“Design Without Authority” speaks to autonomous action, and building without authority in architecture and design. The project borrows lessons from an ad hoc approach often seen in the urban environment, where an abundance of improvised decisions, broken rules, unauthorized additions and constructions participate in the realization of the built environment. Can tacit architectural knowledge become ubiquitous, entering everyday life?

Today, the majority of people are disconnected from the design and production of the physical artifacts that participate in their lives. Exceptions can be found in urban squatting, activist architecture, DIY manuals, and self-assembly mechanisms. The work presented in this exhibition will question the relationship between top-down, controlled visions of authorities such as architects, planners, and governments, and propose a model that embraces improvisation and unpredictability that introduces make-do in architecture.

“Design Without Authority” is funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.