From urban void to cultural emergence: nihilism in post-industrial spatial transformation

Abstract

This study examines post-industrial art clusters as spatial phenomena grounded in negation, temporality and architectural incompleteness. Unlike economic interpretations of creative clusters as regeneration tools, the research interprets them through the concept of architectural nihilism and temporary autonomy. Based on the case of Shvil HaMeretz in Tel Aviv, the study analyses how abandoned industrial space transforms into a cultural environment through informal artistic occupation. It is found that spatial instability, material decay and lack of institutionalization function not as deficiencies but as structural conditions for alternative cultural production.