January 11, 2018
New York, NY, January 11, 2018 – The Center for Architecture is proud to announce the opening of The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion: New York Edition on Friday, January 26 at 6:00 pm. The exhibition, curated and designed by Interboro Partners, focuses on New York City as a laboratory where weapons of exclusion and inclusion are invented, deployed, and honed to perfection.
The exhibition opening at the Center for Architecture will also serve as the launch of Interboro’s book, The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion, which examines policies, practices, and physical artifacts that are used by planners, policymakers, developers, real estate brokers, community activists, and other urban actors across the US to draw, erase, or redraw the lines that divide. The Arsenal inventories these weapons of exclusion and inclusion, describes their use, and speculates about how they may be deployed (or retired) to create more open cities, where more people have access to more places. At the Center for Architecture, a mural will present all 153 weapons detailed in the book in a colorful, Breugelesque scene. Visitors can embark on a Waldo-style scavenger hunt to locate all the weapons.
Tools of particular relevance to NYC will be called out and described in detail. New York City’s high density, combined with a white-hot real estate market, incubates all sorts of exclusionary weapons that are used to demarcate territory (like armrests on benches, buzzers, and no loitering signs), or increase revenue (like business improvement districts, poor doors, and POPs). In response, the city’s inhabitants also devise inclusionary weapons (like aging improvement districts, public housing, and rent control) to make the city more livable and accessible for all. These inclusionary weapons, all too often overlooked, are crucial to keeping NYC a thriving, functional city, not just an enclave for the rich.
Copies of The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion will be available for purchase at the opening and throughout the length of the exhibition.
RELATED PROGRAMS
Opening
Friday, January 26, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Oculus Book Talk: The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion
Thursday, March 1, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
With authors Tobias Armborst, Daniel D’Oca, and Georgeen Theodore, AIA, Principals and Co-Founders, Interboro Partners
Members of the press are invited to all related events. Please RSVP to cschaulsohn@aiany.org
This exhibition is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
The research in this book has been supported over the years by generous grants from a number of organizations. Grants from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts were invaluable, and Interboro Partners remains hugely grateful for them.
About Interboro Partners
Interboro is an award-winning architecture, urban design, and planning firm based in Brooklyn, New York. They are leading experts in public space design and community engagement. Interboro works at all scales, from the building and neighborhood to the city and region. The firm’s services include architectural design, public space design, neighborhood, city, and regional planning, and community engagement and outreach. Clients include cultural institutions (MoMA), universities (Harvard), federal agencies (Housing and Urban Development), local government agencies (NYC Parks Department, Cambridge Community Development Department, Detroit Planning and Development Department), and private developers. Interboro is known for its participatory, place-specific approach that helps build consensus around complex projects. The firm works closely and collaboratively with clients and various stakeholders to build on the unique qualities of each place to plan, program, design and build open, inclusive environments that are inviting to everyone.
About the Center for Architecture
The Center for Architecture is the premier cultural venue for architecture and the built environment in New York City, informed by the complexity of the City’s urban fabric and in dialogue with the global community. The Center shares a home with the AIA New York Chapter and has the unique advantage of drawing upon the ideas and experiences of practicing architects to produce thought-provoking exhibitions, informative public programs, and quality design education experiences for K-12 students. It also leads New York City’s annual month-long architecture and design festival, Archtober. The Center for Architecture’s aim is to further public knowledge about New York City architecture and architects, foster exchange and collaboration among members of the design, development, building, scholarly, and policy sectors, and inspire new ideas about the role of design in communities by presenting contemporary and practical issues in architecture and urbanism to a general audience. www.centerforarchitecture.org/