Terraforming (literally, ‘Earth-shaping’) is a process of modifying a planetary surface to reconfigure its topography or ecology, affecting the entire biosphere. Forming is not (only) about shaping and configuring, but also producing and creating, or making something begin to exist. We are currently confronted with the hypothesis that Mars is the most likely candidate for terraforming. …
Do Platforms have Politics? – On Platforms as Infrastructures
‘Capital is not a thing, but a social relation between persons, established by the instrumentality of things.’ The capitalist relation is built upon ‘things’,[1] which are either natural or artificial. From this assertion, it seems crucial to delve into the politics of ‘things’. Do they have politics? In the proceeding paragraphs, I will try to show …
Platform Austria
Into the Black Box collaborated togheter with other several expert on platform urbanism to the exhibition of Austrian Pavillion at 17th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia. The curators Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer focused on platform urbanism, its consequences on our lives and the resistances this phenomenon produced. All the materials are accessible on the …
The perfect storm. Political overview of the new Suez crisis in the geo-historical scenario
Only a few days have passed since the Suez Canal has been unblocked. Hundreds of ships have been waiting for a week – from 23th to 29th March – because, due to an error in manoeuvring, the Ever Given container ship ran aground on the shore and blocked the passage. European countries were left on …
Imagining and practicing the post-pandemic urbanity [IBB workshop]
We are pleased to announce that Into the Black Box will take part to next Summer School in Global Studies and Critical Theories that will take place from June 21st to July 2nd, 2021. This year the topic of the school is the political imagination after Covid-19. We will contribute with a workshop and a …
Into the Amazon Box
Big tech has been using the Covid-19 pandemic to take over various regions in the world, including Northern Italy. Amazon, for instance, one of the biggest profiteers of the crisis, has been turning its logistical empire into ‘critical infrastructure.’ Meanwhile, workers are being romanticized as an ‘essential’ labor force in order to suppress their bargaining …