Transcendence To Democracy

The project is a movement that empowers people to contribute to a Socio-political decision, to send a message to the decision-makers to come forward to ensure people’s rights. The design suggests a series of stages that help people develop a method of critical thinking to begin a silent revolution. It starts with an educational and design stage, then moves to a discussion stage, the last stage is to protest for the cause.

Shedding light on public spaces & Architecture in which political action takes place, focusing on their role in Socio-Political expression, returning architecture to its place as a social and political art, emphasizing its main goal; Democracy.

Hence the term Architecture of Activism; Activist architecture can be simply described as a design that commits to a community, and engages with that community’s needs – immersion in the community, collaborative communication, thriftiness and inventiveness, trust-building.”

We studied Architecture as a social need with a political dimension; emphasizing the citizen’s need to be part of a collective effort, that they belong to this world… that they exist. Whether it’s a protest, Support, rejection, suggest a new idea, or celebration.

The problem is that our modern designs are not invested in the political side. So, there’s an obvious absence and a rapture in the political life, a gap between the people & the government, Due to miss understanding & miss-use; usually taking a form of violence & violation, to rebel not to communicate.

Back to the ‘Arab Spring’ impact, it certainly should trigger a profound rethinking of architecture studies in the Middle East, as one of its main outcomes is the claim of the city as a space for contestation & political reframing of new prospects, and face the negative reaction of decision-makers to these movements, like fencing & planting the protesting areas.

The research data showed the sustainable impact of such project, Environmentally & Economically according to the design approach that will be shown later and especially from a socially, a subject often overlooked in the design of our public spaces, it influences the citizen’s Identity: Makes a self-governing people, who honour who they are and what they believe in, a firm strong sense of self.

Helps the Intellectual Growth: Creating individuals that are qualified for far greater abstract thinking than ever through education, to live with justice, fairness, rights and responsibilities.

As for the Expression: Humans are deeply emotional, and they need to use their voice as a medium to express it. Some journal, some draw, some play music, some act, some write.

It also helps with the idea of Group Inclusion: People need to feel they’re part of a collective effort. Being part of a group (team, club, political group) and feeling connected with others, is a balancing act.