City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Architecture and anarchism, building without authority, Paul Dobraszczyk

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Architecture and anarchism

bibliography

1258073388

Paul Dobraszczyk

building without authority

This groundbreaking new book presents 60 projects - past and present, real and imagined - of 'anarchist' architecture. From junk playgrounds to Extinction Rebellion in the UK, from Christiania to the Calais Jungle in Europe, and from Dignity Village to Slab City in the USA - all are motivated by the core values of autonomy, voluntary association, mutual aid and self-organisation. Taken as a whole, they are meant as an inspiration to build less uniformly, more inclusively and more freely. 'Architecture and Anarchism' documents and illustrates 60 projects, past and present, that key into a libertarian ethos and desire for diverse self-organised ways of building. They are what this book calls an 'anarchist' architecture, that is, forms of design and building that embrace the core values of traditional anarchist political theory since its divergence from the mainstream of socialist politics in the 19th century. These are autonomy, voluntary association, mutual aid, and self-organisation through direct democracy. As the book shows, there are a vast range of architectural projects that can been seen to reflect some or all of these values, whether they are acknowledged as specifically anarchist or otherwise. Paul Dobraszczyk is a teaching fellow at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London. He is the author of 'Future Cities: Architecture & the Imagination' (2019); 'The Dead City: Urban Ruins & the Spectacle of Decay' (2017); 'Iron, Ornament & Architecture in Victorian Britain' (2014); 'London's Sewer' (2014); and 'Into the Belly of the Beast: Exploring London's Victorian Sewers' (2009); amongst others"'Architecture and Anarchism' documents and illustrates 60 projects, past and present, that key into a libertarian ethos and desire for diverse self-organized ways of building. They are what this book calls 'anarchist' architecture - forms of design and building motivated by the core values of autonomy, voluntary association, mutual aid and direct democracy. The projects highlight the stark gap between the autocratic way in which the built environment is generally governed and the aesthetic liberation that is vital to a full human flourishing in cities. They show how authoritarianism can sometimes be held at bay by differing kinds of libertarian politics. Taken as a whole, they are meant as an inspiration to build less uniformly, more inclusively and more freely."--Page 4 of printed paper wrapper