Architecture & the question of Democracy

What is architecture’s role in a democracy? Can architecture be democratic?

Democracies exist in a constant state of successive crises and partial resolutions. In times like these we must all find ways to actively participate. Throughout the world, architecture has been used as a tool to frame how public spaces are designed, which can simultaneously reflect the ideals a society may have and frame the ways in which people interact with them. This exhibit showcases how architecture has been used in the development of public spaces as democratic spaces. We ask you; how might we design a public space that reflects democratic ideals and is architecturally innovative and significant? 

At the small, municipal scale, Dupont Underground was founded on the idea that transforming an abandoned streetcar station into a cultural platform for the city would be a small step in the ongoing construction of a fully democratic city. The District of Columbia, however, exists in a state of exception without the fundamental right of its citizens for representation in Congress. We fully support the effort to correct this anomaly through the establishment of statehood in the process of building a municipal democracy of broad inclusion and diversity.

Architecture & the Question of Democracy reflects on architectural developments and utilizations of public and collective space and democratic life in two ways:

1) Re-Think Dupont Circle Design Competition: On the local, more tangible scale, design proposals to improve the public life of Dupont Circle.

2) Portuguese Architecture: Identity & Opportunity: On the global scale architectural work from Portugal before and after its transition from dictatorship to democracy through public space, building, infrastructure, and culture.