Archinect - News

Occupy: The Day After

2011-12-08T16:02:26-05:00

For if there is one abiding historical certainty it is that, eventually, things change. And they can be made to change. There is no such thing, however, as a revolutionary architecture. Nor does history ever simply start from scratch. Instead, post-revolutionary questions can be posed in advance to infrastructures that already exist.... to reinvent what used to be called housing, schools, hospitals, factories, and farms in a way that asks: What else must change for these changes to be possible?

Reinhold Martin argues that architects must plan for post-revolutionary conditions. A follow-up to his earlier essay for Places, "Occupy: What Architecture Can Do."

99% v 1%: the data behind the Occupy movement

2011-11-17T13:38:30-05:00

It has been the rallying cry of the Occupy movement for the past two months - but is the US really split 99% v 1%? As poverty and inequality reach record levels, how much richer have the rich got? This animation explains what the key data says about the state of America today

Editor's Picks #236

2011-11-06T17:08:22-05:00

Gregory Walker, noted that Zaha Hadid Architects now has an app for that and thinks they may have finally jumped the shark. However, Steven Ward thought that "in a context where your business is built on maintaining your brand, this probably doesn't seem like a tough or strange decision at all." and lletdownl agreed arguing that "it makes perfect sense to me to develop a method of viewing your work targeted specifically to the fastest growing method of browsing.

In the latest Contours feature Guy Horton, asked What Should Architecture Occupy? He concluded that, "occupying is a state of mind more than anything. It’s a stance, an orientation, an outlook, a perspective. Where do you stand right now?”
EllaStelter responds “Architects certainly aren't part of the 1%, but we do generally serve their interests. From what I see, architecture is a profession that is rather resistant to change and challenging the status quo, even when it is in our best interests."

Don’t forget to participate in Archinect’s anonymous #OWS survey

William Hunter, wrote about a group of student’s, from UCL Bartlett Development Planning Unit’s MSc Building and Urban Design in Development (BUDD) course, attempts at Decoding Bangkok’s Pocket-Urbanization. While in Bangkok for three weeks the students worked closely with two local organizations CODI and BMP. William argued that the main reason for this teamup was the fact that "truly participatory design arguably req...

Park Rules Scrutinized

2011-10-16T04:00:22-04:00

[ed] How 'public' space is lost "Casting a wary eye on the four-week-old Occupy Wall Street encampment, a group representing some of the city's most influential landlords plans to ask the city to revamp the rules governing privately owned parks, including removing a requirement that they be open 24 hours a day."

In protest, the power of place

2011-10-15T22:09:29-04:00

We tend to underestimate The political power of physical places. Then Tahir Square comes along. Now it is Zucotti Park.