José Manuel Ballester, Jardín del arte, 2021 

From the Ideal City to the Domestic Dream. Arquitectura Viva celebrates its 250th issue with a special edition that presents utopias as an optimistic alternative to the dim panorama marked by economic decline, epidemic threats, and the devastation of war, all this in the context of a climate emergency. Luis Fernández-Galiano makes a revision of different notions of the ideal city without forgetting about the dangers looming over them; Julia Ramírez-Blanco writes on the artistic brotherhoods of the 19th century and points out their relevance to the here and now; the collective Dogma reflects on urban villas as feasible housing proposals grounded on 'commoning'; and James Bradford DeLong presents his thesis on a long 20th century during which humanity has pursued its utopias of freedom and prosperity.

The zoom of history provided by these four extensive articles is complemented by eight pieces by masters being asked what kind of architecture ought to be upheld in the current context of crisis, plus the transcription of a lecture delivered by Luis Fernández- Galiano that uses the late style of writers and artists to suggest the tasks to be undertaken in response to today's challenges involving heritage, landscape, and the planet. Finally, using the Hippocratic oath as a model, the issue closes with a possible Vitruvian code, summarizing architecture's ethical obligations in these times of dreams and shadows.

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