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The nature of place: Petra Kempf on architecture, virtual media our shifting urban terrains

Detail from Petra Kempf’s “Confronting Urbanization.” (Photo: Courtesy Petra Kempf)

Hires scan of Petra Kempf’s “Confronting Urbanization: The Interactive Tissue of Urban Life Pro[log]ue.” The full drawing, which measures roughly four meters in length, is featured in the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale. (Photo: Courtesy Petra Kempf)

A detail representing the global supply chain, from ship to shore to online order. (Photo courtesy of Petra Kempf)

Detail from Petra Kempf’s “Confronting Urbanization.” (Photo: Courtesy Petra Kempf)

In Kempf’s iconography, spoons represent urban consumers, relentlessly devouring information. (Photo: Courtesy Petra Kempf)

Kempf’s pink-and-orange markers, placed at the intersections of IP addresses, are inspired by Roman milliaria, or milestones, which measured the distances between towns. (Photo courtesy of Petra Kempf)

Petra Kempf (Photo courtesy of Petra Kempf)

A scene from Kempf’s “Got Umbrella” performance Nov. 6 at the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. (Photo courtesy of Petra Kempf)

Hires scan of Petra Kempf’s “Confronting Urbanization: The Interactive Tissue of Urban Life Pro[log]ue.” The full drawing, which measures roughly four meters in length, is featured in the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale. (Photo: Courtesy Petra Kempf)

Hires scan of Petra Kempf’s “Confronting Urbanization: The Interactive Tissue of Urban Life Pro[log]ue.” The full drawing, which measures roughly four meters in length, is featured in the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale. (Photo: Courtesy Petra Kempf)