“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

There is an implicit conflict in the word “free”. While it is commonly used to describe items without any attached value, such as the newspapers that litter the world’s subway systems, or the samples offered in grocery aisles to tempt more formidable purchases, to be free is generally regarded as the most valuable of human rights. Documents such as the Magna Carta, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the American Constitution, the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights have resulted in the expectation of freedom the world over. Operating at such wildly contrasting scales, from the disposable, to the absolute, to everything in between, the implications of “free” are staggering, both abstractly and concretely.

While given the opportunity architects might very well banish the word “free” outright, the bitter taste of countless hours invested in unpaid competitions and client proposals, the built world cannot exist outside of its jurisdiction. At the local scale, building codes, labor unions, monetary transactions, transport of materials are all implicit in freedom. At a more global scale, the relationship between space and freedom becomes increasingly complicated.

THE BI BLOG is currently seeking proposals for a forthcoming print publication on the topic “FREE”. If you are interested in joining the discussion, please send a short biography, publication list and a 500 word proposal to submissions@thebiblog.net by September 15, 2011.

E. Sean Bailey and Erandi de Silva

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