Desired Landscapes Magazine, Issue 3

Desired Landscapes – A Magazine Reading into Cities, is a pocket-sized collection of person-to-place bonds, urban observations and poetic snapshots, seen through the eyes of people who write the stories of today’s cities. Every issue could be seen as a city guide which reflects upon the representations of the urban experience. A collection of postcards depicting distant theres – unvisited or perhaps unforgettable; of projections of possible homes, streets yet to be discovered and urban clichés to be demystified.

In this issue:

TOKYO – PARIS – ATHENS – BRASÍLIA – VENICE – SINGAPORE – LOS ANGELES – LAMPEDUSA – CAIRO – NEW YORK CITY – LONDON – MEXICO CITY

When traveling to new places, we usually hunt for the genuine, the truest. Is there a single story to provide a convenient coherency for a city’s identity? While avoiding a call for nostalgia, Desired Landscapes is ever curious about the discontent that stems from the narrative leap affecting contemporary cities: is it possible to connect yesterday to tomorrow and affirm a sense of belonging?

Featuring an array of distinct voices reading into a mix of cities:

The Doubleness of a Map
Map keys, colors and grids explained by book designer Joost Grootens.

Venice I Saw You, Now You Can Die
Recollections of charm and betrayal, of uprisings and identity loss, in a post-breakup letter to Venice.

Laboratory Eden
Tamed wilderness. Symbols and myths in the man-made green terrains of Singapore.

The City Between Two Worlds
An answer to the refugee crisis from the future, a meeting of continents and civilizations in the liminal space of Lampedusa.

Affects of Cities
The persistent influence of feelings, shaping cities and bodies alike.

The Last Kingsland
The disappearance of Kingsland Road, an ephemeral mosaic of vital contradictions, in London.

Tropicalized Art-Deco
Concrete outweighs ornaments, while a concealed pool stands as an homage to Le Corbusier, in Mexico City.