Anagram Urbanism - Re-shuffling the City

Jellyfish Theatre London 2010 (image source)

When skimming through my notebook today, Igot reminded of a lecture by German artists Köbberling/Kaltwasserback in November at the University of the Arts Berlin. The artists werepresenting a series of projects and urban interventions in public space under the subject ofconsidering the city as anagram. Their site-specific interventions use locallysourced materials that are transformed into object-like architecturalconstructions. Characteristically, the appearance of those constructionsis imperfect and unfinished. After the destruction of the installations,objects and houses, the materials the artists have been using, disintegrate inthe materiality of the city again.
Conceptually, they understand their work asa snapshot of recycling and reshuffling a city's materials and thereforeemploying the concept of an anagram. I would argue further to not onlyunderstand their way of reshuffling materials as being analogous to theanagram, but also the fact that many of their constructions are executed in acollective effort to integrate local inhabitants in the process of building:'Beyond creating art and design objects and architecture, we initiate action'.Hence, through a participatory approach and the way in which a city's materialsget recycled and reshuffled the whole process might be termed as AnagramUrbanism: Reshuffling and recycling the built and human fabric of the city.Thinking this further, such a conceptualisation of an urbanistic approachpresupposes that the ingredients for urban change are already inscribed in thecity itself; the actions that need to be taken are excavating this pre-existingpotentials lying within the urban human and nonhuman networks and initiatingand orchestrating a process of reshuffling. The Anagram Urbanism approach wouldthen be in close dialogue with Saskia Sassen's work on OpenSource Urbanism which has been recently presented here on this blog. Discoveringthe pre-existing potentials or utilising the existing recources inscribed in the city, Anagram Urbanism then is comparable to Sassen'sunderstanding of the city as incomplete and the potential of the city to 'talkback'. And to go further, would that mean that the approach of an Anagram Urbanism wouldmake our cities more resilient, environmentally and also socially? I am not able to give the answers yet but I believe that this conceptual framework is definitively helpful to think about the present and also future state of the city and, furthermore also bears the potential of being incorporated into urban planning strategies.  
To finish this thought, here are some images ofKöbberling/Kaltwassers work, that, in case you have not recognised yet, is alsofeatured as the new header image on top of the blog.

Jellyfish Theatre London 2010 (image  source)

Hausbau Gropiusstadt Berlin 2004 (image source)

Hausbau Gropiusstadt Berlin 2004 (image source)

 

Occupy Wall Street - Zuccotti Park

Zuccotti park during the Occupy Wall Street protest. Image source.

Zuccotti Park in Manhattan's financial district has become the locus for the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protests in the last few weeks. Protesters have gathered, prostested and camped out there to make their demands visible in public. Yet, in contrast to other recent social movements the site of protest is not a public space in its common sense. Zuccotti Park is privately owned, named after a real estate development lawyer who has been active both in governmental affairs and in private development. The park, which is actually a paved plaza, is owned by Brookfield Properties, in conjunction with its ownership of One Liberty Plaza, the adjacent high-rise commercial tower. Arguably the park is a privately owned public space, a quasi public space that is so common in city centres of the great capitalist cities. Nevertheless, and interestingly, the space is still a site to enact democratic action.
OWS's spatial setting is different than those of other urban movements like the arab spring which is closely connected to Tahrir Square for example. OWS' site was chosen deliberately due to its symbolic character, as being right in the middle of New Yorks financial district. The occupation of Zuccotti park IS already the occupation of a piece of Wall Street.
Besides, the park has quickly become a tourist attraction.
Also Peter Marcuse has written a worth reading comment on the protest.
Zuccotti park after the post 9/11 refurbishment. Image source.

BIENNALE DI VENEZIA - ARSENALE

An Te Liu::Cloud:: Air Purifier installation :: image synchronicity

As expected, la Biennale di Venezia was a big show off of big names - at least at the main exhibition at Arsenale. Zaha, Frank, Hani, Greg... with few things which were new. While Greg Lynn's recycled toy furniture was quite interesting comprehending a good sense of humor, I was quite disappointed by Diller + Scofidio's installation - a ride through venice with a gondola filmed from rear and front. We know that already way back in the sixties from Valie Export.

Greg Lynn Form ::image by disturbnet
Also Zaha's and Patrick Schumacher's mobile Lotus home was a bit annoying, especially when you listened to Patrick Schumacher's Parametric manifesto where he talks about Parametrisim beeing the real new style after Modernism - Post-Modernism, Deconstructivism only where transitory styles. But the problem with the Lotus installation is, that it only is able to exist in a Modernist building, a white box or as well the beautiful Arsenale pavillion. But how would it look like in a curvy Zaha building? So what about this new style being so dependend on the old one?

Zaha Hadid Architects::Lotus ::image by disturbnet
UN Studio's 'The changing room' was at least more critical in the description.

UnStudio :: Image synchronicity

Philippe Rahm showed again one of his Architecture and Meteorology installions, which I always like a lot although it did not work the time I was there.

Philippe Rahm (whith MVRDV's Flying cars City in the back) :: Image synchronicity
A fresh cheer up on these exhaustive days was S1NGLETOWN by Droog Design focusing on the world of contemporary singles

Droog design :: image synchronicity

I will post an entry from the Biennale dealing with issues of sustainability and landscape soon. So stay tuned..