The Architecture of Appropriation

All sorts of forms of appropriation, such as squatting, play an essential role in the development of the city and public space. In a period of renewed interest in a programmatic approach to the city, Het Nieuwe Instituut is conducting research into squatting as an architecture of appropriation. The Architecture of Appropriation examines ideas such as vacancy, property, alternative living arrangements and housing policy.

The squatting movement has played a major role in the design of the urban fabric and the domestic interior. Not with master plans or conventional design strategies, but using spatial improvisation techniques and radical, subversive tactics, squatters have proposed alternatives to the dominant, market-oriented housing policies, arguing that the people’s right to a house supersedes the right of property ownership. In order to acknowledge the legacy of the squatting movement, Het Nieuwe Instituut is conducting research into squatting as an architectural practice. The first outcomes of this exploration will be presented in an installation by design studio ZUS [Zones Urbaines Sensibles], in combination with a display of historical material from, among others, the International Institute of Social History (IISH), several city archives, personal archives of former squatters and Het Nieuwe Instituut’s own collection. The Architecture of Appropriation examines ideas such as vacancy, property, alternative living arrangements and housing policy.