The Centre Cannot Hold?

The idea of the city dominated by a soaring landmark or a grand epicentre - whether a sacred temple, a secular monument or a Central Business District - was allegedly buried along with utopian high modernity, sometime during the second half of the 20th century. The new urban age taking shape in its place, say politicians, planners and scholars, will be humbler, more sustainable, collaborative and polycentric: eco-cities instead of monumental axes; pop-up innovation hubs rather than palaces of culture; fleeting anti-statues in place of equestrian heroes and sky-high monoliths; Gumtree and Airbnb amid the debris of the Galeries Lafayette and the Grand Hotel.

But is this centrifugal tendency really as absolute, inevitable - and desirable - as all that? And is the negation of hierarchy - on the terrain of the city itself, as well as of its descriptions and theorisations - in fact complicit in concealing new (or old) forms of domination? This conference will explore the aesthetics, politics, economics and affects of centrality and monumentality, from their 20th century golden age to their contemporary inheritances, afterlives, ruins and appropriations.

Led by Michał Murawski (SSEES, UCL) and Jonathan Bach (New School, New York), this two-day conference will look at the aesthetics, politics, economics and effects of centrality and monumentality in 20th century cities.

The line-up includes contributions from prominent researchers, architects and artists such as Owen Hatherley, Kuba Snopek, Łukasz Stanek, and Vladimir Paperny. Clare Melhuish, Pushpa Arabindoo, Andrew Harris and Victor Buchli from UCL Urban Laboratory will also take part across the two days.

The conference launches the Power and Architecture season at Calvert 22, and is organised by the UCL FRINGE Centre. The conference is supported by UCL Urban Laboratory, UCL Grand Challenges, and the UCL Mellon Programme.

The conference is free to attend, but a refundable deposit of £5 will be taken in lieu of a ticket.

Book tickets and view the programme:

• RSVP on Eventbrite
• Download the programme

Image: The Church of Our Lady the Queen of Poland, Świdnica (Lower Silesian voivodship) image credit: Igor Snopek, from Architecture of the VII Day