Performa, the seminal performance arts organization, has given us all a magical gift on their website. There, in a continuous feed, they are running film clips from engaging, hilarious, thoughtful demonstrations of the intersections of architecture with performance which was also the subject of the 2019 Bodybuilding book that examined this fertile history. Architects have pushed the boundaries of the built environment by interjection of bodies in motion within structures akin to theatrical rituals. Don't let the lingo put you off: just take a look at their website for examples from Coop Himmelblau, Hans Hollein and Ugo LaPietra among many others. As we sit indoors at our screens during the pandemic, it's useful to remember there is an outside world into which we have agency.

Image credits:

The members of Coop Himmelblau posing in front of their "Restless Ball," an inflatable used for outdoor performances in their 1971 exhibition “Contact” in Basel.

Coop Himmelblau, Soul Flipper II, Basel, 1971. Photo…h by Peter Schnetz (helmet)

Bodybuilding, Hans Hollein, Mobile Office, Vienna, 1969.tif

Bodybuilding, Ugo la Pietra, Il Commutatore, Milan, 1970.jpg