Informality can be interpreted as a positive quality hinting at individual freedom—or even be romanticized as a bottom-up and empowering force. But informality as a safety valve for a system that is not able to adjust to changing conditions smoothly and quickly enough is another matter. The mass migration of people to cities cannot be met by regular housing schemes, so people must provide their own. The sea of unemployed provides a labor reserve that comes in handy when the economy is growing and that can easily be ditched once the economy slows down again. In the global capitalist market economy, informality is not an errant, a flaw in the system that’ll soon be taken care of; it is part of the system’s ‘design’.

With contributions by René Boer, Diego Ramírez-Lovering, Timothy Moore, Stefan Heidenreich, Jacqueline Hassink, Merve Bedir, Max Hampshire, Ton Matton, Larissa Meyer, Antoine Turillon, Mohammad Salemy, DPR Barcelona, Guus Beumer, Anil Bawa-Cavia, Keller Easterling, and Jacqueline Tellinga.

The issue includes a supplement produced with sub>urban: ‘Are you working on your fringe?’ Initiated by Maarten van Tuijl and Isabelle Verhaert, the publication documents nine European cities investigating strategies for transforming post-war fringe areas of their municipalities.

Volume is an independent magazine that sets the agenda for architecture and design. Going beyond architecture’s definition of ‘making buildings’ it reaches out for global views on designing environments, advocates broader attitudes to social structures, and reclaims the cultural and political significance of architecture. 

Edited by Arjen Oosterman

Designed by Irma Boom Office
“Are you working on your fringe?” designed by Ellen van Huffel and Inge Gobert

Published by Archis, 2017

Softcover (newsprint), stapled, 64 pages, color and b&w images, 9.5 × 13 inches 

ISSN: 1574-9401