Choreopolitics of Public Space
Resistance and the Right to the City
B. Aniker (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
M.G.H. Schoonderbeek – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
S. Milani – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
P.H.M. Jennen – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
By analysing the spatial dynamics of power and resistance in Tbilisi—a city characterised by conflict, transition, and collective struggle—this thesis investigates how architecture can both represent society and serve as a catalyst for change. It explores how civic agency and acts of control are woven into the urban fabric through critical mapping and design experimentation, as well as how architectural interventions can establish new spaces for expression and participation. By embracing transience, adaptability, and performativity as tools for reimagining public space, the project functions as a dialogue between research and design. Architecture is positioned as an open framework that facilitates collective action and social transformation, challenging traditional notions of permanence and order by redefining the architect as a choreographer of spatial conditions rather than a producer of fixed forms. Although it is based in Tbilisi, its techniques and observations are applicable to other disputed urban settings, providing a critical perspective on how architecture can promote inclusivity, resilience, and democratic participation in the face of shifting power dynamics.