Polylemma: Die Monographie

"No Trust, No City!" was the longtime credo on their
website; "Some Ideas for Better Cities" was their first joint
lecture series; and Acting in Public was their first book.
For over than twenty years, the architecture collective
raumlaborberlin has been searching for new spaces of
encounter and for ways of achieving cooperative urban
development. Together with experts from various disciplines,
they experiment with new forms of urban practice,
participation, and the joint production of space. Polylemma
explores the work of the collective from diverse perspectives.
Its nine members visit the sites of their work, come
together with long-standing colleagues and critics, dissect
the mechanisms behind their actions, and reflect on
the tools and methods of their research-based practice.
Examining numerous projects, they discuss strategies for
learning together, experimental building, radical recycling,
and cooperative urban development. The book is a call to
action: space becomes an actor that fundamentally questions
design itself and the role of architects. It offers an
extensive collection of photos and drawings, analyses and
ideas, and tutorials and building instructions that continually
test and explore the parameters for action in urban
space. Polylemma asks: How do we want to live together
in the future? It is a request to think space openly; a plea
for the city as a sphere of action.