A contemporary chiffonier: new models for photographic research in sites of renewal

When urban areas are developed or renewed, they are typically examined through systematic surveying strategies that focus on the interrelationships between physical structures. Technological apparatus, such as high-resolution aerial photography, light detection and ranging scanning and artificial intelligence-assisted virtual landscape modelling, now inform such processes, offering precise and expansive views of urban landscapes in exacting detail. In contrast, the late nineteenth-century topographic photographers viewed cities as cryptic topographies, best understood through fragmented, street-level perspectives. Similarly playful approaches to urban photographic exploration were developed in the 1960s by the townscape scholar Gordon Cullen, and more recently by the photographer of cities Michael Wolf. Drawing upon the work of these pioneering urban investigators, this research establishes a new approach for recognising, analysing and applying the personal and ethereal aspects of the built environment that are often overlooked in photographic surveys today. The study is synthesised through a photographic investigation of three contemporary redevelopment sites in Portugal. The resulting body of imagery exemplifies the ways in which strategic photographic walking methodologies can be used to gather, discuss and validate the characteristics of urban areas undergoing renewal.