Passage. A History and Theory of Transit Spaces

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Dauss
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 391942117

The project will investigate the historical and current meanings of transit spaces. It aims at the same time at establishing a coherent theory of their function in the modern age (19. -21 century). It brings together a historical perspective with a claim to diagnosis of the present age. Transit spaces comprehend architectural and urban ensembles which are conceived for the passageway and crossing of people. The aim of the project is to establish for the first time a convincing analysis of paradigmatic transit spaces in the modern age. They must be considered as functionally and symbolically crucial for the rapidly modernized societies of the western hemisphere since the industrial age. They were also decisive for the intensified global interlinking with its determining facets as traffic, trade or migration. They may be regarded as central plots of the conversion of the world by global interaction. The project will discuss the main characteristics of transit spaces not only by looking closely at striking examples, but also by establishing fitting concepts for their deeper understanding.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants