xurban_collective’s Evacuation Series, begun in 2010, explores the idea of global social spaces as they relate to the question of distributed localization. Each instance examines the particular typology of a specific built environment. In short, Evacuation Series specifically investigates office spaces, houses, martial arts and religious centers according to their common denominators across nationalized territories. Based on this research, the project involves designing, building, and furnishing particular social spaces. These spaces are incomplete and function as a form of evacuation of some of their culturally recognizable artifacts and objects, revealing the ‘bare space,’ its potential and limitations for democratic participation.
The first installment of this series at T-B A21 in Vienna is based on modern conceptions of mescids. The Turkish mescid—originally from the Arabic word masjid (mosque)—designates smaller prayer rooms that are usually installed in haphazard ways in ‘modern’ buildings. They can be found in shopping malls, business centers, schools, hospitals, and apartments in almost every city around the world. Most of these spaces do not exist in the original architectural plans, but are carved out from garages, basements, warehouses, or empty apartments and storage spaces. Their spatial configurations differ from the architecture of the traditional mosque, which is conceived and designed as a monumental building.

Founded in 2000, x_urban is functioning as an international collective, having members located in Izmir, Istanbul, Linz and New York City.

The Sacred Evacuation has been commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary and Vehbi Koç Foundation on the occasion of the exhibition Tactics of Invisibility