ARC3320H S
Instructor: Roberto Damiani
Meeting Section: L0101
Friday, 9:00 - 12:00pm

Beginning in the second half of the twentieth century, the public sphere in Western countries has experienced fast and deep changes: the rise of the middle class, followed by the concentration of wealth in smaller clusters over the last twenty years, has produced a rather fragmented public domain. While as a result of the rise of democratic societies the public space has become more accessible and pluralist when compared to the past, it has also become less intelligible, and thus more difficult for groups and individuals to engage in.

The seminar will discuss some moments in modern history as evidence of the changes in the public sphere, how they have affected public space, and the role played by the architect. Traditionally seen as a cultural and natural resource, the seminar will investigate the common(s) not just as something to be preserved but also as a shared platform for social aggregation, and a product of a practice of negotiation between private and public interests.

The discussion of public space will be presented in connection with theories of the public sphere by thinkers with different backgrounds, including Friedrich Hayek, Karl Mannheim, Hannah Arendt, Jurgen Habermas, Richard Sennet, Paolo Virno, Marc Augé, and Martina Löw. The list of arguments will include the rise of urban public space in the nineteenth century; public policies and the work of public agencies as mediators in different cities across the twentieth century; persuasion and action in monumentality and other forms of public appearence; meanings and forms of anti-urban communities from the first communitarian experiences in Europe and North America to events such as the Burning Man festival; the “Bilbao effect”; and the shift of the role of the architect from public intellectual to starchitect.

The seminar will have an exploratory character. Students will be asked to discuss readings and deliver class presentations. The final assignment is a comparison between two “common” spaces, one of which must be in Toronto or elsewhere in Canada. As a category, common space must be thought of in the broader sense of the term: it can be a physical as well as an immaterial space (e.g., media and social networks). The seminar will host guest lectures.