Social Infusion

Urban Theatre & Public Space

Glossary:
Theatre- a lens or sphere of enactment, a metaphor for [inter]actions in the city

Age of Excess- the indulgent product of modernization, which is characterized by a lack of concern for function and sustainability, and the disappearance of public space due to late capitalism’s
promotion of mass consumption of goods and information

Infrastructure- physical/cyber organizational structures needed for the operation of the public

Event- a social occasion or occurrence, typically planned to promote awareness of a cause, agenda, celebration, etc – different than intervention

Intervention- an action or response as a result of something, a motive or agenda influences this action, infrastructure for an event

Crisis- “Crisis is a turning point, a decisive moment when tensions or instabilities peak, and change becomes inescapable. Crisis implies the questioning of beliefs and habits, it demands adjust-
ment in perception and in modes of action… doubts regarding current models of urban development…architecture can’t carry on as usual.” -Verb:Crisis

Spectacle- (1) a framing device through which to view something anew (2) attention-seeker (3) absurd or surreal display

Thesis contention: I am reintroducing the concept of the “city as theatre” in order to address the crisis of the loss of public space, which is a result of
excessive privateness (due to the economic engine). Can superimposition techniques and event-making, through the medium of architecture and infra-
structure, allow for private to coexist with public? The design intention is a marriage of architecture and infrastructure for public behavior: demonstration,
performance, and informal encounters.
Thesis Abstract
Lewis Mumford defined the city as a theater of interacting social and physical forces: “The city
creates the theater and is the theater. It is in the city, the city as theater, that man’s more
purposive activities are focused, and work out, through conflicting and co-operating person-
alities, events, groups into more significant culminations” (Mumford 185).
As a member of the Crisis City collaborative, I will conduct research and share critiques
amongst my classmates in the hopes of producing a unique perspective on the city in crisis.
My thesis will explore public space in the city as theatre. Rem Koolhaas names the current
urban situation, The Generic City (Avermaete 63). Cities have become bland and confused
places where social interaction remains low during the “Age of Excess”. Jürgen Habermas
stated, “the opportunity for the public to form their own opinions is a necessary condition of
human freedom and emancipation” (Avermaete 27). I am reintroducing the concept of the
“city as theatre” in order to address the crisis of the loss of public space, which is a result
of excessive behavior (mass consumption). Can superimposition and event-making through
the medium of architecture allow for private to coexist with public? Urban architecture must
provide function as well as accommodate the offentlichkeit, or public sphere (Avermaete 26).
The design intention is a marriage of architecture and infrastructure for public behavior: dem-
onstration, performance, and informal encounters. There is typically a tension between the
two; however, they must unite in order to create a true public architecture –contrary to paying
for public space. The project will be informed by an analysis at the scale of the city, the archi-
tecture and infrastructure, and the event or small-scale intervention.
As a result of my architectural contention, I have identified a site and situation that best
represents the crisis I have addressed above. Berlin, particularly the old Tacheles (Yiddish
for plain talk) department store in former East Berlin, represents a city and culture at odds
with commercial development. Squatters have infiltrated the abandoned Tacheles building
(bombed out during WWII, yet remains intact with visible scars), reappropriating it as a Kunst-
haus. Squatters have flourished in post-wall Berlin. The movement galvanized fresh off the
opening of the wall, when East Berliners inundated the west looking for opportunity, therefore
emptying many buildings and prompting debates of possession and public domain. Today,
most squatters manage activities for artists and political groups in these derelict buildings.
Artists at Tacheles confront the concept of public domain. The site becomes a public space
for not only artists but also visitors.
Berlin is a palimpsest or layering of history. It is a collage of pre and post event chaotic
schizophrenia. Significant political and social crises have plagued the city, particularly in the
20th century. Berlin never had a moment to exhale between the end of WWII and the start of
the Cold War. The city was physically and politically divided from that point until 1989. With
reunification, Berlin confronted a city in ruins, which led to uncertainty when it came time for
reconstruction.
Berlin has cultivated an avant-garde arts scene, reminiscent of 1980s New York. For-
ward-thinking art and design has a home in Berlin. This anxious and rough persona has
become Berlin’s, historically appropriate, post-wall identity. The fate of 1980s New York is
paralleled with the AIDS epidemic and mostly the “Disneyfication” of the city by the Giuliani
administration. Berlin is in a similar predicament as New York was in the early 90’s. Re-
searching New York as a parallel for a similar condition that has been played out could provide
a cautionary tale or reveal a new view on gentrification.
Currently, developers are hoping to turn this sacrosanct site into a major commercial
real estate property. The “I Support Tacheles” website claims that the building attracts a “high
number of visitors [and is] an economic cornerstone of the district”. They are demanding
“the small plot of the Kunsthaus transfer by lease to a public foundation – Tacheles secure”.
Tearing down Tacheles, a cultural and even tourist destination, and shifting it to a commercial
development further promotes the generic city.
In terms of design methodology, I believe architecture that produces events and pro-
gram superimpositions could be effective. Thus, the study of transprogramming options’ in-
fluence on public space may become critical for design solutions. Inherently, collage and
montage will become representational and design techniques, taking cues from Bernard Ts-
chumi. Urban interventionist, Julia Mandle, is similar to that of a comedian, à la Jon Stewart.
Both draw attention in an absurd manner to the obvious. Perhaps that is where the concept
of spectacle (or the absurd) plays into my thesis. Spectacle might become a framing device
for understanding and promoting urban social interaction. Events for Julia Mandle create
awareness of one’s surroundings and a sense of belonging in a space due to its interactive
nature. Events for Bernard Tschumi “affirm that there is no architecture without action or
without program, and that architecture’s importance resides in its ability to accelerate soci-
ety’s transformation through a careful agencing of spaces and events” (Tschumi 11). Events
can become nodes of activity on an architectural site. They might be unprogrammed space
with infrastructure, which encourages a dynamic individualized experience, tailored to one’s
desires and medium of expression.
I believe my topic of interest has been understudied in the past and is gaining more
momentum as people realize due to urban convergence, cities will serve as mediators by
which humanity will be defined and shaped. Architecture’s role is of great importance be-
cause we can no longer solely rely upon political agencies to effectively resolve crisis in our
cities. Cities are growing and public space is diminishing.
Public Space
Existing Public Space

Square/Piazza Park

Existing Space for Public Discourse

Building without public space + negative reinforcement

Sphere of enactment

Crisis Street + Sidewalk

Theatre Existing Space for Private Behavior

Age of Excess
Collective Privatization

Important Readings on the Public Sphere:

Architectural Positions: Architecture, Modernity and the Public Sphere

-Juhani Pallasmaa “Inhabiting Space and Time - the Loss and Recovery of Public Space”
-Adriaan Geuze “Accelerating Darwin”
-Herman Hertzberger “Collective Space, Social Use”

Jurgen Habermas “Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere” Architecture

Berlin Data
3,400,000 population

50.7% one-person households

21.6% employed in financial + business services

73% of land occupied by buildings destroyed by WWII or planning

100,000+ buildings remain empty

18,830,000 ft2
empty office space = 2/3
of Tiergarten

62% take public transportation or walk

Buildings destroyed by WWII or planning since 1940

Industry 16%

0 - 4%
4 - 8%
8 - 12%
12 - 25%
Service 84% 25% & over
City boundaries
Municipal districts Brandenburg Gate

-Berlin shifting from an industrial to knowledge-based economy

-Levels of unemployment in different districts
New construction since 1940
Site
TACHELES SITE

Locating Tacheles in context, highlighting

water and rail infrastructure, as well as
dense nodal tourist and commercial areas
(Hauptbahnhof, Reichstag, Brandenburg
Gate, Holocaust memorial, Potsdamer
Platz)

Potential for preservation of building yet

development on the rest of the site

Transportation network of Berlin metropolitan

area: good infrastructure, low street traffic
Counterculture vs. Capitalism

instandsetzen (renovating) + besetzen (occupying) = INSTANDBESETZEN (German definition of Squatting)

suggests that squatters provide an al- HSH Nordbank is threatening to auction off the vibrant site
ternative to gentrification for improving
empty/derelict spaces

squatters are the anarchist urban in-

terventionists, because top-down agen-
cies fail

-Cheap housing & cost-of-living, due to Berlin’s stagnant

economy, has attracted artists
-artists occupy empty shops and buildings and
bring them to life, legally & illegally
Precedents

ABC No Rio Snohetta - Oslo Opera House

-Not-for-profit artist space, gallery in lower east side, NYC -Architecture is the major public space of the city

-Went through similar crisis as Tacheles -It is a city square and functional building

-Hired an architect, Paul Castrucci, to renovate their space

Methods + Techniques
Bernard Tschumi
Event
Intervention
Infrastructure

-Superimposition
-Decontextualizing
-Collage
-Transprogramming
-Spatial Storyboarding
INFRASTRUCTURE
SQUATTERS

*These techniques produce potential for the

coexistence of entities in tension

Julia Mandle
INVESTORS/
Event Example: Chalking the city becomes a diagram for understand- GOVERNMENT
Spectacle ing urban flows & circulation while simultaneously acting as an ARCHITECTURE
event with an absurd tone

vs. vs.

The absurd reveals obvious & overlooked truths