Cyborg City

Justyna Karakiewicz

Studio Description

In an era where artificial intelligence increasingly shapes our world, we stand at a crossroads: will we harness AI's potential ethically or succumb to its pitfalls? This studio explores a symbiotic relationship with AI, envisioning a sustainable future through three innovative concepts: Foam Cities, Perturbanism, and Cyborg integration. Foam Cities, inspired by Peter Sloterdijk, reimagines urban spaces as interconnected bubbles, mirroring the intricacies of modern life. Perturbanism introduces resilience through small, dynamic disturbances in urban design. The Cyborg concept merges organic and artificial elements, enhancing human capabilities.

By leveraging AI, participants will craft proposals for adaptive structures that seamlessly blend architecture, technology, and nature. This approach demonstrates that a sustainable future is not just a distant dream but an achievable reality in our present world, where the boundaries between the built environment, machines, and ecosystems blur into a harmonious whole.

Studio Outcomes

This innovative studio offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with Master of Urban Design students, either individually or in groups. By partnering with future architects, you'll gain the ability to work across various scales and vividly visualize the impact of your proposals. Your final project will showcase how your design evolves over the next 50 years, with visualizations for 2030, 2040, and 2075. We'll extensively utilize AI, learning to harness its power productively and ethically. Embracing failure as a stepping stone to success, we'll foster an environment where knowledge grows through experimentation. Three exciting workshops await:

1. Digital and robotic translations (optional)
2. Midjourney text-to-image prompt crafting
3. Building AI agents in ChatGPT and exploring 3D AI generation as well as plan/section AI generation

Join us for a fun, challenging experience that pushes the boundaries of design and technology, ultimately leading to guaranteed success by the studio's end.

Studio Leader/s

Justyna Karakiewicz PhD, AA Dip, BA(hon), FRSA, is professor of architecture and urban design, actively engaged in research that spans global practices in urban design and architecture. Her scholarly contributions include over 70 publications, comprising papers, book chapters, and books, alongside numerous accolades for her design work and a rich portfolio of exhibitions. Her research is particularly focused on sustainability, a theme that has garnered recognition from the Royal Institute of British Architects, notably in the 2008 Housing Design Awards for her design of Spinney Garden, completed in 1986. Her book Promoting Sustainable Living: Sustainability as an Object of Desire, (Routledge, 2015) and Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric (Routledge, 2011) extend her work in this field. Her co-edited book, Urban Galapagos: Transition to Sustainability in Complex Adaptive Systems in the Springer Social and Ecological Interaction in the Galapagos Islands Series (2019) considers the opportunities in coupled natural urban systems, engaging computer, social and economic sciences with design.

Readings & References

• Bluemink, M., 2021. Foam Cities: Peter Sloterdijk's Atmospheric Philosophy. Academia Letters, p.2.
• Sloterdijk, P., 2016. Foams: Spheres Volume III: Plural Spherology, Semiotext(e)Foreign Agents.
• Sloterdijk, P., 2009. Foam city: About urban spatial multitudes. New Geographies, pp.136-143.
• Morton, T., 2013. Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World. University of Minnesota Press.
• Morton, T., 2010. The ecological thought. Harvard University Press.
• Carson, R., 2009. Silent spring. 1962. New York.
• Haraway, D., 2010. A cyborg manifesto (1985). Cultural theory: An anthology, 454.
• Karakiewicz, J., 2023. Pertopia: Speculative Thinking in a Short‐Term World. Architectural Design, 93(1), pp.22-29.
• Karakiewicz, J., 2020. Perturbanism in future cities: enhancing sustainability in the Galapagos Islands through complex adaptive systems. Architectural Design, 90(3), pp.38-43.
• Karakiewicz, J., 2016. Interventions in Complex Urban Systems: How to Enable Modelling to Account for Disruptive Innovation. Understanding Complex Urban Systems: Integrating Multidisciplinary Data in Urban Models, pp.113-127.

Schedule:
Thursday 9am-12pm, Baldwin Spencer 109
Thursday 1pm-4pm, MSD 144

Contact Handbook