The current social climate points to a future where institutions of power that once seemed impenetrable will be forced open from below by grassroots and self-organised movements. The definition of democracy has become a battleground fought on multiple fronts. Could an architecture of this kind play a role in defending and redefining democratic practices in our cities? The Co-Machine provides a basis for investigating these questions by offering a politically performative architecture of direct action in public space. The concept of Co-Machines began as a means of investigating ON/OFF's own reasons for withdrawing from traditional practice to pursue self-initiated interventions in public space, but developed into a worldwide public open call (2016) addressing larger social developments and recently culminated in a collectively-funded, self-printed 500 edition publication (2018).