Protest Architecture
A complex bamboo pyramid to block a busy crossing in London. A maze of ‘mini Stonehenge’ brick structures to hinder government crackdowns in Hong Kong. The takeover of a Dallas highway to create a temporary public square.
Architects have often used their skills in struggles for civil rights, gender equality and climate justice. Illuminating the role that design has played in protest movements, Nick Newman explores the colliding worlds of architecture and activism through the stories of those who have built for change.
Using historic and contemporary examples, Protest Architecture analyses the design problems and solutions faced by protestors on the streets through detailed drawings, photography and expert insight.
From beacons to barricades, towers to treehouses, this unique design typology demonstrates architectural influence over moments of societal change.
This is a retelling of protest history through the eyes of an architect.
Nick Newman is a Director of Studio Bark and U-Build. His experience spans environmental architecture, climate activism, building performance evaluation and deep energy retrofits. Nick is a Passivhaus Designer and has contributed to a number of journals and publications, including Everything Needs to Change (RIBA Publishing, 2021), Environmental Design Pocketbook (RIBA Publishing, 2015) and the Passivhaus Designer’s Manual (Routledge, 2015). He speaks regularly at events on behalf of the studio and was named a ‘Rising Sustainability Star’ by Building magazine in 2014. Nick is an advocate for radical responses to the Climate Emergency, and has been arrested in October 2019, December 2019, and September 2020 for his involvement in the Extinction Rebellion protests, which brought Central London to a standstill.