OASE 104 e-book

Metabolism is the conversion of one form of matter into another. Urban design and architecture are currently paying a great deal of attention to the charting and controlling of material flows that have been severely disrupted by industrialization. OASE 104 explores the context of locations in which metabolism took place.

Public washrooms, communal bread ovens and urban slaughterhouses are examples of locations of metabolism that kept communities’ urban household in order. At the same time, these places added an extra layer of meaning to the urban landscape by their specific agreements and codes of conduct that regulated and facilitated their shared use in an urban environment.

How can architecture and urban design contribute to a politically and ecologically relevant metabolism that presupposes citizenship rather than customership? In other words, which projects can help create the conditions under which the metabolic perspective can regenerate an urban perspective on citizenship?