City parks, public libraries, market squares: public and civic spaces, where you can meet others to voice yourself and share opinions, are crucial for fostering a sense of belonging. They make a city or neighborhood vibrant and diverse. And in a world of online rabbit holes and snappy oneliners, shared spaces are more crucial than ever. To discuss our society, our differences and similarities. But if you do not feel safe or welcome, or you’re not given room to make yourself heard, how likely are you to engage? How democratic is a society for you?
Tonight, we will dive into the hidden values behind our wishes for the design and layout of our public and civic spaces. What is an inclusive space to you? And what values underpin your needs? Meet fellow citizens and students to discover if values clash or align and what that means for our spaces. Can we use them to design our shared spaces differently?
We start our evening with pizza. Walk in, have a slice and get to know your fellow audience members in an informal setting. 19:30 we will kick off the programme.
Critical Mass – Studium Generale
How does our society work? Why is it the way that it is? Hey – and if we don’t like it, what can we do about it? Critical Mass is Studium Generale’s experimental space at Theater de Veste. We bring in experts to unpick society’s biggest problems. Then it’s over to you. Can you apply what you’ve just learned? Work with other audience members to solve a specially designed challenge. Maybe together, you can change the world.
Explore SG’s related events this quarter on the theme: (Re)Claiming Space
How does design—of streets, campuses, digital platforms, or lecture halls—shape who belongs and who does not? And what happens when we use these spaces to speak out, resist and make ourselves seen? When presence turns into protest, these spaces become political.
In this series, we explore how political spaces come into being: why they matter, how they are designed, and how they might be redesigned. SG invites designers, philosophers, activists, and students to explore how we might design for difference.
9 September 12:45 | Existential Tuesday: Is everything political for Gen Z? @ TUD Library, The Nook
23 September 17:00 | Is a campus designed for protest? @ TUD Library Hall
8 October 16:00 | Driving societal change through inclusive STEM research processes and outcomes @ TUD Library Hall
9 October 12:45 | Femicide: Current Affairs Lunch Event @ TUD Library, Orange Room
13 October 19:00 | Critical Mass: Woke Design @ Theater de Veste
15 October 16:00 | ‘Flying Solo’ Opening Reception @ TUD Library Hall
13 November 12:45 | Kiting Huddle: Write for the Wind @ TUD Library, The Nook & the Greenroof
4 December tba | Non-humans and public space @ TUD Library Hall
