The "architectural imaginary" describes architecture in its broadest sense: images of cities drawn from collective experience and imagination. Hailing from 11 countries, each of the 14 artists who have contributed to "Automatic Cities" engage the psychological and sociopolitical aspects of architecture through their work, mapping the influence of the architectural imaginary on contemporary visual art. The book is organized into four thematic groupings. Matthew Buckingham, Ann Lislegaard and Paul Noble treat architecture's relationship to language; "Architecture and Memory" includes installations by Saskia Olde Wolbers, Hiraki Sawa and Rachel Whiteread; "Architecture as Model" encompasses installations by Michael Borremans, Los Carpinteros, Catharina van Eetvelde and Katrin Sigurdardottir; and the theme of surveillance is explored by Jakob Kolding, Sarah Oppenheimer, Julie Mehretu and Matthew Ritchie.