Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture by Awan Nishat & Schneider Tatjana & Till Jeremy

Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture by Awan Nishat & Schneider Tatjana & Till Jeremy

Author:Awan, Nishat & Schneider, Tatjana & Till, Jeremy [Awan, Nishat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2013-09-12T22:00:00+00:00


Collections of alternative approaches

Berkeley, USA. 1981–

There are a number of contemporary projects that collect and collate alternative approaches to the practice of architecture. These are all projects whose curatorial approach brings together diverse practices in order to elaborate different ways of thinking and acting in relation to architecture and urbanism.

onesmallproject.com is a website and a repository of constructed and propositional projects for the world’s poor by architects and architectural students. The ongoing project is described as dealing with leftovers: people who are considered leftover, such as squatters, slum dwellers and the homeless; spaces that are left over and can be put to better use; and materials that are leftover. These elements are all combined by Wes Janz, the founder of onesmallproject, to articulate a call to action for architects to take their social responsibilities seriously. The project rejects mainstream architectural practice for its complicity in propagating and maintaining unequal relations, and instead advocates small-scale charitable works carried out on a scale of one-to-one, in the hope of a quiet and incremental change. The project celebrates works that are done for others and seek to empower others, and acts as a good secondary resource for further examples of spatial agency.

Adaptive Actions gives space and visibility to alternative and marginal ways of inhabiting space. The ‘actions’ are intended to modify and activate the existing use and character of the urban environment, testing the limits of what is tolerated in an increasingly privatised and surveilled public realm. Based in Montreal and initiated by Jean-François Prost in 2007, the project travels to different localities organising events, workshops, exhibitions and roundtables, but the main output is a website that collects and collates instances of small-scale ideas and actions from all over the world. The images and captions show residents, workers, passers-by taking control of their environment, which are framed and given value through a curatorial practice. It is an example of the artist or architect taking a step back and allowing the actions of others to take centre stage. Adaptive Actions gives value to the use and programming of spaces, suggesting other possibilities and other ways of engaging with the urban environment.



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