What is Porous City?

POROUS CITY sees the city of flows obstructions also as a city of accidents, shadows, parallel realities, diversity, fiction and imagination.

Across this year POROUS CITY is practicing different ways of experiencing, sharing and articulating these realities. These ways will be of writing, performances, walks and interventions.

There is a lot of theory about space and the identified spaces we give names and call places. Spaces are the locative anchors for memory and history, which goes to say that most of our memories of our cities as they were consists of spatial snapshots of places. Space is a multi-dimensional entity – where invisible things lurk and memory is just one of those invisible things. Restaurants, gardens, neighbourhoods. The city of flows finds it very difficult to change with the “anchors of memories” weighing it down. Performative dreaming about what our cities and neighbourhoods can be is what POROUS CITY is about.

A “cultural space” is any space which is temporarily open to expressions and performances of different kinds. A space which doesn’t place barriers in the meeting of people with people – across hierarchies and boundaries. And, I think to be inspired people go where there is a possibility for a rich inter-mingling of people. And sometimes there is a vacuum – there are few spaces which play this role.

In POROUS CITY, I am trying to map the kinds of alternative and temporary spaces available in this city for cultural action of all kinds.

Station 1: A construction site in a residential neighbourhood

The first POROUS CITY is in Tippasandra.

• Location: http://is.gd/2bCDx, Opp Shishu Griha School, HAL II Stage, New Thippasandra, Bangalore
• Dates: August-September 2009
• Photos: http://is.gd/2o6KL

What is happening now?

Key concepts, ideas and explorations: idea of play (spontaneous, planned), interactive and performative activities (set within neighbourhood contexts), expressions of space making/transforming (camp site, new spaces in house/yards/unused), expression through writings (fiction/knowledge generation/cultural diary), about the neighbourhood ecosystem (exploring representation, drawings, photographing, recording etc.), living systems (garbage/toilet related), nature of open spaces.

Notes about the context

Unemployed plots of land dream of things that they can do, how they can look, forms they can take. When they are actively traded and utilized in the market and society, only a narrow range of functions get performed on them. They, on the other hand remain unfilled. The markets binds the land in the roles it wants it to play.This construction site in Thippasandra’s residential neighbourhood belongs to the University Women’s Association, Bangalore (UWAB). The site is temporarily unemployed as the project requires a further infusion of money. UWA is currently working at raising funds to soon be able to resume construction again. In its current state of being temporarily unoccupied, it is dreaming of the roles it can play in the neighbourhood.

The POROUS CITY site’s being at this site across August and September 09, will be a kind of nomadic urban camping ground, a space which offers refuge, platform, visibility and possibility to a range of conversations initiated by artists, activists, architects, researchers and others. In a way, it is channeling the dreams which the space might have dreamed of and giving form and language to them in different ways.

Curatorial Theme: Children And The City

What is Demonstrating Outdoor Tactics (DOT)?

The DOT (Demonstrating Outdoor Tactics) is a configuration for a mobile cultural space for Bangalore. It will be used for a diverse set of curated artistic and cultural projects proposed by the community of creative-practitioners and amateurs in Bangalore.

Station 1: A construction site in a residential neighbourhood

The first station in the journey of DOT in Bangalore in in Tippasandra.

• Location: http://is.gd/2bCDx, Opp Shishu Griha School, HAL II Stage, New Thippasandra, Bangalore
• Dates: August-September 2009
• Photos: http://is.gd/2o6KL

What is happening now?

Key concepts, ideas and explorations: idea of play (spontaneous, planned), interactive and performative activities (set within neighbourhood contexts), expressions of space making/transforming (camp site, new spaces in house/yards/unused), expression through writings (fiction/knowledge generation/cultural diary), about the neighbourhood ecosystem (exploring representation, drawings, photographing, recording etc.), living systems (garbage/toilet related), nature of open spaces.

Projects and events happening this month at Tippasandra are here.

Notes about the context

Unemployed plots of land dream of things that they can do, how they can look, forms they can take. When they are actively traded and utilized in the market and society, only a narrow range of functions get performed on them. They, on the other hand remain unfilled. The markets binds the land in the roles it wants it to play.This construction site in Thippasandra’s residential neighbourhood belongs to the University Women’s Association, Bangalore (UWAB). The site is temporarily unemployed as the project requires a further infusion of money. UWA is currently working at raising funds to soon be able to resume construction again. In its current state of being temporarily unoccupied, it is dreaming of the roles it can play in the neighbourhood.

The DOT’s being at this site across August and September 09, will be a kind of nomadic urban camping ground, a space which offers refuge, platform, visibility and possibility to a range of conversations initiated by artists, activists, architects, researchers and others. In a way, it is channeling the dreams which the space might have dreamed of and giving form and language to them in different ways.

Curatorial Theme: Children And The City

Some pictures of the opening:

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The exhibition system you see in the pictures has been designed by Meeta Jain at MapBee. It is a portable system which can be dismantled and be moved around the city across various open and partially open venues. The next site for exhibition is being discussed and will be announced soon.

Coming up in the next few days:

• a statement summarizing the outcome of the Mobility and Culture Think Tank 09 (MCTT09)
• some videos and audio recording of MCTT09 and the Spirited Caravans exhibition
• a schedule of the forward going process and the upcoming publication

Proposals were short-listed in April and then every participant was requested to license their proposal under an open-content license before the entries were shared with the world on the web and soon through a print publication and exhibition.

All the proposals short-listed as part of the POROUS CITY process are presented below. More details about the mobile.culture publication will be available soon. All the proposals are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 India License [link].

An exhibition of the proposals and some texts on them is being planned in Bangalore in June (details soon). The DOT will actually be made through a two-part design workshop being planned with Meeta Jain where numerous architects, designers, imaginers and competition participants in India will talk and work together on a functional design for the streets of Bangalore.

The proposals follow:

Amrita Ravimohan & Ekta Idnany

From Mumbai, India for THE DOT MATRIX

The Dot Matrix by Ekta & Amrita, page 1

The Dot Matrix by Ekta & Amrita, page 2

Azeer Attari & Dominic Anthony

From Mumbai, India for KHEL: THE INTERACTIVE LEARNING CART

KHEL, image 1

KHEL, image 2

KHEL, image 3

KHEL, image 4

KHEL, image 5

KHEL, image 6

KHEL, image 7

Benoît Maubrey

From Brück, Germany for CYBER-BIRDS

Cyber-birds: mobile multi-media screens, page 1

Cyber-birds: mobile multi-media screens, page 2

Cyber-birds: mobile multi-media screens, page 3

Elina Moreau Braunstein

From Sydney, Australia for PAVILION

Pavilion (big image)

Harry Westbrook & Nash Colundular

From London, UK for BODY SUIT

Bodysuit, page 1

Body Suit, page 2

Heron-Mazy Studio, J.P. Maruszczak & Roger Connah & Asst: Ryan Manning

From USA for SIX SCRIPTS

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 1

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 2

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 3

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 4

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 5

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 6

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 7

Jelena Grujic and Lea Skrinjar

From Novi Sad & Belgrade, Serbia for PPMT

PPMT, page 1

PPMT, page 2

Jimini Hignett

From Amsterdam, The Netherlands for ART BAR

Art Bar, page 1

Art Bar, page 2

Art Bar, page 3

Art Bar, page 5

Joao Caria Lopes

From Lisbon, Portugal for ART-CLOSET

Art Closet, page 1

Art Closet, page 2

Art Closet, page 3

Art Closet, page 4

Art Closet, page 5

Joseph Choma

From New York, USA for UNTITLED

CHOMA, page 1

CHOMA, page 2

CHOMA, page 3

CHOMA, page 4

Miguel Valério

From Amsterdam, The Netherlands for BALLOON

Balloon, page 1

Balloon, page 2

Balloon, page 3

Balloon, page 4

Balloon, page 5

Balloon, page 6

Nick Tobier

From Detroit & Ann Arbor, USA for CRATE CULTURE

Crate Culture, page 1

Crate Culture, page 2

Crate Culture, page 3

Crate Culture, page 4

Crate Culture, page 5

Crate Culture, page 6

Petar Bojovic & Slobodan Krsmanovic

From Belgrade, Serbia for SILKY RING

Silky Ring, page 1

Silky Ring, page 2

Silky Ring, page 3

Shyamanta Shekhar, Harshavardhan, Srinivas, Sujay Kuncham, Vishnuvardhan

From Bangalore, India for FORUM

Forum, page 1

Forum, page 2

Stewart Hicks & Allison Newmeyer

From Illinois, USA for MOMO

MOMO, page 1

MOMO, page 2

MOMO, page 3

MOMO, page 4

MOMO, page 5

MOMO, page 6

MOMO, page 7

MOMO, page 8

MOMO, page 9

Proposals were short-listed in April and then every participant was requested to license their proposal under an open-content license before the entries were shared with the world on the web and soon through a print publication and exhibition.

All the proposals short-listed as part of the POROUS CITY process are presented below. More details about the mobile.culture publication will be available soon. All the proposals are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 India License [link].

An exhibition of the proposals and some texts on them is being planned in Bangalore in June (details soon). The DOT will actually be made through a two-part design workshop being planned with Meeta Jain where numerous architects, designers, imaginers and competition participants in India will talk and work together on a functional design for the streets of Bangalore.

The proposals follow:

Amrita Ravimohan & Ekta Idnany

From Mumbai, India for THE DOT MATRIX

The Dot Matrix by Ekta & Amrita, page 1

The Dot Matrix by Ekta & Amrita, page 2

Azeer Attari & Dominic Anthony

From Mumbai, India for KHEL: THE INTERACTIVE LEARNING CART

KHEL, image 1

KHEL, image 2

KHEL, image 3

KHEL, image 4

KHEL, image 5

KHEL, image 6

KHEL, image 7

Benoît Maubrey

From Brück, Germany for CYBER-BIRDS

Cyber-birds: mobile multi-media screens, page 1

Cyber-birds: mobile multi-media screens, page 2

Cyber-birds: mobile multi-media screens, page 3

Elina Moreau Braunstein

From Sydney, Australia for PAVILION

Pavilion (big image)

Harry Westbrook & Nash Colundular

From London, UK for BODY SUIT

Bodysuit, page 1

Body Suit, page 2

Heron-Mazy Studio, J.P. Maruszczak & Roger Connah & Asst: Ryan Manning

From USA for SIX SCRIPTS

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 1

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 2

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 3

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 4

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 5

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 6

Six Scripts for a Kite Running Architecture, page 7

Jelena Grujic and Lea Skrinjar

From Novi Sad & Belgrade, Serbia for PPMT

PPMT, page 1

PPMT, page 2

Jimini Hignett

From Amsterdam, The Netherlands for ART BAR

Art Bar, page 1

Art Bar, page 2

Art Bar, page 3

Art Bar, page 5

Joao Caria Lopes

From Lisbon, Portugal for ART-CLOSET

Art Closet, page 1

Art Closet, page 2

Art Closet, page 3

Art Closet, page 4

Art Closet, page 5

Joseph Choma

From New York, USA for UNTITLED

CHOMA, page 1

CHOMA, page 2

CHOMA, page 3

CHOMA, page 4

Miguel Valério

From Amsterdam, The Netherlands for BALLOON

Balloon, page 1

Balloon, page 2

Balloon, page 3

Balloon, page 4

Balloon, page 5

Balloon, page 6

Nick Tobier

From Detroit & Ann Arbor, USA for CRATE CULTURE

Crate Culture, page 1

Crate Culture, page 2

Crate Culture, page 3

Crate Culture, page 4

Crate Culture, page 5

Crate Culture, page 6

Petar Bojovic & Slobodan Krsmanovic

From Belgrade, Serbia for SILKY RING

Silky Ring, page 1

Silky Ring, page 2

Silky Ring, page 3

Shyamanta Shekhar, Harshavardhan, Srinivas, Sujay Kuncham, Vishnuvardhan

From Bangalore, India for FORUM

Forum, page 1

Forum, page 2

Stewart Hicks & Allison Newmeyer

From Illinois, USA for MOMO

MOMO, page 1

MOMO, page 2

MOMO, page 3

MOMO, page 4

MOMO, page 5

MOMO, page 6

MOMO, page 7

MOMO, page 8

MOMO, page 9

From January 26-March 20th, the competition website had some 3,000 visitors from around the world. Numerous people sent asked questions and posted the call for proposals on their website.

Visitors from around the world

Fifteen of the twenty-five proposals have been short-listed and will be published in a book in the next few weeks. The book will be released on the web-site and as a print-on-demand publication.

The short-listed teams will receive e-mails from CitySpinning soon (update, april 8th 09: this is in progress now, some of you might have already received e-mails).

Each short-listed team will be requested to license their submission under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 India License [link]. After that some images from the submitted proposals, commentary and more details will be posted here.

The short-listed teams are:

• Amrita Ravimohan & Ekta Idnany [Mumbai, India]
• Azeer Attari & Dominic Anthony [Mumbai, India]
• Benoît Maubrey [Brück, Germany]
• Elina Moreau Braunstein [Sydney,Australia]
• Harry Westbrook & Nash Colundular [London, UK]
• Heron-Mazy Studio (J.P. Maruszczak & Roger Connah  Asst: Ryan Manning) [USA]
• Jelena Grujic and Lea Skrinjar [Novi Sad & Belgrade, Serbia]
• Jimini Hignett [Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
• Joao Caria Lopes [Lisbon, Portugal]
• Joseph Choma [New York, USA]
• Miguel Valério [Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
• Nick Tobier (EverydayPlaces) [Detroit & Ann Arbor, USA]
• Petar Bojovic & Slobodan Krsmanovic [Belgrade, Serbia]
• Shyamanta Shekhar, Harshavardhan, Srinivas, Sujay Kuncham, Vishnuvardhan [India]
• Stewart Hicks & Allison Newmeyer [Illinois, USA]

The steps after the short-list, the prize and the post-competition plan (towards getting the DOT on the street in Bengaluru / Bangalore) will also will be posted later next week.

For those who are interested, here are more statistics about the traffic at the competition website:

Visitors from Indian cities

Inspite of all the traffic from within India I got only five proposals originating from India. So, either people got to know too late, were busy, lazy or un-motiviated. How do I motivate you, all my fellow citizens of India? This is happening in Bangalore, more local participation would have been great! Besides the web-site, posters were also put by friends and volunteers at numerous architecture and design school in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

A more general view of the Google Analytics dashboard of the competition web-site:

Dashboard view

More updates soon. Thank you everyone for participating and your enthusiasm! CitySpinning will be announcing more competitions later this year.

INTRODUCTION:

POROUS CITY sees the city of flows obstructions also as a city of accidents, shadows, parallel realities, diversity, fiction and imagination.

Across this year POROUS CITY will practice different ways of experiencing, sharing and articulating these realities. These ways will be of writing, performances, walks and interventions.

The interventions planned are experiments with our shared understanding of mobility, culture space/expression, autonomy and the temporary.

The public interventions which are able to relate to diverse groups of people through experiences which are not perceived to be motivated by developmental or other agendas or “good intentions.” The experiences of the interventions could be articulated and understood as play, a mela or a personal experiment.

A presence which doesn’t advertise or attract interest in spectacular ways but inspires curiosity or other motivations to participate. The broader question of understanding where the active public space in our city is today will be addressed also by the stories and narratives that POROUS CITY generates.

EXPERIMENTS:

1. A human-powered vehicle (to be designed through an open invitation) will move along routes in Bangalore and tinker with different configurations of mobile cultural/open spaces.
2. Land Dreams: An effort is being made to locate and map unused plots of land or plots with incomplete constructions and then negotiate with the owners if the land can be utilized for experimental purposes for a short time

[UPDTD March 24 09]