This introductory text frames Sophia Journal’s tenth volume as the beginning of a new thematic cycle devoted to “landscapes of repair”. Building on the journal’s established concern with architecture, the city, photography, film and visual culture, it argues that visual practices should not be treated merely as tools of representation, but as critical methods of architectural research and knowledge production. Repair is presented as a complex cultural, political and ecological process, one that extends beyond technical restoration to include memory, heritage, social practices and future imaginaries. Within this framework, landscape is understood as a dynamic condition: material, cultural and imaginative at once, shaped by social, ecological, political and technological forces.
The text places particular emphasis on modern and contemporary architecture, especially those recent architectural legacies that remain insufficiently recognised despite their influence on urban life. It proposes photography and film as means of revealing hidden values, contested meanings and processes of transformation that are often overlooked by conventional historiography. The volume’s contributions are organised around three sections: Modernity 50s–60s, Intermediate States and Other Realities. Together, these sections trace a critical movement from the documentation of modern architectural heritage, through transitional and provisional conditions, to marginal or alternative spaces that challenge dominant narratives.
Across the issue, visual media are shown to activate architectural memory, question the status of archives, and expose the unstable relationship between design intention and lived reality. The editorial readings, theoretical papers, interviews and visual essays collectively demonstrate how images can register construction, decay, renewal, conflict and social appropriation. They also suggest that repair must be understood symbolically as well as materially, since the way architecture is seen, narrated and remembered influences how it may be transformed. Ultimately, the text advances a humanist approach to architectural and urban change, arguing that photography and film can help imagine more inclusive, resilient and sustainable futures.