| Abstract: | Abstract This article examines the use of construction as a means of protest, particularly as it relates to the established symbolic imagery of traditional civic architecture and urbanism. The iconography of cities is divided. While the idealized image of official America symbolizes the aspirations of society, the image of the ghetto represents the failure of society. This article studies two projects which manipulate these images. The projects were built not by architects but by activists for various causes who coopted architecture as a tool for political demonstration. Their position outside of conventional architectural practice allowed them to challenge the habits of that practice. While the constructions were intended to protest specific social issues, they may also be viewed as general indictments of conventional urbanism and architectural representation. |
