After Office, the second issue of
Stream, addresses the conflicts of the evolution of our
work conditions, now greatly modified (contributions by
Bernard Stiegler, Yann Moulier Boutang, Julien Eymeri,
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Isabelle de Ponfilly, Carol
Willis, Marie-Ange Brayer,
Nicolas Bourriaud, Philippe Rahm...).
The globalization of economies, the permanent revolution of communication and information technologies, the rise of environmental concerns, and finally the current financial crisis, are all factors that could fundamentally transform our relationship to work and design spaces devoted to specific needs. Through the dematerialization of work through the power of new technologies and the rising values of autonomy and independence of individuals, the environmental crisis leads to the question of durability of the traditional office building in its current design and beyond the organization of cities. But the high profitability of the real estate industry dominated by financial logic drives many actors to continue the production of standard office buildings worldwide.
But with these millions of square meters produced on a string, according to the Taylorist concept of the economy, do they really correspond to user expectations of the future? As conceived and implemented, do they participate in developing a model of a sustainable city? Will the office towers and business districts that continue to proliferate and shape the silhouettes of cities around the world, remain the urban and architectural design of the next century? As symbols of the post-industrial age of capitalism – which arose into the world integrating whole territories and brownfield sites – will these business districts become tertiary wastelands in an age of knowledge capitalism? Will we create a world “after-office”?
Stream is a biennial research book-magazine on the relationship between the world of production, contemporary art,
design and
architecture.
Stream connects, links, creates a global platform between different environments.
Each issue of
Stream is crossed by a common theme to all three sections of the journal: Production, Creation, Architecture.
Stream presents findings from a current and critical analysis of the capitalist society, and of the worldwide contemporary changes which have given rise to new relations between capital and creation, the possibilities for further action and collaboration in its various fields of study.
Stream addresses contemporary questions through a multiplicity of contributions (essays, interviews and portfolios) from a variety of disciplines (
philosophy,
économy, geography or sociology…) and creative practices (contemporary art, design, experimental architecture…) to understand and shape the architecture and urbanism of tomorrow.
