PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Plural Territories re-examines the role of the architectural pavilion in contemporary discourse through a colorful array of quickly deployable constructs that operate together as a public forum to claim public space without permission. This project challenges the proliferation of privately owned public spaces.
BACKGROUND
This project celebrates weaving as an act performed by many cultures to develop community, share knowledge, tell stories, and communicate meaning. The hand-woven model, 5’ x 5’ x 15”, was fabricated at 1”=1’-0”. The colors represent a variety of citizen movements.
AWARDS & EXHIBITION
2019 AIA Honolulu Award, Unbuilt
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum and UWM SARUP, Milwaukee, WI. “PLAY (things)” exhibit. October 18, 2018 - Jan 27, 2019.
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
Citizen movements are defining this era. Demands for change are embodied by hashtags such as #MeToo, #HereToStay, #OccupyWallStreet, and #NeverAgain. The power of the collective, expressed through social media, drives our news cycles and is shaping our agendas.
Even though this collective space has transcended the physical world, the city and its public places continue to be the preeminent spaces for gathering, debate, and expressing opinions. However, it seems we are currently in danger of losing control of the public spaces where we come together to broadcast our voices as they fall under the authority of global corporations because city, state, and federal agencies can no longer afford their upkeep.
A new tax structure, which favors corporations over citizens, is reducing our tax base and increasing the government’s need for private money. More and more, economic gaps are being bridged by PPP’s (public-private partnerships) and POPS (privately owned public spaces). These arrangements frequently restrict the rights citizens have to access and utilize public space by layering corporation-defined rules on top of existing government regulations. Is the public realm being re-categorized from “public space” to “permission-scapes”?
The humble folding chair has seeped its way into the collective consciousness as a marker of personal space, an inalienable object in the public sphere. Plural Territories proposes redefining this device in the face of new forces, claiming public space “without permission.”
Fabrication Assistant
Hunter Wells
Thanks
Sandra Abbo, the ACSA Fall Conference Play “Things” exhibition team, the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum team, and the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP).
Project Type
Speculative Design supported by a UHM SoA faculty start-up fund and a UHM travel award.
Photography
All photos by Strawn Sierralta
Video courtesy of ACSA (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture)
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