Illustrating Alternative Urban Imaginaries

There is a historical lineage of conceptual architects whose work mainly consisted of imagining and picturing places as a means to provoke discussion. Groups such as Archigram, Superstudio and NATO used illustration, fictional concepts and narrative in their work during the 60s, 70s and 80s to provoke debate around alternative urban imaginaries. However these conversations tended to remain in academic and specialist art and design circles.

This talk discussed how this tradition of illustrating alternative urban imaginaries might change if a broader range of voices is included. Vormittag introduced the work of three contemporary illustrators and designers (Hefin Jones, Mitch Miller, Eastside Projects) who extend the methods employed by these architectural practices with strategies of community engagement to open up discursive spaces for a broader range of publics.

• https://eastsideprojects.org/
• http://www.dialectograms.com/