Last Friday night, a fire broke out during a concert at the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland, California, killing (at present count) 36 people. While the precise cause of the fire is still unknown, the building was rife with code violations that accelerated the fire's damage, many related to its adapted use for living and work-spaces. While criminal investigations are just beginning, local artists worry that the city will use the tragedy to crack down on other adaptive and DIY venues in the Bay Area, restricting access even further to affordable spaces in an already tight housing market.
Within the architecture community, the tragedy has prompted discussions surrounding the safety and vitality of DIY venues, and the long-term effects of such building code violations for gentrification and zoning. To discuss on the podcast, we're joined by two guests who have personal and professional experience with forming community spaces: designer, curator and organizer S. Surface, and David Keenan, an organizer at Omni Commons, a collectively-run community venue in Oakland.
Listen to episode 91 of Archinect Sessions, "DIY Space, After Ghost Ship":
Shownotes:
Kimya Dawson's beautiful explanation of how DIY spaces save lives
The Housing Crisis, Not Ravers, Is Responsible for the Oakland Fire: Analysis of systemic injustice leading to the tragedy in Oakland
Mayor Schaaf’s Response To Oakland Fire Was A Total Disaster: A heartfelt response that stresses the importance of acknowledging victims’ whole communities in addition to blood family, and that communicates the value of independent venues.
Oakland warehouse fire is product of housing crisis, say artists and advocates
Preventing another Oakland warehouse tragedy means supporting artists, not punishing them.
Resources for safer DIY spaces
Crowd-sourced Harm Reduction for DIY Venues Google doc, started by S. Surface
The resulting corruption scandal in Oakland
1+, an established nonprofit clearinghouse of architects, engineers, and other allied professionals who are interested in providing general pro-bono design services
Relief fundraisers:
2 Comments
San Francisco/Oakland has no architects who were aware of this death trap or they just couldn't be bothered to stop by the nearest fire station and report it?
the real tragedy is that people long knew of the danger these spaces have and they did nothing knowing that if they tried to become code compliant the building department would shut them down, the cost would be astronomical and heir rents would skyrocket.
If the market was not arbitrarily restricted housing and other space would be more affordable and people could chose to live and work in safe spaces. Unfortunately the options for the working class, which includes may artist and musicians is to live in unsafe spaces or abandon the creative hub of the city for someplace else. Just like in tech and finance creativity depends on adjacency and the ability to share with and react to each other.
Sad circumstances and it will probably not be the last tragedy of this type.
Over and OUT
Peter N
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