Rendering visible the invisible Aarhus

An ‘invisible city’ or ‘black box’ runs parallel to the day-to-day surface of Aarhus, remaining silent, unnoticed. Paradoxically, this invisible stratum is where many of the most relevant decisions concerning the city are made: the ‘black box’ is the space where Aarhus agrees on its relationships with nature; where the resources that form its urban metabolism are managed and distributed. Besides, the ‘black box’ is the space where many subaltern socio-political relationships remain concealed. In short, Aarhus’ ‘black box’ is the collection of architectures where nature is urbanised, and certain governance frameworks are fixed and inscribed. And, in spite of all this, it has mostly remained invisible.

What happens if we open the urban ‘black box’? 

During this workshop we shall open Aarhus’ urban ‘black boxes’ to render visible the invisible layers of the city; to rethink Aarhus’ urban political ecology; to find some architectural tools to open up the possibility of new forms of civic participation and engagement; to tackle other cohabitation frameworks within today’s urban challenges.

Rendering visible the invisible Aarhus

An ‘invisible city’ or ‘black box’ runs parallel to the day-to-day surface of Aarhus, remaining silent, unnoticed. Paradoxically, this invisible stratum is where many of the most relevant decisions concerning the city are made: the ‘black box’ is the space where Aarhus agrees on its relationships with nature; where the resources that form its urban metabolism are managed and distributed. Besides, the ‘black box’ is the space where many subaltern socio-political relationships remain concealed. In short, Aarhus’ ‘black box’ is the collection of architectures where nature is urbanised, and certain governance frameworks are fixed and inscribed. And, in spite of all this, it has mostly remained invisible.

What happens if we open the urban ‘black box’? 

During this workshop we shall open Aarhus’ urban ‘black boxes’ to render visible the invisible layers of the city; to rethink Aarhus’ urban political ecology; to find some architectural tools to open up the possibility of new forms of civic participation and engagement; to tackle other cohabitation frameworks within today’s urban challenges.

• Arquitectos:
• elii - Uriel Fogué, Eva Gil, Carlos Palacios

• Event:  
• Start-Up Workshop AAA

• Institution:
• Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark

• Coordination:
• Anne Mette Boye

• Guest Teachers:
• Astudio (London); Topotek1 (Berlin); Studio MAKS (Rotterdam); Elii: oficina de arquitectura (Madrid)

• Date:
• 3rd-11th September 2015