Review
X-Ray Architecture: Modernism and Tuberculosis
— by Christophe Catsaros
In the hierarchy of major themes that shaped the modern spirit in architecture, hygiene, the imperative of a more salubrious habitat and city, is undeniably at the top of the list. With the book ‘X-Ray Architecture’, Beatriz Colomina, historian and theoretician of architecture and teacher at Princeton, chooses to make this a structuring principle, more to do with the fear of death and the repressed unconscious than the spirit of innovation. Is modern architecture as hysterical as that of the Baroque period?
Article, Volume #55
Neoliberal Urbanism and Inner-city Football Culture
One thing gentrification thrives on is heritage. Whether it is the grand redbrick houses of a run-down neighbourhood, or the rich and diverse culture of working-class areas, the middle-class drivers of gentrification are attracted by a sense of history. But as much as gentrification fetishizes heritage, it consumes it, mutates it, and sometimes destroys it.
Article
Liberland
— by Hans Larsson
The story of Liberland, an anarcho-capitalist utopia founded on the Danube in 2015, needs to be told in the inverse direction than that of traditional national founding stories. Rather than a land that gets retroactively invested with a founding myth, it is a founding myth actively searching for a land – and using any means to get there. Hans Larsson met with the President and architect of this Eldorado 2.0
Editorial, Volume #55
Priceless
— by Arjen Oosterman
We’re hunter gatherers by nature (yes, women too). And hoarders. We cling onto stuff. We collect during the significant moments of life, only to let go when we move house or get within eye sight of our final destination. There is a fine line between ‘to possess’ and ‘to be possessed’, but either way, there are not many of us that take pride in owning nothing. Whoever had the opportunity to visit one of the main interior lifestyle fairs in Europe or elsewhere will recognize the feeling of despair in the face of the limitless amounts and varying multitudes of ‘stuff’. And yet, we don’t seem to want to do without (anytime soon).
Discover the full Volume 55 ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ editorial.
Event
Architecture of Peace Dialogues: wrap-up
— by Archis/Volume
The question ‘how do we materialize peace?’ is as old as humankind, though unfortunately more relevant than ever. The Middle-Eastern tensions have not come to an end, and yet the USA is preparing for new confrontations. The ‘super-powers’ are arm-wrestling over world hegemony and segregation, and expulsion leads to growing gaps in societies.
Publications, Volume #55
OUT NOW Volume #55: Intangible Cultural Heritage
— by Archis/Volume
When it comes to heritage, the material remains of our presence in the past, the max we do is to protect and preserve. Respect for what was takes over from engagement with what is, or can be.
Interview
The Battle for Home: Interview with Marwa Al-Sabouni by Lilet Breddels
— by Archis/Volume
In her book ‘The Battle for Home’, the Syrian architect Marwa Al-Sabouni focuses on Homs and how the city was destroyed by architecture even before the war began. Lilet Breddels discussed with her in Amsterdam last December, when she received a prestigious Prince Claus Award for her contribution to architectural thinking.
Article
Whose Europe?
— by Kai Vöckler
The ‘New Europe’ and Controversy Around the European Idea – an international conference and workshop at the National Museum-Institute of Architecture after Alexander Tamanyan, Yerevan (March 30, 2019).
Event
Architecture of Peace Dialogues: April & May 2019
— by Archis/Volume
Four Architecture of Peace Dialogues in April & May 2019 intend to give new insights and tools to work with in the coming years. The format of the exchange will experiment with the fusion of the ‘Socratic Dialogue’ and ‘The Handbook for Democratic Dialogue’.
Article
Behind a Windshield: An Unsolicited Narrative
— by Yasmin Mardini
The red brick housing block of the informal settlements in and around Cairo are so recognizable and telling, that the national government is getting concerned about Egypt’s reputation. Not able to stop their spread, let alone to remove them, the government now ordered painting all exteriors to hide the reality of the day. Yasmin Mardini proposes a different interpretation of these neighborhoods, that ‘normal people’ will only see from the distance of their car. She shows the power of close reading as a way to understand and next, perhaps, to accept and integrate.