PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT —
Mediating [Infra]Structures was a series of talks, debates and workshops organised in Belgium in 2015. The project investigated if the public sphere, which some scholars claim has disappeared, can be reassembled in contemporary shared or ‘common’ spaces, such as shopping centers, mass transport hubs and cultural centers. By taking place in situ in representative shared spaces in and around Brussels, Mediating [Infra]Structures invited a wide audience to experience these spaces in an original manner and to participate in the reflection and debate on the topic of how the public domain in our contemporary society should be conceived and designed. Through three public talk and debate events, each expanded on by a series of workshops and classes in the framework of the public school for architecture Brussels, Mediating [Infra]Structures not only created a collective exercise in re-imagining our contemporary shared spaces as mediators of a new public realm, but in itself also became an experiment in reassembling our shared spaces.
Mediating [Infra]Structures was developed by common room, Janina Gosseye and City3 in collaboration with the public school for architecture brussels. The project team consisted of Lars Fischer, Janina Gosseye and Jorg De Vriese. The project received financial support from The Arts and Heritage Agency of the Flemish Community, KU Leuven Faculty of Architecture Campus Sint Lucas and TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment.
Visit the project website here.
Janina Gosseye 