The Space of Politics

Urban States – USC School of Architecture

2011
Los Angeles, US
Type: Research

Commissioned by Qingyun Ma & Stefano di Martino

With the generous support of the Goethe Institut, Los Angeles, Frances Anderton, Orhan Ayyuce, Rachel Berney, Teddy Cruz, Joseph Giovannini, David Gissen, Qingyun Ma, Stefano de Martino, Marcos Sanchez, Roger Sherman, Rochelle Steiner

Credits
  • Workshop by Markus Miessen with Kenny Cupers
  • Moderated by Victor Jones & Warren Techentin

The Space of Politics presented a week-long group-work of urban archaeology, a symposium, and a lecture trying to collectively unpack the complexity of urban space of politics, ranging from super-informal to highly established.

With an energetic focus on the city of Los Angeles, the workshop aimed to understand the urban condition by spreading the university into the city. What constitutes spatial politics today? What constitutes the political border between urban stakeholders?

Taking into account the varying backgrounds and skill-sets of students, the group utilized each others potentials in order to research, develop, produce and archive visual and textual arguments towards a spatial register of politics. Methods of generating knowledge included photography, mapping, journalistic analysis, writing, filing, and other means to isolate those elements of the urban environment that allow us to start to describe the tactics of space.

The group produced an informal manual, which aimed to elaborate on the kind of spaces that are interesting in terms of our politico-spatial categories. It was developed in the format of templates, with which the different groups of students worked towards a toolbox, which was later presented as a source of information, booklet and an exhibition.

The workshop was conducted by Markus Miessen with Kenny Cupers.

Symposium with: Frances Anderton, Orhan Ayyuce, Rachel Berney, Teddy Cruz, Kenny Cupers, Joseph Giovannini, David Gissen, Qingyun Ma, Stefano de Martino, Markus Miessen, Marcos Sanchez, Roger Sherman, and Rochelle Steiner.