Towards an Architecture Activist Practice

Abstract

Scientists observe changes in the registers of our earth, rising Co² levels, changes in methane concentration, acidification of the oceans, and the degradation of soil. These changes in the registers of our earth proliferate environmental catastrophes that destabilize intricate webs of life. The human in the Anthropocene, and with it its dominant narratives of growth and economization is currently destabilizing this web to a point where scientists warn that we are currently entering the sixth extinction event. Being entangled in this status quo through the economization of land, extractive practices, and greenwashing narratives, the architecture practice has become complicit in the destruction of our live support systems. To stop or at least attenuate the suffering that results in the destabilized ecologies necessitates a fundamental repositioning of the architectural practice in the face of the looming catastrophe. In the last decade a new force has emerged, that challenges the dominant social, economic, and political paradigms. Climate activist movements like Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion The Last Generation, and Ende Gelände are using a multitude of protest tactics, to de-territorialize the axiology of values and reterritorialize new values of life, survival, and collaboration. The project ‚towards an architecture activist practice‘, researches these activist assemblages to understand the interrelation of its components and transpose the obtained knowledge to a design practice. Through action research I emerged myself in Extinction Rebellion Netherlands where I participated in the planning and execution of the Spring Rebellion 22. During this process I made maps and cartographies to analyze and visualize the interaction between the interwoven codes, groups, happenings, individuals, and spaces that made the movement during that period.