To think of the city as a story allows us to reflect upon the various narratives that each of its elements convey. Everyday life is written and rewritten by the city’s inhabitants, urban planners, governmental institutions, weather conditions, traffic, animals, etc. Like every story needs pauses for a reader to reflect on the unfolding narrative, a city needs blank places constrained from urban programming. Places which stay undecided, undefined and always in becoming. Open to new narratives, granting a space for imagination, uncertainty and immediacy. Allowing the city to breathe between the defined and the undefined.

 

This place is intentionally left blank is a poetic gesture, contributing to the belief that vacant lots are essential conditions for a diverse, vibrant and democratic city culture - and not only means for capital investment and city growth. By labelling an urban void as an “intentional blank place” Robles and Mouritzen wish to accentuate the unavoidable correlation between poetic possibilities, strategic planning and capital interests.

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See also Other Spaces Exhibition at Melbourne Design week 2022