Dustin Jessen Design (DJD)

Das Anti-Auto Manifest

Fritz Specht & Dustin Jessen, 2023

The project “Anti-Auto – Die Öffnung einer privaten Angelegenheit” (which translates to “Anti Car – The Opening of a Private Affair”) is located somewhere between critical design, temporary architecture and discursive writing. It started as a conversation between Prof. Kurt Mehnert, Fritz Specht and myself at the Office for Society in Motion at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, where it became the subject of several courses, and finally resulted in the writing of a manifesto (see below). The Anti-Auto project is meant to renegotiate the role of privately owned cars in public space.

Here is an attempt at a translation of our manifesto:

The automobile occupies the public space.
The anti-auto animates the public space.

The automobile has an owner.
The anti-auto is owned by many.

The automobile creates privacy.
The anti-auto creates company.

The automobile is comfortable to drive.
The anti-auto is comfortable when parked.

The automobile is not a playground.
The anti-auto is a playground.

The automobile must not get scratched.
The anti-auto couldn‘t care less.

The automobile is blinding. The anti-auto is shining.

The automobile is for individuals.
The anti-auto is for societies.

The automobile means status.
The anti-auto is a means to an end.

The automobile is a sculpture.
The anti-auto is a structure.

The automobile is a parked mobile.
The anti-auto is a mobile park.

The automobile is holy. The anti-auto is human.

The automobile loses its value in use.
The anti-auto has its value in use.

The automobile is a private affair.
The anti-auto is :

The opening of a private affair.

As part of his M.A. Thesis in Public Interest Design at Bergische Universität Wuppertal Fritz Specht designed and built the first Anti-Auto as an assemblage of existing components from the public realm. Crash barriers, street furniture and pallets were assembled into an accessible installation that matches the dimensions of a contemporary Volkswagen Polo. Together, we installed this assemblage in several locations across the city of Essen to draw attention to the amount of public space that cars occupy.