FROM “VOID” PLACES TO ART CLUSTER: NIHILISTIC FOUNDATIONS OF ARCHITECTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF POST-INDUSTRIAL SPACE

The relevance of this study is determined by the need to examine art clusters not merely as urban instruments of revitalization, but as spatial phenomena in which the philosophy of negation, temporality, and cultural marginality is manifested. The concept of the "architecture of nothingness" proposed by Massimo Cacciari allows post-industrial ruins to be interpreted as spaces of void that serve as fertile ground for new forms of cultural existence. In this context, Shvil HaMeretz in Tel Aviv serves as a prominent example: located within a neglected infrastructural environment, it was appropriated by artists and activists, transforming into a laboratory for countercultural practices.

Analysis of recent research indicates that art clusters are traditionally described as hybrid urban formations, can be interpreted as heterotopias, or function as catalysts for the creative economy. However, the phenomenon of their existence in terms of nihilism and temporary autonomous zones has not yet received adequate conceptual attention.

The study’s results demonstrate that Shvil HaMeretz functions as a space of radical alternative: it provides opportunities for experimental creativity and community self-organization, while inherently remaining "temporary." When the countercultural nature of the space comes into conflict with urban authorities and commercial interests, the cluster loses legitimacy and is gradually displaced.

The conclusions emphasize that art clusters of this type should be interpreted as architectural-philosophical scenarios, where nihilistic void becomes a point of departure for new cultural presence, and their temporariness is not a limitation but a defining characteristic. This underlines the relevance of applying the concepts of Cacciari and Bey for analyzing contemporary urban practices that unfold at the intersection of ruin, culture, and disappearance.