Castles In the Air Modernist social housing is one of the most widespread building typologies of the twentieth century. The post WWII transformation of cities across Europe through the massive construction of middle and working-class housing was promoted by utopian determinism.After WWII cities across Europe were transformed through the wide-spread construction of middle and working-class housing, driven by utopian beliefs that people’s social experience could be determined by their built environment. This was advocated by some of the most influential architects, politicians and planners of the day, who looked to rationalist housing models and urban theories both to address immediate population needs and to create a more egalitarian and just society. it was believed that cities and indeed the human condition could be improved through rational design. It is only recently in Europe that high rise residential living has again become fashionable, following the disaster of the 1950´s, 60's and 70’s, when slab and tower blocks were built to accommodate low income families and waves of post-war immigrants Examples include Gropius Staatd and Madeleine Strasse in Berlin, Singerlin, Ciutat Meridiana and Bellvitgein Barcelona, Robin Hood Gardens and Alexandra Road Estate in London. Many of these relentless estates came to represent the worst effects of public housing design: crime, grime, social neglect and material decay and some continue to be so. Yet today in Europe’s cities many of these housing estates have become iconic and their inhabitants have developed a very strong sense of community. Once neglected and entirely apart from the prevailing urban iconography they are now seen as pivotal to how these cities expanded and have become an essential element of the european city model (or archetype). Castles in the air explores the idea of urban territory and identity ¬– the relationship between the city, and its architecture and its inhabitants. In a series of photographs taken over a period of 10 years,I look at how these urban landscapes have been appropriated and conquered by their inhabitants. Yet the human presence, though noticeable in the photographs, rarely takes central stage My aim has been to chart a contemporary visual map of the urban landscapes created by modernist utopian thought and to explore the heterodox urban aesthetic that has come to represent our urban identity and social aspirations.