His work is dedicated to finding new sites for architecture in political and material economies through experiments in preservation, image, and narrative. His designs have appeared in exhibitions internationally, and published most recently in Frame, Monu, Future Anterior, and Architecture Magazine, among others. Currently he is consulting on a number of large-scale urban initiatives in Detroit, including a cultural center and a self-sustained urban farm. DESIGN//ANYA SIROTA
Anya Sirota is an interdisciplinary designer, educator, and consultant. She creates scenographies, architectural installations and experimental environments. As principal of Akoaki, and co-founder of the Detroit-based research and urban intervention platform, the Metropolitan Observatory of Digital Culture and Representation, Anya works on projects that use cultural production to create impact on public space and perception. The work, ranging from pop up film festivals to illicit galleries on industrial rooftops to Afrofuturist neighborhood stage props, has received recognition in the United States and abroad. She holds a degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and teaches architecture at the University of Michigan. Past and current collaborations. Mireille Roddier, Halima Casssells, Bryce Detroit, Matthew Story, Annelise Heeringa, Tom Bray, Eric Howard, Jerry Hebron, Erika Lindsay, Allen Gillers, Missy Ablin, James Chesnut, Christopher Reznich, Anais Farges, Jayna Zweiman, Tony Pins, Brittany Gacsy, Marty Keeter, Lauren Bebry, Devin Mudd, Alvina Renfrow, Andrea Daniel, Andrew Kremers, Billy Hebron, Carl ‘Butch’ Small, Carleton Golz, Caroline Petersen, Christophe Ponceau, Danielle Weitzman, Eiji Jimbo, Eric Harmon, Ian Donaldson, Jaffer Kolb, James Folden, Jason Lindy, Jennifer Kee, Joe Johnson, Kalia Keith, Kathryn Carethers, Kirk Donaldson, Kristen Collins, Makeeba Ellington, N’neka Jackson, Omar Bruce, Peter Halquist, Piper Carter, Rachel Mulder, Rosie O'brien, Ryan Mason, Ryan Moritz, San Street Catering, Shae King, Stephen Galiatto, Young-Tack Oh, Su Ya
Mission:
The Metropolitan Observatory for Digital Culture and Representation (MODCaR) is a platform created to promote contemporary architecture and design in service of vibrant, civic environments. We build multidisciplinary collaborations between people who share a passion for public space and a belief in its social, collective and conceptual value. In parallel, we study how interventions in the public realm impact the production of a new urban imaginary.