When design as an inducement to consume ceases to exist, and empty area is created in which, as on the surface of a mirror, such things as the need to act, mold, transform, give, conserve, modify, come to light. The alternative image is a more serene, distended world in which actions can find their complete sense and in which life is possible with a few magic utensils.
Superstudio - Destruction, Metamorphosis, and Reconstruction of the Object
Our story begins 40 years ago when critical theory manifests itself into physical form. A thin layer of reflective material leaks over New York City and slowly spreads until ultimately consuming the built world. Like the prophecy of Superstudio, all of architecture is neutralized leaving only its inhabitants, both real and reflected, to produce space. The architecture of the city is stripped to its most basic constituent: program produced by the spontaneous collective action of people.