Deliberative Pluralities

If we reflect upon all of the aesthetic tools employed by traditional forms of governance or the powerful aestheticization of capitalism, the lack of form or symbolic language employed by alternative processes of deliberation becomes counter-productive.
What does the alternative look like, how does it become relatable, how does it formally manifest?
The exploration in to developing a replicable formal language that builds identity and momentum whilst supporting deliberative pluralism is the work of the pavilion projects including Chapel of Many and CoForum. Core to this are the principles of an Open Form.

Marginal, financially poor and temporary in nature, deliberative processes and civic assemblies’ default to occupy underutilised, available and ‘neutral’, often civic spaces. There is a natural suspicion of symbolism or monument. In more radical circles, spatial transformation as a result of dynamic action may be celebrated as challenging status quo, but the ritual act is seen as exclusive, static and gestural. However, the generic vacant space, itself is not neutral. Often it is a borrowed space, immune to impact, effectively eroding agency.
Consequently, deliberations are neither spatially or materially evidenced or celebrated and leave no physical trace. Compared to the powerful aesthetic symbols and rituals employed by traditional forms of governance, the lack of form or symbolic language employed by alternative processes is self-defeating. At best, processes become materially invisible, at worst they become spatially restricted, plurality of inquiry is unfacilitated.
The challenge is to deliver coherence of meaningful identity, deliver symbolic power, allow for open forms of movement and arrangement. The CoForum and E Pluribus Unum constitute an ongoing project to provide identity for spaces of deliberation and facility for deliberative pluralism. The project aims to be replicable, creating an international network of forums for deliberative pluralism.