The project proposes and operates within a fictional reality of participatory democracy. Architecture is engaged through the design of a nomadic capital for new participatory mechanisms.
Sedentary capitals have become an accumulation of power and wealth.The inclusivity of a representative democracy can unfortunately turn into an exclusivity, pluralism into individualism.
The Stateless Capital therefore moves for democracy to reach every citizen. The capital as a carnival carries transformation. The smallest of villages, to the largest of cities, embrace their brief moments as capital. Power is no longer transcribed physically but now carried in the image of the capital.
In the fragmentation of the capital, buildings of power are decomposed into artefacts of power. These become starting points for the apparatus of the carnival of democracy.
Capital cities have long been on the move, passing as symbols of temporal authority. The map illustrates the history of capital city movements from the first known capital.
Study of planned capitals: Memphis, St Petersburg, Brasilia and Putrajaya. In Putrajaya, nomadic power does not necessarily follow a nomadic capital. The capital and the power are divorced.
The history of a collective voice is long. It is emerging as a new power, and the right to reaction as a new collective demand. The time for a participatory democracy is now.
The trajectory of the Stateless Capital follows customary routes, moving into various formations as it travels. The radius of democracy is determined by the size of its environment.
As the Stateless Capital moves, it is led by a #-Collector. The capital seeks trending hashtags, bringing the mechanisms of participation to where new movements could be building.
In the transformation of architecture into a situation, symbols of democracy speak the language of power. The street is renegotiated by the non-stop event - the non-stop capital.
The #-Collector is followed by community-driven apparatuses, forming the procession of the democratic carnival. Each apparatus enables an activity of participatory democracy.
As the Stateless Capital continues to travel, it brings people along with it. Capitals had been concentration points for associated labour groups, now we walk alongside it.
