The MAA is a visionary master program with an innovative and open structure, mixing diverse disciplines, shaping professionals capable of producing theoretical & practical solutions towards responsive cities, architecture & technology.
The Ecological Intelligence course instructs and engages students in understanding, applying, analyzing, discussing, critically evaluating and integrating in their own creations key theories, scientific developments and socio-cultural perspectives regarding the design and construction of the built environment in light of global climate change and the need to advance carbon neutrality, resource security, biodiversity, and ecological resilience alongside human health and wellbeing.
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Of all the topics explored in our Ecological Intelligence seminar—ranging from urban greening to multispecies design—vernacular architecture stood out as the most quietly radical. Its intelligence is not flashy or algorithmic. It doesn’t require parametric software, biofabrication labs, or climate dashboards. Instead, it draws from generations of lived experience, calibrated to the rhythms of place, … Read more
“If second nature is something built by collective human labor to make a more habitable nature, “third nature” is something built by collective human endeavor to try to overcome the shortcomings of second nature.”McKenzie Wark McKenzie Wark’s concept of ‘third nature’ reveals the paradox of physical disconnection from the immediate, embodied experiences of first and … Read more
The Intersection of Planetary Sapience and Speculative Futures Reflections – Benjamin Bratton – ‘PLANETARY SAPIENCE’ (2021) & Gerry Canavan – ‘IF THIS GOES ON’ introduction to ‘GREEN PLANETS’ (2014) Benjamin Bratton’s 2021 essay “Planetary Sapience” advances a compelling argument for a planetary-scale reconceptualization of intelligence and agency. Central to his thesis is the notion of … Read more
