A 2005 architectural call for papers asserted the sacrifice of absolute position for velocity, and the power of the flux of our times to sweep us into a time defined by its own flux. Earlier, Marc Augé wrote of airports and leisure parks as non-places. Between “hotel chains and squats, holiday clubs and refugee camps”, the measure of temporal and spatial flows varies hugely. Globalised 24/7 rhythms share little with those of European villages or with countries on the threshold between developed and developing. When iconic references to the latter appear in the former, questions of mediation arise.

Designing in global contexts engages the virtual and produces embodied experiences. It can change how the world is presented to our reflection: what is visible and what can be said about it.

By puncturing global flows, precariously juxtaposing specific moments and places, this paper charts transitional phenomena, flows of cultural appropriation, embodied experiences, and moments where possible worlds may appear. Rangitukia and the Auckland International Airport (New Zealand), Bärbach and the Tropical Islands Resort at Brand (Germany), and Apia (Samoa) will provide sites of inquiry.