Gregorio Astengo and Davide Spina eds.,"Real Estate: Histories of Architecture and Capital" (gta Verlag, 2026)

Real Estate: Histories of Architecture and Capital (gta Verlag, 2026)challenges

the conventional assumption that architects and planners are the

principal authors of urban form. It instead foregrounds the developers,

builders, financiers, and media strategists whose pursuit of profit has

shaped cities, particularly under global capitalism. Bringing together

studies spanning the eighteenth century to the present, the

editors, Gregorio Astengo and Davide Spina, and

the contributors establish real estate development as a significant

field of inquiry within architectural history. It also proposes new

methods and sources for understanding how speculation and market

mechanisms have produced the built environment.

This interview was conducted by Matthew Wells, Senior Lecturer in