Advanced Option Studio (AOS): Designing Counterpublics - Reclaiming Space and Narrative After Route 65
This studio draws from contemporary architectural theory that redefines the term "publics." In this studio, we explore the concept of counterpublics, or groups that form in response to exclusion from dominant narratives and systems that create their own discursive spaces, rituals and spatial practices.
Student work, Sakshi Aparajit and Jiaxi Wu. Fall 2023.
AOS Catalog Course Description
This studio draws from contemporary architectural theory that redefines the term "publics." No longer viewed as a unified civic audience, publics are now understood as plural, constructed and relational and are co-produced through spatial practices, discourse and access. Scholars such as Michael Warner, Nancy Fraser and Sheller and Urry emphasize that participation in public life depends on space as well as on mobility, legibility and systemic positioning. In this light, design becomes a means of either reinforcing or disrupting conditions of exclusion. In this studio, we explore the concept of counterpublics, or groups that form in response to exclusion from dominant narratives and systems. Unlike mainstream publics, which are often aligned with normative forms of participation and visibility, counterpublics create their own discursive spaces, rituals and spatial practices. These practices challenge the terms of inclusion itself, often by redefining what counts as participation, expertise or visibility.