The City as Detail - Thoughts on the Architecture of the late Otto Steidle

Detail: “item or part of a whole”. From the french détail derived from the french détailler “to cut in pieces” from the french tailler “to tailor or cut” from the latin taliare “to split” from the latin talea “a cutting or twig”. Thus a detail is actually a ”cut or piece”. The analogy to material, to fabric and its structure, substance and patterns is the starting point for considering Otto Steidle´s work with the City. Less concerned with the individual constructions, his approach is rather to the relationships between City – Quarter – Block and House, in addition to the element of development which gives structure and weaves the individuals together. When one considers the city as a fabric of streets, quarters and buildings or as an “ordered, structured arrangement of buildings and paths”, then a piece of the city remains city, just as a piece of fabric remains fabric. The city is as much a whole as it is a detail.