CALL FOR ARTICLES

Economies of Joy: The Issue

In the second half of 2021, promises for a “return to normal” were made by governments around the world; politicians reassured us that the economic trajectory since 2008 could be restored. But, as COVID restrictions lifted, workers united around another idea. In the past six months, millions have voluntarily left their jobs, joined trade unions, or taken to digital forums to ignite the #antiwork movement. The post-pandemic context of work – longer hours, working from home, health risks for front-line workers – has led individuals around the world to question neoliberal values, the capitalist economic system, career-focused corporate culture, and most importantly their desire to return to “normal”.

Under this revolt against exploitative economic conditions, there has never been a better moment to reconsider how we live and work together. We are at a critical junction where idleness and fulfillment has the opportunity to be celebrated. Can we question current systems in pursuit of alternative “economies of joy”?

The pursuit of economic alternatives and architectural realities are inextricably tied. One example occurred fifty years ago, between 1967 and 1971, when over half a million individuals left their homes in the cities and set out to create new, experimental communities on the West Coast. Like the “great resignation” of 2021, these communes established themselves in opposition to centralized economic power. Their emblematic dwellings were the geodesic domes designed by Buckminster Fuller. The domes served as both a structural metaphor for decentralized power dynamics – which the communes celebrated – and a symbolic locus for the new collectivist society.

In spring 2022, The Site Magazine will explore the idea that architecture and design is critical to the performance of diverse economies. We are interested in essays, research, design work, and conceptual projects that explore the relationship between the built environment and economic models that have the potential to empower, unite, and bring joy (under any definition of the word) to individuals, communities, and society. These can include enduring concepts like the commons, new approaches like the circular economy, or futuristic propositions like the metaverse.

Topics we are currently exploring include post-capitalist or anti-capitalist spaces, ethical interactions with natural resources, co-operative practices that protect and empower marginalized communities, traditional and contemporary Indigenous economic practices, “economies of care” that address personal and collective well-being, and alternative marketplaces that enable welfare and solidarity.

Issue 3: Economies of Joy will follow closely behind issues one and two, Healed Outcomes and The Edit. Together, these issues examine the role that design can play in enabling systemic change in contemporary society.

Economies of Joy: The Space for Web3

Economy – the word, the idea – has become synonymous with injustice, imbalance and inevitability. But there are countercurrents, and they matter for the future of the built environment.

Over the course of 2022, The Site Magazine is focusing on the theme Economies of Joy. We are exploring new economic modalities through the lens of the built environment; the design, production and inhabitation of the physical world. As a part of this exploration, The Site Magazine is publishing a special, digital/print hybrid issue and activating Web3 experiments.

Web2.0 has become a landscape of walled gardens, where big players get bigger by controlling flows of value; swelling until they constitute the entirety of digital experience. Web3 is an idea for the next iteration of the internet, decentralized through the use of blockchain and token-based economics. The new net will allow for the unmediated transfer of value between parties that want to interact online, enabling new opportunities for peer-to-peer collaboration and direct ownership over the actions, interactions, and artifacts that exist online.

This special issue will explore how new token-enabled economic systems and virtual worlds, enabled by Web3, are shaping the way we occupy space to live, work, and play. The issue is also active, we will be hosting a live NFT marketplace and invite contributors to sell content or conduct experiments related to the representation or design of the built environment. 

… We are interested in how decentralized technologies are rewiring the hardware of our society.

… We are interested in how real estate property markets will perform when property assets are deeded on a public ledger, or when the real estate is on virtual land, or when server farms become more lucrative than agricultural ones.  

… We are interested in how Web3 offers designers new ways to create meaningful economic fantasies and realities that precede, coexist with, or emerge from physical spaces and architectural products.

… We are interested in tools for decentralized governance and tools that solve systemic coordination issues. 

… We are interested in digital currencies and digital asset.

… We are interested in what life will be like in virtual ‘verses.

We are looking for contributions in three forms: 

Essays:

Critical perspectives on web3, decentralized technologies, crypto, the metaverse, NFTs, and anything related to blockchain and the built environment. Essays will ideally address the role that these technologies play in economic and/or social terms. We are especially interested in critical perspectives on web3 as a new designed reality and/or fantasy. 

Use Cases:

Applied examples or possible applications for the technology in the design space. These do not need to be specifically related to architecture, construction, or real estate, but should show how design enables, empowers, and brings joy to individuals and communities around the world. 

NFT Projects:

An unlimited number of architecture and design projects to be minted on the first-ever NFT marketplace for architecture and design. NFTs should be single images/drawings (JPG/PNG Files) of very high resolution or short animations (MP4 files). NFTs will be minted and listed at no cost to the creator. The creator will be entitled to 100% of the profit. 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We welcome proposals for essays, reportage, photography, architectural drawings, art and design responses, or other ideas on this theme.

Please read our Style Guide for information on formatting of your finished piece.

Submissions are now open

Deadline for proposals: August 15, 2022 DEADLINE EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

Deadline for finished pieces: September 30, 2022

Please submit your proposals here.

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