On Ungers' Legacy: a view from Gibellina

Ungers, After All is a small publication which focuses on what is arguably the only project ever built in Italy by Oswald Mathias Ungers. In the aftermath of the 1968 earthquake and the subsequent reconstruction of Gibellina -planned according to the model of the English New Towns- O.M.U. was commissioned to design the vast and still undefined central area of the new settlement. Ultimately, however, only a small portion of this vision was realised, partially adhering to the architect’s initial schematic plans and developed without his direct involvement.

Despite this unorthodox and troubled process, the City Center proposal remains a powerful project, embodying many of Ungers’ key ideas on public space, city, monument, and history. It provides a starting point for reflecting on the relationship between theory and project in Ungers’ work, as well as what remains of that legacy today. Moreover, the project’s capacity to survive through its fragments, still giving life to a part of the city, opens a discussion on both possibilities and limits of architecture within the project of the city.

On 23 February 2026, the editors Alessandro Iannello and Tommaso Mola Meregalli, present the publication in our exhibition space et al. This presentation was followed by a discussion with Pier Vittorio Aureli, contributor of the book.

The book has been edited by Elena Catalano, Alessandro Iannello, Tommaso Mola Melegalli and Costanza Zeni and produced by Fondazione Studio Rizoma.