The Politics of Public Space: Volume Five

A publication of transcripts that speak directly to the city  

and how we read it.

The Politics of Public Space: Volume Five captures interviews and talks by built environment practitioners on the ideas that shape cities.  Spanning over the past five years, this book is a record of OFFICE's attempt to identify the true complexities of our city and the many parties involved. It asks: how may we better engage with and understand our own city, particularly its public spaces?

This publication collates the content of the four previous volumes along with new images and interviews.  As a catalogue it helps reveal the true complexities of our cities, engaging with issues at stake in its form and occupation. And more significantly, to get students, practitioners, and the general public questioning their understanding of the city.

The Politics of Public Space: Volume Five will be self-published in August 2023 by Melbourne based not-for-profit design and research practice OFFICE.

Background

Over five years, OFFICE curated a public lecture and conversation series titled The Politics of Public Space. Holding the series outside the conventional spaces of the institution allowed these discussions to be directed at the city’s forms and the issues at stake in their development. To preserve and disseminate these events, OFFICE compiled this content into a limited printed quarterly publication. With the success of the series, both in Australia and internationally, all four volumes have now sold-out. 

The Politics of Public Space: Volume Five Features

Mark Jacques, Libby Porter, Tania Davidge, Tom Andrews, Peter Chambers, Claire Martin, Myria Georgiou, Saskia Sassen, Jack Self, Brooke Holmes, Ian Strange, Alfredo Billembourg, Tony Birch, Brighid Sammon, Nicole Kalms, Andy Fergus, Kate Shaw, Philip Brophy, Sarah Lynn Rees, Kim Dovey, Nigel Bertram, Lynda Roberts, Crystal Legacy, Marcus Westbury, Elizabeth Taylor, Simona Castricum, Jock Gilbert, Sophia Pearce, Uncle Dave Wandin, Gary Foley, Alison Young, Polly Stanton, Kelsie Nabben, Wendy Steele, Lily Parsons, Olivia Daw, Genevieve Quinn, Lewis Orgar, Carroll Go-Sam.

About OFFICE

OFFICE is a not-for-profit multidisciplinary design and research practice based in Melbourne. Their projects span the intersections of built form, research, discourse and education. As a registered charity, the studio’s operations, processes and outputs are bound by a constitution to make projects for the public good.

Publication Specifications
165mm × 240mm, 528pp, perfect bound

Editor
OFFICE and Tom Muratore

Copy Editor
Miriam McGarry

Book Design
Jake Bonin and Kim Mumm Hansen

Sponsorship

To fund the production and printing costs OFFICE are accepting sponsorship. As a registered charity OFFICE relies on generous support to cover the upfront cost of producing this publication. OFFICE has completed the initial editorial process alongside the generous support of the speakers who donated their time and effort into supplying the content. 

Budget Overview

Production $9,500

Printing $12,000

Crowdfunding Goal: $21,500