Markus Miessen Bücher

Seit etwa zehn Jahren kann man einen stetig steigenden übermäßigen Gebrauch des Begriffs „Partizipation“ beobachten. In dem Maße, in dem sich jeder zu einem „Teilnehmer“, einem „Partizipanten“ wandelte, nahm die meist unkritische, naive und romantische Verwendung des Begriffs streckenweise beängstigende Ausmaße an. Versehen mit einem oft nostalgischen Flair von Schutzwürdigkeit, Scheinsolidarität und politischer Korrektheit, hat sich die „Partizipation“ insbesondere in der Politik zur Standardausrede entwickelt, wenn es darum ging, sich aus der Verantwortung zu ziehen. Der hier vorgelegte dritte Teil einer „Trilogie der Partizipation“ versucht die Rolle des „interesselosen Außenseiters“, eines „ungefragten Teilnehmers“ stark zu machen, der, unbehindert von bestehenden Regelvorgaben, einzig mit seinem kreativen Intellekt und dem Willen zur Veränderung ausgerüstet auf den Plan tritt.

In „14 Tagen“ berichtet der Architekt Markus Miessen in Tagebuchform von seiner Thailandreise. Zwei Wochen hat der Autor durchgemacht, was Land und Touristenleute für ihn bereithielten. Für jeden der in Thailand war, erst gar nicht hinwill oder in Betracht zieht, dort Urlaub zu machen. Entspannung pur auf 80 Seiten. „Was mache ich hier?“ Arthur Rimbaud „Das ist nicht The Beach“ Danny (2) „Was soll das?“ Ulrich Wiegand „Kein Homo Faber“ Maria von Hartmann

Die Betrachtung von Raumkulturen und Alltagsrealitäten der Raumproduktion verfolgt einen alternativen Ansatz zu den normativen Diskursen der Architektur und Stadtplanung. Sie stellt allgemeinere Fragen, während sie sich gleichzeitig mit spezifischen kreativen Praktiken auseinandersetzt. Dadurch erweitern sich die vertrauten Diskurse und es ergeben sich Möglichkeiten zur Erforschung von Alternativen und Mischformen. Einige dieser Praktiken fördern die Zusammenarbeit und verwischen oft die Grenzen zwischen unterschiedlichen Wissensbereichen. Formen der Zeitarbeit, Interventionen im Raum, die Dokumentation von Menschenrechtsverletzungen oder eine Analyse der Europäischen Union dienen als Laboratorium zur Wiederbelebung der Demokratie durch den Raum. Solche Ansätze bieten neue Perspektiven und räumen mit dem Mythos auf, dass nur Architekten und Stadtplaner über räumliche Wirkkräfte verfügen. Architektur als praktischer Umgang mit Raum zeigt eine eigene Besonderheit, die bis in die Antike zurückreicht. Was einst als Aufgabe der Architekten galt, könnte heute als neue „Kultur des Raumes“ beschrieben werden. Während die architektonische Produktion früher überwiegend von Einzelarchitekten stammte, engagieren sich nun immer mehr Praktiker und Theoretiker aktiv für eine breitere Politik der Standortwahl und situativen Berücksichtigung. Diese Praktiken mögen marginal erscheinen, haben jedoch konkrete Auswirkungen.

“East Coast Europe,” which took place during Spring 2008, is a project about the perceptions of contemporary European identity and its relation to spatial practices and international politics. The title “East Coast Europe” is a word play. “Europe” in the title is the central topic for investigation, its contemporary culture, expansion, and its status as a continuing social project. “East Coast” refers to two distinct edges of Europe, both real and imaginary―the geographical East Coast of the United States of America and the political “East Coast” of the European Union. The project invited leading figures in culture and politics from the two east coasts―of the United States of America, and of the countries in the European Union and its vicinity to comment on their perception of Europe today. East Coast Europe dives into the urgent details of a dense network of contemporary experience of the European Union's extensive exchange of knowledge, people, and goods with the East Coast of the United States and also with its own eastern border. What are its challenges and possibilities for social, political and spatial practices? Co-published with Zalozba ZRC, Ljubljana

What exactly is Europe? Is it an actual place or just a temporarycommunity based on shared political and economic interests? Editedby London-based architect and writer Markus Miessen, this compilationof essays, cartoons and other writings presents the world's mostdensely populated continent as a conflicted political space whoseidentity must be continuously negotiated. As the European Unionmaintains its eastward march to countries like Turkey, bleeding beyondits classically understood political boundaries, the questions continue.Produced to expound on Miessen's work from the Lyon Biennial in2007, this dense paperback accumulates diverse opinions exploringwhat it means to live in Europe today.

An investigation of the social, spatial, and material reality of right-wing populism. Para-Platforms investigates the social, spatial, and material reality of right-wing populism. Three case studies—presented in a symposium organized by Markus Miessen at the Gothenburg Design Festival in November 2017—form the core from which this collection of essays has grown: journalist Hannes Grassegger on Trump and Brexit; architectural theorist Stephan Trüby on spaces of right-wing extremism in Germany; and Christina Varvia on Forensic Architecture's investigation of the murder of Halit Yozgat, a young German man of Turkish descent, at the hands of a far-right group in 2006. The presentations are reproduced along with the ensuing conversations with Miessen and the audience members. An essay by anthropologist Mahmoud Keshavarz opens the book by discussing the capacity of design to create the conditions for certain politics. Among the other theoretical, artistic, and historical contributions, editor Zoë Ritts interviews artist Wolfgang Tillmans regarding his pro-EU poster series, the ongoing project truth study centre, and guest-edited volume What Is Different? The volume concludes with a comic by artist Liam Gillick animating a block of granite—culled from the Swedish quarry responsible for extracting the red granite intended for the Third Reich's architectural ambitions—as the messiah of spatial and material politics.

"What are the processes that enable archives to become productive? Conventional archives tend to be defined through the content-specific accumulation of material, which conforms to an existing order or narrative. They rarely transform their structure. In contrast to this model of archival practice and preservation, the conflictual archive has an open framework in which it actively transforms itself, allowing for the creation of new and surprising relationships. Illustrating how spaces of knowledge can be devised, developed, and designed, this archive reveals itself as a space in which documents and testimonies open up a stage for productive dispute and struggle."--Publisher

What, today, can be understood as a critical modality of spatial practice? This question, and others, were posed to protagonists from the fields of architecture, art, philosophy, and literature by architectural theorists and curators Nikolaus Hirsch and Markus Miessen in September, 2011. The resulting 64 contributions in this inaugural volume of the Critical Spatial Practice series co presented by the Städelschule, were composed concurrently with the evictions of Occupy movements, sustained turmoil of the Arab Spring, and continued spasms in the global financial system. All point to the question of whether architecture can still be understood as a res publica. Each title in the series will include new work commissioned by invited artists here, the photographer Armin Linke.

Published for the international festival in Zurich in summer 2012, this book features contributions from over 40 artists who showcase their works in public spaces. The festival focuses on the transformation of Zurich's western area from an industrial zone to a trendy residential neighborhood. Artists such as Doug Aitken, Ai Weiwei, and Paul McCarthy explore the evolving nature of urban environments in the 21st century, emphasizing the significance of art interventions in public realms. The publication also includes essays and discussions by a diverse group of contributors, including Max Andrews, Barbara Basting, and Helen Hirsch, who reflect on the intersection of art and urban life. Through these contributions, the book delves into the historical context of art in cities and its impact on community and identity. The collaboration with Stadt Zürich further highlights the city's commitment to integrating art within its urban landscape, making this work a vital resource for understanding contemporary urban culture and artistic expression.