Fair Play at Dropcity is a project conceived by KoozArch which explores a different form of communication at the intersection of critical publishing and playful exchanges. As main media partner of Dropcity 2023, KoozArch features both a series of critical insights into the works of Dropcity participants whilst creating a shared dimension of exchange and insight by inviting architects, designers and students to play fair and smart at the Fair Play.

After giving a lecture on the anti-capitalist New Babylon city at TU Delft, Constant Nieuwenhuys was asked the following: “When we are freed of the ‘tyranny of labor’, of obligation, will it be possible to play a game?” Reversing the structure and dynamics of traditional architecture and design fairs, KoozArch answers the same question by testing the limits of Dropcity and turning it into a ludic and creative laboratory, with the aim of exploring new horizontal communicative forms within the architectural and design practices. What could playing at the fair mean? What does a playful fair look like? What is the meaning of fair-play, anyways?

Koozarch intervention at Dropcity Convention 2023 reflects on the act of playing but also on the transformative potential of the fair apart from its commercial nature and of the architectural profession beyond its service-oriented modus operandi. Fair Play is a call to participation, a catalyst of ideas and an accelerator of knowledge that aims to build inclusive, collaborative bridges across disciplines and challenging institutional boundaries through a fundamental question: What If the ball was in your court… Would you PLAY YOUR PART? Would you LEVEL THE FIELD? Would you CHANGE THE RULES?