CU2: Combinatory Urbanism 2: The Complex Behavior of Collective Form

by Thom Mayne, Stan Allen (Contributor), Marion Weiss (Contributor)

Cutting-edge urban proposals from Thom Mayne, one of architecture’s most celebrated and controversial practitioners.

For the past five decades Thom Mayne and his firm, Morphosis, have been engaged with projects that exist in the hybrid space between architecture and urban planning. This volume, the long-awaited follow-up to Mayne’s seminal book Combinatory Urbanism from 2011, presents fourteen urban projects—from Paris and Vienna to Chengdu, China—that show in detail why Mayne and Morphosis stay on the cutting edge of architecture and urban planning. Spectacular models and compelling graphics accompany innovative diagrams and descriptions of projects ranging from public housing in Madrid to regional planning for a high-speed rail system for Cangzhou. Both a manifesto on urbanism and a comprehensive presentation of Morphosis urban design projects, this book fills a void in the world of architectural and urban design publications.

320 pages, Hardcover

Published October 20, 2026

About the author

Thom Mayne is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities postgraduate program. Since then he has held teaching positions at SCI-Arc, the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is principal of Morphosis Architects, an architectural firm based in Culver City, California and New York City, New York. Mayne received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in March 2005.