, a town of great urban quality for ten thousand inhabitants, from what was, in 1991, a stretch of derelict land.

The remarkable achievement of the architects Rob Krier and Christoph Kohl has resulted in the creation of agreeable landmarks, a richness of green spaces, and facades designed with the greatest possible individuality by many different architects, a reminder of the urbanity of European cities of the past.

The pleasant spaces and facades possess the quality of collage of a small traditional town and ensure a familiar sense of continuity and place in all the streets and squares, where architectural details are discovered with pleasure and a stroll is a rich experience.

The question whether each generation must redefine the city for itself or whether there are archetypes of humanistic architecture can only be resolved through practice. The architectural richness of Kirchsteigfeld, possessing as it does those historic qualities of place and identity that we have learned once more to value in making urban forms for the community, provides an invaluable example.

About the Authors:
Rob Krier is an architect, professor of architecture, urban planner and sculptor whose many projects include the Ritterstrasse in Berlin and the more recent town plan for Amiens. His books include Architectural Composition and The Elements of Architecture, as well as volumes of his rendered drawings. He is now in partnership in Berlin with his son-in-law, Christoph Kohl. They worked together on the planning of Kirchsteigfeld and on this book.