THESIS: Arguments in the Streets Became More Frequent

Arguments in the Streets Became More Frequent

Pawel Bednarek

Our contemporary societal condition is comprised of an involuntary association of humans to a system which prioritizes Authoritarianism, hierarchy, and capitalism. In other words this system supports a systemic or enforced inequality which favours and rewards the privileged few and disenfranchises and criminalizes the marginalized many. Architecture is complicit in this condition. This being said, I am motivated to change the way architecture operates. The best way to change the praxis of architecture to better address this negative condition is through the development of an anarchist architectural/spatial practice. This anarchist architecture is intended to be revolutionary as well as constructive and pragmatic. Anarchist architecture seeks to subvert the complicity of architecture to the above condition and strives to affect positive social change through a multiplicity of tactics.

Using Toronto as a subject, this thesis is an experiment in a constructive anarchist architectural praxis which manifests itself through the craft of archiving, critical détournement, and the development of new spatial conditions.

Supervisor:

Adrian Blackwell, University of Waterloo

Committee Members:

Anne Bordeleau, University of Waterloo

Marie-Paule Macdonald, University of Waterloo

External Reader:

Scott Sorli

The Defence Examination will take place:

at 11:30 AM in the BRIDGE Centre for Architecture + Design

A copy of the thesis is available for perusal in ARC 2106A.