Unmarked on maps and largely unnoticed by urban-design, architecture, and planning communities, Combat Cities have quietly spread throughout the world. 

The Complete Guide to Combat City is an architectural and cultural handbook of these simulated towns, exclusively developed by the military. 17 existing, fully functioning urban combat centres in the US, Europe and the Middle East have been reconstructed from existing video footage, satellite images, military photographs and army suppliers’ brochures. The guide evaluates the power of simulation and interrogates whether fake cities can resist or even surpass the comparison with their mirror image. Julia Schulz-Dornburg analyses their features, be they fictional or real, and presents them with commentary, illustrations and classifications. She combines different urban portraits to create a comprehensive catalogue and architectural database of contemporary mock-cities.

Tittle: The Complete Guide to Combat City
Author: Julia Schulz-Dornburg
Publication: April 2024

Collaborators: Eugenia Troncoso, Javier Ventosa
Design: Bruno Bakalović, Plex Berlin
Publisher: jovis Verlag