We are delighted to host the book presentation and collective reading of Radical Rituals - a series of publications that we have had in our program for some time and which move along the 45° north latitude to explore collective practices and commoning projects.
Berta Gutiérrez and Alkistis Thomidou, directors of the project Radical Rituals, will present their latest publication, Radical Rituals – 45°N 1°W to 45°N 7°E (France), the 45° project and guide a collective reading.
Admission is free, the presentation starts at 7pm CET.
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Radical Rituals is an itinerary survey along the 45ºN parallel, 45° N 1° W– 45° N 35° E, on the inventiveness of everyday life, new spatial practices and vernacular rituals that stimulate and nurture the commons across Europe. This project focuses on beings, situated scenarios, and collaborative actions, in order to review the vocabulary and methods of spatial production and pay attention to a more complex understanding of the interwoven relations between humans, non-humans, and their physical contexts. After four years of our research on European landscapes, we hope to share with you the second iteration of the project Radical Rituals, inviting you to join us for the presentation of the second publication, Radical Rituals 45°N 1°W – 45°N 7°E.
Edited by Berta Gutiérrez Casaos, Alkistis Thomidou, and Elise Misao Hunchuck, it was beautifully designed by Katharina Hetzeneder and Cecilia Breña, and published by PUNCH Bucharest.
https://zabriskie.de/products/radical-rituals-2/
https://www.forty-five-degrees.com/radical-rituals/
This edited volume is the result of our continuing research, this time in the context of France. Over three weeks in the summer of 2022, forty five degrees visited and documented initiatives of commoning along the 45°N parallel, crossing France, from the Atlantic coast to the Alps bordering Italy. Altogether we have brought seventeen projects, and their spatial and social characteristics, methodologies, and stories. These initiatives and groups are developing collective actions and methods to address issues such as climate emergencies, land ownership, privatization of resources, migration, and the creation of learning communities. The publication also features essays by forty five degrees (Berta Gutiérrez Casaos and Alkistis Thomidou), architect and researcher Joanne Pouzenc, architect and activist Lea Hobson, as well as a conversation between Léopold Lambert and Elise Misao Hunchuck.
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BIO
forty five degrees is an international collaborative practice committed to the critical revisioning of space-making, exploring new methods, resources and means. Our work investigates the built environment through research, design and artistic experimentation, across multiple scales and in its social, economical and structural implications. By addressing the social and cultural spheres we develop non-profit activities to engage with communities and the networks they are part of to create a bigger impact. The studio strives to create inclusive and accessible spaces through careful use of scale, material and design language and are committed to rethinking education through academia and practice placing design at the intersection of arts and sciences. More recently, they are immersed in a long-term research project, ‘Radical Rituals’, aiming to offer new paradigms of spatial development through the study of community based situated practices across the European territory. The studio’s projects have been supported by international institutions such as the Allianz Foundation, Goethe Institute Bucharest, Akademie Schloss Solitude, and PERSPEKTIVE Fonds. Recently they have been awarded with the first price of IBA Stuttgart 27’ New Living for Korber Höhe, and previously recognized by ArchDaily as Best Practices 2023 and the Research Price of Inspire Future Generations Award from Thornton Education Trust in London.
