MONU MAG, Rotterdam (2025)

17/04/2025

THE URBAN IN CONFLICT, TENSIONS AND ARCHETYPES SHAPING OUR URBAN NARRATIVES AND ENVIRONMENTS - A REVIEW OF MONU #37 BY REBECCA BILLI

When I was in high school and studying the classics, my professor highlighted that, while the Odyssey is the epic of the journey, the Iliad is the poem of conflict. As such, it is built on dichotomies. A dual-focused epic, its plot and grammar structure are always bipartite. There are "a one" and "an other." It is in this concept of "the other" that conflict emerges. In literature, tensions have been acknowledged as instrumental to the advancement of a plot. Analogously, in cities, conflict influences the present and can catalyse new futures. It brings ahead both shortcomings and strengths of contemporary society. The premise of MONU's issue 37 supports the claim that conflict is a fundamental force shaping urbanity... continue reading the review at http://www.monu-magazine.com/news.htm.

Rebecca Billi studied architecture between London and Lisbon and earned a Master’s in Museum Studies from Leiden University. Her work explores museums and cities, exhibition formats, and the manifestation of cultural encounters in urban contextst. She’s a PhD candidate at Universidade Autonoma de Lisboa and founder of the multidisciplinary design and research platform Cosebelle.

Images:
1. Johanna-Maria Fritz, "Like a Bird", MONU #37, page 49, ©Johanna-Maria Fritz/OSTKREUZ
2. Digital Collage, MONU #37, Conflict-driven Urbanism, collage by author
3. Fabian Ritter, "Youth of Kyiv", MONU #37, page 65, ©Fabian Ritter
4. Niema Alhessen and Khalda El Jack, "The [Un]Making of Communal Lands and Militarised Zones", MONU #37, pages 39-43, collages by Niema Alhessen and Khalda El Jack

MONU is currently supported by:

The Complete Guide to Combat City by Julia Schulz-Dornburg
(https://www.jovis.de/en/book/9783986120986)

The Berlage - MSc in Architecture and Urban Design
(https://theberlage.nl/apply)

Royal Academy of Art the Hague - Master’s Programme Interior Architecture (INSIDE)
(https://www.kabk.nl/.../interio.../admission-requirements...)thehague

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival
(https://coupfilmfest.com/)

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival - Athens, Greece.
Untold Stories of Athletes And Niche Sports From Around The World.
Through the lens of cinema, this film festival series brings to life the passion, dedication and triumphs of athletes from all walks of life, inspiring audiences to dream big and strive for greatness.

Incognita’s Architecture Trips: Discover Eastern European
Architecture and Urbanism
(http://www.incognita.ch/)

Find out more about MONU's supporters at http://www.monu-magazine.com/support.htm.

17/03/2025

2 WEEKS LEFT TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL FOR MONU #38 - INCLUSIVE URBANISM
.., this new issue of MONU aims to discuss how such a true "Inclusive Urbanism" that goes beyond platitudes and pseudo DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)-washing strategies and avoids the consequences of the "wrong" perfection, as showcased in the examples of the public toilets and the wheelchair-proof apartments, might be achieved and who the protagonists and forces of a truly "Inclusive Urbanism" alike might be. We invite you to submit critical reflections, sharp analysis, meticulous investigations, bold writing, provocative studies, visionary projects, imaginative strategies, eye-opening artwork, and game-changing photography. Abstracts of around 400 words, and images and illustrations in low resolution, should be sent, together with a short biography and a list of publications, as one single pdf-file that is not bigger than 1mb to [email protected] before March 31, 2025. MONU's issue #38 will be published in October 2025.

Images:

1. Spiked platforms under overpasses preventing people from sleeping in these places. Image is courtesy of Daily Mail
2. Aerial view of Chicago, where it is rather difficult to get from the north side to the south side easily. The two sides of the city are heavily segregated along racial and economic lines. Collage by Jonathan Michael Johnson

Both images were published in the Interview with Levi Bryant entitled " Every Object Is a Crowd!" in MONU #27.

MONU is currently supported by:

The Complete Guide to Combat City by Julia Schulz-Dornburg
(https://www.jovis.de/en/book/9783986120986)

The Berlage - MSc in Architecture and Urban Design
(https://theberlage.nl/apply)

Royal Academy of Art the Hague - Master’s Programme Interior Architecture (INSIDE)
(https://www.kabk.nl/.../interio.../admission-requirements...)thehague

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival
(https://coupfilmfest.com/)

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival - Athens, Greece.
Untold Stories of Athletes And Niche Sports From Around The World.
Through the lens of cinema, this film festival series brings to life the passion, dedication and triumphs of athletes from all walks of life, inspiring audiences to dream big and strive for greatness.

Incognita’s Architecture Trips: Discover Eastern European Architecture and Urbanism
(http://www.incognita.ch/)

Find out more about MONU's supporters at http://www.monu-magazine.com/support.htm.

14/02/2025

FROM CRISIS TO OPPORTUNITY BY GRETA SAMULIONYTE

The latest issue of MONU Magazine, entitled "Conflict-driven Urbanism", offers an exploration of how conflicts have historically shaped, currently influence, and may continue to impact cities in the future. Through its thoughtful curation, the issue takes readers on a global journey to uncover how diverse conflicts emerge and transform urban environments... continue reading the entire review at https://www.monu-magazine.com/news.htm.

Greta Samulionyte is an urbanist, architect and researcher passionate about trauma-informed placemaking and inclusive urban design.

Images:

1. Grisha (left) and Borys (right), two best friends, pose for a portrait nearby Irpin in the north of Ukraine. Grisha lives in Irpin, Borys is from Bucha. Grisha just got out of Irpin half an hour before
the Russians took the street where he lives with his family. This day marks the first day they go for a swim at the lake. Kyiv Oblast, 06.06.2022. This photo by Fabian Ritter is part of his contribution "Youth of Kyiv", ©Fabian Ritter.
2. Preserved earthquake shelters in the Presidio, San Francisco's national park site. Source: Elena.laps. Image appears in Lukas Großmann's article "From Provisional to Permanent: The Birth of the Shelter as a Purpose-built Typology".
3. Film still of Ai Weiwei's documentary film "Human Flow", 2017. Image is courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio, ©Ai Weiwei Studio. It is shown in the interview "Beauty Can Still Be Found" with Ai Weiwei.
4. Volunteers renovating a shelter for IDPs (internally displaced persons) in Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in western Ukraine. The photo by Anastasiya Kubert is featured in the interview with Eve Blau entitled "Conflict as Condition".

MONU #37 is supported by:

The Complete Guide to Combat City by Julia Schulz-Dornburg
(https://www.jovis.de/en/book/9783986120986)

The Berlage - MSc in Architecture and Urban Design
(https://theberlage.nl/apply)

Royal Academy of Art the Hague - Master’s Programme Interior Architecture (INSIDE)
(https://www.kabk.nl/.../interio.../admission-requirements...) thehague

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival
(https://coupfilmfest.com/)

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival - Athens, Greece.
Untold Stories of Athletes And Niche Sports From Around The World.
Through the lens of cinema, this film festival series brings to life the passion, dedication and triumphs of athletes from all walks of life, inspiring audiences to dream big and strive for greatness.

Incognita’s Architecture Trips: Discover Eastern European Architecture and Urbanism
(http://www.incognita.ch/)

Find out more about MONU's supporters at http://www.monu-magazine.com/support.htm.

11/12/2024

NEW CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR MONU #38 - INCLUSIVE URBANISM

The attempts in many cities over recent years to make public toilets gender-neutral and thus more inclusive - an approach that can theoretically only be appreciated - have made it obvious why they were created in a "segregated" way to begin with. On the one hand, standard toilets are used as urinals that raise issues of cleanliness making them rather unsuitable for seated use, and on the other hand, urinals are part of restrooms used by women, confronting them with men with their pants down... continue reading at https://www.monu-magazine.com/submit.htm.

Image: Inclusive graphic signage by Motionspot

MONU is supported by:

The Complete Guide to Combat City by Julia Schulz-Dornburg
(https://www.jovis.de/en/book/9783986120986)

The Berlage - MSc in Architecture and Urban Design
(https://theberlage.nl/apply)

Royal Academy of Art the Hague - Master’s Programme Interior Architecture (INSIDE)
(https://www.kabk.nl/en/programmes/master/interior-architecture/admission-requirements?utm_source=e-flux&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=werv2024&utm_content=eflux-1may-mia-apply) thehague

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival
(https://coupfilmfest.com/)

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival - Athens, Greece.
Untold Stories of Athletes And Niche Sports From Around The World.
Through the lens of cinema, this film festival series brings to life the passion, dedication and triumphs of athletes from all walks of life, inspiring audiences to dream big and strive for greatness.

Incognita’s Architecture Trips: Discover Eastern European Architecture and Urbanism
(http://www.incognita.ch/)

Find out more about MONU's supporters at http://www.monu-magazine.com/support.htm.

14/10/2024

MONU #37 ON CONFLICT-DRIVEN URBANISM RELEASED

“To Eradicate Urban Conflict, Eradicate Urban Interaction” as Benjamin van Loon states in his satirical article that is structured as a memo to the members of a fictitious association: the North American Alliance for Gated Communities. Because urbanism is inherently conflict-driven as Eve Blau points out in our interview with her entitled “Conflict as Condition”. According to her, processes of urbanization involve a certain amount of violence and destruction as cities are places of power, representation, and contestation, which she thinks is both positive and negative... continue reading at http://www.monu-magazine.com/issues.htm.

(Cover: Image is part of the Interview with Ai Weiwei on page 109 and courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio. ©Ai Weiwei Studio)

This issue is supported by:

The Complete Guide to Combat City by Julia Schulz-Dornburg
(https://www.jovis.de/en/book/9783986120986)

The Berlage - MSc in Architecture and Urban Design
(https://theberlage.nl/apply)

Royal Academy of Art the Hague - Master’s Programme Interior Architecture (INSIDE)
(https://www.kabk.nl/en/programmes/master/interior-architecture/admission-requirements?utm_source=e-flux&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=werv2024&utm_content=eflux-1may-mia-apply)

The Athletic Coup - Film Festival
(https://coupfilmfest.com/)

Incognita’s Architecture Trips: Discover Eastern European Architecture and Urbanism
(http://www.incognita.ch/)

Find out more about MONU's supporters at http://www.monu-magazine.com/support.htm.

26/08/2024

NEW? SOCIAL? URBANISM? BY BASTIAN BENTRUP

Throughout the past pandemic years most people would argue that our social life has not only changed, but a new understanding developed of how important our social fabric actually is. Some municipalities realised that our cities need to adapt to be able to foster a socially sustainable environment for city dwellers. A lot of small urban interventions were realised throughout the world, improving the living conditions, parklet by parklet. But is this enough to constitute a "New Social Urbanism"? Is it possible to make the good life accessible to everyone?... read the entire article at http://www.monu-magazine.com/news.htm.

Bastian Bentrup is an Urban Studies student at Bauhaus-University Weimar. His research interests include marginalized groups in the built environment and the impact data-extracting and surveillance-capitalist entities have on cities.

Images:

1. New social urbanism: Outdoor dining, University Place, Manhattan, 2021, photo by Sharon Zukin, from interview "Social by Definition", page 19.
2. Crearqció members Júlia and Pau interviewing Álex, a resident of València, in La Creu del Grau neighborhood. August 2022, photo by Maria Blau, from article "New Rights, New Needs, New Rules" by Nuria Ribas Costa, pages 48-49.
3. Photo by Maxime Matthys, from article "2091: The Ministry of Privacy", page 81.
4. A Timeline of the Hong Kong's Municipal Services Buildings' development, graphic by Ying Zhou, from article "The Municipal Services Buildings of Hong Kong" by Ying Zhou, page 116.

MONU #36 is supported by:

The Berlage - The Berlage Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture and Urban Design
(https://theberlage.nl/)

From ‘Urban Andes’ to ‘Politics in the City’! New Architecture & Urban Planning Books from Leuven University Press
(https://lup.be/.../category-architecture-and-urban-planning)

Rotterdam’s Independent School for the City: A 12-week full-time Education Programme on Contemporary Urbanism, Dealing with Right to the City, Climate Change and Superdiversity
(https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/this-is-tomorrow-24/)

Incognita’s Architecture Trips: Discover Eastern European Architecture and Urbanism
(http://www.incognita.ch/)

Find out more about MONU's supporters at http://www.monu-magazine.com/support.htm.

12/06/2024

DIGGING DEEPER INTO THE LAYERS OF “NEW SOCIAL URBANISM” BY MALEEN RÜTHERS

Reviewing the 36th issue of MONU from a perspective of an Urban Geographer, with a background in Earth- and Environmental Sciences, my attention got caught by an illustration resembling a lithospheric diagram featured in Tatjana Schneider's contribution "Do Nothing for as Long as Possible", … read the entire article at http://www.monu-magazine.com/news.htm.

Maleen Paula Rüthers (she/her) is an urban geographer and a postgraduate at the HU Berlin. She is engaged in studying and working in the field of urbanism, with special attention to regenerative architecture, urban green infrastructure, critical cartography and transdisciplinary formats for collaborative discourse and practice.

Images:

1. The architecture of the modern project relied on extractive and combustive processes to such an extent that fuel has come to dictate form. Shown here as sedimentary layers are the forces that have accelerated the production of CO2 in relation to the production of the built environment. From article “Do Nothing for as Long as Possible” by Tatjana Schneider, page 27.
Illustration: MOULD – Sarah Bovelett, Anthony Powis, Tatjana Schneider, Christina Serifi, Jeremy Till, and Becca Voelcker, “Architecture is Climate,” 2023. Published on e-flux Architecture, commissioned by the Jencks Foundation in the series ‚Chronograms of Architecture‘.
2. The Life Within Buildings: Towards a New Housing Policy by Christoffer Jusélius and Helen Runting, pages 30-31.
3. Sant Llorenç, València. August 2022, Photo by Maria Blau, from article “New Rights, New Needs, New Rules” by Nuria Ribas Costa, page 48.
4. Parkcycle Swarm, Copenhagen 2013, from article “Spatial Reappropriation through Transformative Practices” by Valentina Rizzi, page 54.
5. Post Disaster Rooftops, Taranto 2022, from article “Spatial Reappropriation through Transformative Practices” by Valentina Rizzi, page 52
6. Post-Public Space by Francisco Silva, pages 65- 67.

MONU #36 is supported by:

The Berlage - The Berlage Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture and Urban Design
(https://theberlage.nl/)

From ‘Urban Andes’ to ‘Politics in the City’! New Architecture & Urban Planning Books from Leuven University Press
(https://lup.be/.../category-architecture-and-urban-planning)

Rotterdam’s Independent School for the City: A 12-week full-time Education Programme on Contemporary Urbanism, Dealing with Right to the City, Climate Change and Superdiversity
(https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/this-is-tomorrow-24/)

Incognita’s Architecture Trips: Discover Eastern European Architecture and Urbanism
(http://www.incognita.ch/)

Find out more about MONU's supporters at http://www.monu-magazine.com/support.htm.

MONU MAG

17/04/2025

17/03/2025

14/02/2025

11/12/2024

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26/08/2024

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