Our democracy has been hacked!
“The women argued it was not a bad thing to be able to know instantly by scanning who one is dealing with. Someone remembered a proposal that democracy might best be served by opening up the data banks to everyone rather than trying to do without them or, even worse, pretending they did not exist. … Read more
Cities or Urbanisation ?
The image was created to depict an exaggeration of a Lagos market scene. In Lagos Nigeria, there is an obsession by the state to build “ultra-modern“ shopping facilities to house commercial activities. However, due to the high cost of rent of these facilities as well as the culture of traditional markets in Nigeria, traders and … Read more
Arbitration of the Arbitrary
Critical urbanists are empowered by theory, constrained by history, and valued by their ability and will to negotiate opportunities. The powers of theory are defined by Brenner and Roy as that of critical imagination and rejection of definition; contexualized as historically urban and increasingly planetary by Harvey, Brenner, and Schmid; and actualized by Kaika and … Read more
Community within the Urban?
Community is mostly depicted as a unifying tool that brings a sense of belonging, but does it also act as the root of urban conflict by defining who is an outsider? Through the use of AI, the text Cites or Urbanization? by David Harvey was reimagined as a part of a political discourse and represented … Read more
Urbanizing degrowth
Introduction Embarking on the odyssey of urban studies, this blog post endeavors to unravel the intricate tapestry of urban theory. At its core, urban theory seeks to comprehend the dynamic relationship between cities, nature, and design, viewed through the lens of recent discussions within the realms of urban and environmental studies. The journey is marked … Read more
Theories of the Urban : Planetary Urbanization
‘ The blurring and rearticulation of urban territories. Urbanisation processes are being regionalised and reterritorialised. Increasingly, former “central functions,” such as shopping facilities, company headquarters, research institutions, prestigious cultural venues, as well as spectacular architectural forms, dense settlement patterns, and infrastructural arrangements, are being dispersed outwards from historic central city cores, into erstwhile suburbanised spaces, … Read more
Decoding Critical Urban Theory
Harnessing AI to deconstruct text to visuals Introduction Welcome to our exploration of urban theory, where we decipher the complexity of urban theory through the lens of imagery and aphorisms. We—three students with diverse perspectives—have delved into the intricate narratives and critical readings to let us translate them to critical urban thinking. This blog post … Read more
What is Critical Urban Theory?
Advanced Computational Tools: A Journey Through Grasshopper
Welcome to the world of advanced computational tools, where we delve into the intricacies of Grasshopper, a graphical algorithm editor tightly integrated with Rhino’s 3-D modeling tools. This blog post will guide you through the learning process, focusing on the fundamental aspects of Grasshopper and logical representations. Grasshopper Fundamentals Grasshopper is a powerful tool that … Read more
Harnessing connected brains towards a more balanced environment
Between groupthink and individualitythe conflicting human impulses toward civilisation and social organization”(William Golding, The Lord of the flies, 1954) -How does collective design ensure/produce better environments?-How collective intelligence can affect design decisions?-How top-down and bottom- up projects are implemented?–Open data vs privacy | Participatory vs autonomy | Crowdsourcing / Crowdfuding Introduction To what extent collective … Read more
Ecological Design: Towards A Utopian or Dystopian Future
Ecological designs mimic nature, aiming to produce systems that generate no waste and positively impact the environment. We will consider the opposite ends of an ideal civilization: a utopian and dystopian world. Utopian: A future when there is a balance between satisfying living creatures (Humans, animals, and plants) needs in a space/building through an efficient … Read more
Metaphors of Transformation: Shaping Sustainable Architectural Paradigms in the Urban Era
Introduction In the face of intensifying urbanization and the climate crisis, how can a paradigm shift in architecture, guided by the principles of building metabolism theory, offer a sustainable and regenerative solution to address the challenges of our rapidly evolving urban environments? Abstract In an era of intense urbanization there is an imperative need for … Read more
Utilisation of the Environment for the Community, in an Open-Source Manner
Group 09 – Open source architecture – By Yichen Lu , Hande Karata? , Naveen Kumar , Manolya Nielsen How can we promote the utilisation of the environment for the community, in an open-source manner, to advance sustainable design? In order to dwell into our research question, we must first define what it is that … Read more
Building Envelopes: Catalysts for Outdoor Thermal Comfort and Health
Objective of the manifesto In an age defined by climate change, this manifesto strives to motivate designers by evoking their consciousness, to design the building envelopes not just for indoor comfort and aesthetics, but also ensuring the creation of outdoor thermal havens as these envelopes comprise approximately 70 % of the urban outdoor environment. Hence … Read more
Interspecies city: A Co-Creative Model for Sustainable Urban Growth
INTRODUCTIONWhat is the difference between writing in ink and writing in pencil? Pencil can be easily deleted and re-written, while ink is permanent. In the realm of construction, the choice between writing in ink and pencil becomes a metaphor for permanence versus adaptability. Our cities face the urgent need for transformation in the face of … Read more
Symbiotic Metabolism
Problem Statement Modern buildings are fortresses holding nature at bay, reflecting Dualist philosophies separating humans from nature. Our current Anthropocentric notion of “nature” as something “out there” and separate from culture has created a metabolic rift1 within our urban and architectural landscapes, obscuring the ravaging of the earth. Resources are shipped from across the globe, … Read more
Reversing Ecosystem Degradation
MaCAD 23/24 // ACESD Theory Existing State of Urban Design In order to understand how to strive for successful ecological design practices, designers must first understand the problems that currently exist in the process of urban design. The current state of design tends to create distinct enclosures between both natural ecosystems and humans, with the … Read more
Note Palette
Music is visualized everyday – but is there any accuracy to its representation? Can sound be accurately represented? If so, what does it look like? How is accuracy measured? While not fully satisfied with the answers found to these questions, Python’s mido package shed light on the how sound and color may be linked through … Read more
Exploring the Impact of Technological Innovations on Spatial Inequality in Montjuïc
The city of Barcelona has a history of change through impulses. No part of the city is more representative of this trend than Montjuïc. Throughout the 20th century, the area has undergone a number of spatial and social transformations which have typically occurred in short spaces of time. In this short study, we argue that … Read more
