Current political discourse in the United States has become increasingly physical, with an extreme engagement of architectural space by its users. As a result, the nature and qualities of civic space have shifted, making protest no longer a true expression of thoughts and beliefs. Media, objects, and how people now interact with civic space have morphed what protest symbolizes. The dark reality is that the only way to gain attention and acknowledgment of current issues is through manipulative means, often in the form of a physical shift of architectural space.
This thesis sounds the alarm on what protest has turned into today, and brings to light the misappropriation of the architectural objects in civic space. Through a meticulous collection and analysis of objects that have been appropriated for protest, we can establish the methods that led to the appropriation in the first place, and subsequently re-appropriate in order to fabricate a new architectural environment. The fabrication of a new and morphed space can provide an environment where there is no need for physical extremes, and instead provide a reconstructed atmosphere of contemporary protest that fosters true engagement, interaction, and expression.
Addressing issues of ownership of space, public expression, and agency, the project aims to provoke and question the status quo. The current predominance of image manipulation to construct negative atmospheres within politics has left our country with a distorted view of the significance and intention of protest. Especially taking into account the dialogue between surface, volume, and image, we intend to set in motion a revitalization of the image of protest in the contemporary sphere.