Constructing autonomy: the significance of architecture in creating and manifesting autonomy in protest camps

ABSTRACT

This study examines how autonomy in protest camps is enabled by and manifested through architecture. Although the importance of space for the struggles for autonomy in protest camps has been recognized in recent research, their architecture has not been widely examined in this respect. This study uses empirical data collected from four different protest camps during 2015–2017 to examine the role of architecture for the struggles for autonomy. The study found that architecture is essential in creating protest camps’ autonomy from the status quo. Furthermore, the results suggest that protesters engage especially with Do-It-Yourself -architecture to organize their lifeworlds in a way that allows, enforces, and reflects their alternative societal structures and practices, thus also enforcing their autonomy as a prefigurative praxis. Overall, the findings of this research suggest that architecture plays a significant role in both creating and manifesting autonomy in protest camps, thus adding architecture as a significant element to be analyzed in protest camps and expanding the existing field of research.

KEYWORDS:

• Protest camps
• autonomy
• architecture
• Do-It-Yourself (DIY)-architecture
• DIY

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Tuuli From, Jaakko Heinonen, Ina Juva, and Anni Vartola for their comments on this article, which is based on the research conducted for my Master’s Thesis in Architecture in Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2017. I would like to thank Jenni Reuter and Anni Vartola for excellent guidance in my research. I would also like to thank the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), whose grant enabled writing this article. Moreover, I am grateful to all the people I met and discussed with in the protest camps, and to those who hosted me during the field research periods.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. No Border camps have been organized frequently since the beginning of the 21^st century, advocating for freedom of movement and acting ‘against the border regime’ (Noborder, 2004).

2. Original in French, translation by the author.

3. Original in French, translation by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA).

Notes on contributors

Pijatta Heinonen

Pijatta Heinonen is currently working as an independent researcher. She holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Architecture (6/2017) in Helsinki, Finland.