Recently, around the world, youth activists plant their campaigns everywhere to resolve myriads of social issues (Carnegie, 2022). Yet, one forgotten thing is architectural activism (Aalto ARTS, 2019). From Industrial Revolution to the present day, many activists participated in revolutionary architecture, such as the Bauhaus movement for the people (Quartz, 2019), Jane Jacobs against Robert Moses’s battle in Greenwich Village (Paletta, 2016), and the revolutionary movement in contemporary architecture (Millar, 2014). Currently, activism in architecture still exists that no one should ever dare to ignore; they are contributing activism to empower architects and activists to rise and shine against the elitists of our time (Aalto ARTS, 2019 & Millar, 2014).
The Bauhaus Movement
The Bauhaus movement is, at first, the movement that occurs to persuade new architects to join the revolutionary architecture after the devastating world war I (Quartz, 2019). Settled in Germany, people like Walter Gropius and Mies Van Rohe acquired more Bauhaus ideology that defies Western Architecture standards inspired by Japan, communism, pacifists, and Avant Garde (Anderson, 2019, Bunting, 2023, Farrell, 2019 & Quartz, 2019 Figure 1). Notably, the architects built every Bauhaus building as the most awe-inspiring to represent change(Farrell, 2019 & Quartz, 2019). However, in pursuit of the movement, they hold their activist campaign against the Nazis that attempts to erase the Bauhaus movement (Anderson, 2019 & Quartz, 2019).
However, it did fail in Nazi Germany and still tried rid of the Bauhaus with disgust and controversy of Bahau Avant Garde attitude in architecture (Anderson, 2019 & Quartz, 2019). Though the activism failed, the movement thrived while exiled around the world; lessons learned that no matter how much the failure, there is an opportunity to survive oppression during WWII while making plans to set the movement out (Anderson, 2019 & Quartz, 2019). Failed activism in extreme circumstances teaches a valuable source that occurs but cannot ignore like it is just a piece of information. It is a lesson to bear with that needs to acquire more information on how architects can handle failed activism in the rising power in today’s world. Best to try and flee like the Bauhaus than to let it destroy to demonstrate the martyrdom of ideology in activism.
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs (1961), a writer in Greenwich Village, wrote the book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities about the urban design and the architecture of cities (Paletta, 2016). Jane Jacobs detailed the activism against elitist architecture with towers of the park and the destruction of the cities. Her activism landed her in jail for riots and mischief, but everybody rallied against Robert Moses and won a tremendous victory (Paletta, 2016). Furthermore, she went to Toronto to spread more influence to the people to oppose the highway that is about to demolish many neighbourhoods (Campbell, 2016). Without her activism, many cities like New York City and Toronto would have faced traffic, higher crime rate, and desolation due to the elitists’ hubris plan to ‘reshape the city’ (Jacobs, 1961). Her ideas to promote cities with activism changed the course of history to demonstrate her willingness to help democracy at the local level (ibid.).
Rebel Architecture
Highlighting contemporary activism, Rebel Architecture broadcast some of the most monumental modern movements today from Al Jazeera (Millar, 2014). The first example is Yasmeen Lari and her activism to advocate traditional and effective techniques instead of conventional works (Special series, 2016). The recent Pakistani 2022 flooding proved her rational activism is to utilise more applicable techniques than the Pakistani government and the careless reaction to the flooding in architecture (Loho, 2023). Eyal Weizmann, an Israeli-British Architect, initiate anti-war activism against the Israeli’s army and architects for bulldozing Palestinian cities and bombing them (Special series, 2016). Weizman is the CEO of Forensic Architecture to voice people against suspects’ abuse of architecture to oppress people using forensic architecture (Leete, 2022). The architects in Rebel Architecture tried to solve each local issue to initiate activism for architecture to support the lives of millions by standing up for justice and rights (Millar, 2014). Everything interconnected with activism demonstrates how activism in each region will impact the world.
Conclusion on Activism
For architecture activism, there must be an elaboration of history and current trends that can teach us how to adapt to the future world. There is a Bauhaus movement that illustrates the failure of activism over rising fascism. Nevertheless, their influence is profound using a sturdy foundation and what activists can do to become resilient even with failed activism. Jane Jacobs’s movement inspired activists to protect the urban design of cities today. Lastly, the activism of architecture around the world will help us understand the situation that can allow architecture to impact millions with a demonstration of determining their future locally. The failure and successes in architecture activism show nothing less interconnected. The portrayal of architecture is to use activism and do what they can to prove that architects have more proof for the people than the government has.
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