@mitarchitecture

Mandy Merzaban @mmerzaban (SMArchS AKPIA '21) wrote a foreword to the recently released 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙣: 𝙁𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝘼𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙧𝙩 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙏𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 (Oxford University Press @oxunipress, 2020). The volume explores feminist, intersectional, and decolonial methodologies in the research of modern and contemporary art of/in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It was edited by Ceren Ozpinar & Mary Kelly with contributions from @gerschultzj, Safia Farhat, and others. Included are essays on the artists , , , , , and @zinebsedira. Images by @mmerzaban -- @amcaorg

𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝘽𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 with Veronica Cedillos of GeoHazards International - Thursday / October 8 / 6:00 pm EST / 🔗 in bio on day of webcast Cedillos will discuss her work to end preventable death and suffering from natural disasters in the world’s most vulnerable communities by developing locally-appropriate mitigation and preparedness measures informed by science, engineering, policy, and social science. Lecture organized in collaboration with the Building Technology Group as part of our Fall 2020 lecture series. Image courtesy of Veronica Cedillos Poster design by @mikomcginty & @emiwis — @mitalumni

Project 'Invert Bridge' by Stewart Wu @stewart_haotianwu for 4.462 Introduction to Structural Design, instructed by Paul Mayencourt @paulmayencourt and TA'd by Demi Fang​ @demi.fang. The project delves into the question: how can digital tools generate an expressive form that celebrates structural efficiency? The prefabricated timber strut provides the structural support to both the cable/truss system on the long end and the arch system on the short end, formally creating a pair of inverting curves divided by the 'key strut'. A series of formulae are embedded into the parametric modeling to automatically generate structural elements with minimal material use. This all-in-digital process allowed Stewart to iterate formal possibilities with monitoring the material efficiency so that the final outcome could achieve both elegance and efficiency. --

Commissioned by the @grayson_school in Philadelphia, Associate Professor Brandon Clifford & created an experimental outdoor space designed to involve kids and young adults in recreational learning. In collaboration with CEMEX Global R&D, Matter Design created a collection of curious concrete characters. These colossal creatures, voluntarily contrasting with the sense of security of the frequent padding of infant centers, are different from other play structures. “We know that play is an essential component in the education of children of all ages,” says Melissa Bilash, head of the Grayson School in Philadelphia (Pre-K through grade 12). “When students (and adults) engage in play, they unleash creativity and problem-solving, ... At this time, it is essential to continue to have a focus on play and re-imagine education in order to tap the potential of outdoor learning.” Read more on DOMUS -> bit.ly/GraysonMatter Images courtesy of Matter Design -- @cemexgrd @thebrandonclifford

. 𝙎𝙪𝙗𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 was a project conducted by M.Arch Danny Griffin @gri.dfab and advised by Jeremy Jih @j.rocdesign. This speculative work was part of last summer’s department-funded research initiatives. This research explored fast-assembling architecture and pop-up structures, interrogating architectural assembly from the lens of accessible joinery. Even the most basic architectural details are inaccessible to the general public. What if we instead learned from the fashion industry, where fasteners such as zippers and velcro have proliferated, affording agency to anyone over their own enclosure. Manipulating these fasteners in scale and density, we create vaults where the joinery is elevated to perform as both graphic device and structural system, offering new opportunities for inhabitation and construction of space. Text and images by Danny Griffin --

ELEMENTS @elementslearn is a venture founded by Michael Stradley @mt_stradley (SMarchS '20) and Maria Esteban Casanas @maria.est (SMarchS '20) that developed out of the 2020 MITdesignX program. ELEMENTS is 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘹, teaching design skills and creative thinking to prepare students for the emerging jobs and challenges of the 21st century. The kits offer physical learning materials and tactile design challenges while also pairing them with an online platform for students to share their creative work with fellow students around the world. Earlier this year the venture won the Creative Arts Competition at MIT, garnering the top $15K award. In reaction to winning the prize, Stradley said, “MIT has a great ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship. We were fortunate to get our start with DesignX at the beginning of the year which helped us build our initial idea into a venture.” Images are student works from the venture’s first iteration of RAMP (Remote Art Making Pilot), a six-week experimental studio using pilot kits: 1) ELEMENTS kit 2, 3) Color, Material, & Pigment Formulation 4, 5) Cyanotype & Photography without the Camera 6, 7) Rule-Based & Generative Drawing -- @artsatmit @mitdesignx

FONMA ONIVA, founded by recent SMArchS Design & Computation Alumna Nof Nathansohn @nofnathansohn and Avinoam Sharon @avinoamsh, won First Prize for their Ice Square competition proposal in the city of Ramla. The city of Ramla in Israel’s central district is one of the only few mixed cities in the country‭, ‬where Jewish‭, ‬Muslims and Christians live together‭. ‬It has an old quarter with ancient Muslim architecture‭, ‬stone buildings with old arches‭, ‬next to some new neighborhoods and social housing projects from the ’50s‭. ‬Earlier this year‭, ‬the city of Ramla announced a competition to build a monument at the old‭ ‬“Ice Square”‭, ‬the main junction in the city entrance that used to inhabit an old ice factory centuries ago‭. ‬Their proposal seeks to integrate the old architectural tradition of the city with new technologies‭ ‬and to preserve the memory of the city’s history and its people‭. ‬The monument is comprised of a stone brick dome‭, ‬similar to ancient buildings in the city old center‭, ‬surrounded by glass bricks‭, ‬that will be cast to custom-made molds‭, ‬and produced in digital fabrication methods‭ - ‬as a reminder‭ ‬to the old ice factory‭. ‬The proposal also designed a small park around the monument‭, ‬with a vernal pool and local herb gardens for residents that live nearby‭. text and images by FONMA ONIVA -- @fonma_oniva

_ Derek Ham will present 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 as part of our Fall 2020 Lecture Series - Thursday / September 17th / 6:00pm EST / 🔗 in bio on day of webcast In building VR experiences Derek Ham draws on his architectural education as well as theoretical approaches found in design + computation. Together they enable him to develop a methodology for VR storytelling different from most. His storytelling follows a system of variables, rules, and schemas. As a result, the virtual narratives he creates evokes strong emotional responses from viewers. In 2017, Derek was funded by Oculus (by Facebook) to complete a VR project called “I Am A Man.” The VR project centers on the Civil Rights, the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Worker’s Strike, and last days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This VR experience has been broadly celebrated for its achievement in the use of this new technology to communicate history in a meaningful way. The project has been featured at film festivals nationally and internationally including the SIGGRAPH 2018 Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Program. “I Am A Man” won the Perspectives Award for Immersive Storytelling at the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival, won VR Best of Show at the 2108 Nashville Film Festival, and was the winner of the 2018 FoST Prize for the category, “Bridging the Divide.” His next VR project, “Barnstormers: Determined to Win” is now in pre-production as a winner of the Epic Game’s Mega Grant program and the Pitch and Produce program by Reallusion. Derek Ham, PhD is an Associate Professor and Department Head of Art + Design at NC State University’s College of Design. Images: 01. Derek Ham portrait. Courtesy of Derek Ham 02. “I Am A Man” VR Experience, created and directed by Derek Ham in partnership with Oculus 03. “I Am A Man” VR Experience, created and directed by Derek Ham in partnership with Oculus 04. “I Am A Man” VR Experience, created and directed by Derek Ham in partnership with Oculus — @derek.a.ham

ADVANCED INTERACTIONS was taught last spring by Marcelo Coelho @marcelosco, and TA'd by Benjamin Hoyle and David White @davidwhite830. The class provides an overview of core principles and methodologies for the design of interaction and behavior across objects and spaces. Students develop high-fidelity, interactive prototypes that can be deployed and experienced by real users. Topics include the history of human-computer interaction, behavior prototyping, augmented and virtual reality, haptics, internet of things, and wearables. It also provides a foundation in technical skills, such as physical prototyping, 2D and 3D animation, Unity, coding, and electronics. Selected project Zen-Sync is by Ailing Zhang @eileen_zhhang and Chenlu Wang @chenlu_wang51. Instead of virtual collaboration, Zen-Sync allows two people, from different parts of the world, to play and engage in creating a touchable product --the stylized “Zen” landscape together. --

_ 𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 / SWAP Course 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚* 𝘼𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦; 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. *𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚:𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘢 Instructor: Cristina Parreño @trans_tectonics @cristina.parreno, TA: Ana McIntosh @ana1222m   1. Deep Time Palimpsest / Paul Gruber @paulgruber_arch (M.Arch '23)   2. Radical Maintenance / Emily Wissemann @emiwiss (M.Arch '23)   3. Ruination / Ardalan SadeghiKivi @arthalun (M.Arch '23) 4. An Offering / Natalie Pearl @_nattyp_ (M.Arch '23) --

If you wander by the List building some night in the next two weeks, you’ll come across a flickering projection of a few hundred pitchers. Starting on September 4th, for two weeks, the North-facing facade of the Wiesner Building (E15) will display selected footage and documentation of Proof of Concept, an ongoing series of guerilla performances staged in the various halls, conference rooms, labs, and lobbies belonging to the nebulous phenomenon called design thinking. The projection will be visible at nighttime hours throughout this period, with special programming four nights a week (Thursday-Sunday), weather permitting. Proof of Concept is conceived and performed by Stratton Coffman (M.Arch ’20) and Isadora Dannin (M.Arch ’21), with support from the Transmedia Storytelling Initiative, the NuVu Research Fund, and Lord Jim. project page: conceptproof.org — @nuvustudio @bagstrat @isadoradannin

The Undergraduate Program in Architecture at MIT provides both a deep and broad education in the field of architecture within the context of a leading school of science and technology. The two offered majors are Course 4, leading to the Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BSA), and Course 4B, leading to the Bachelor of Science in Art and Design (BSAD). The department also offers minors such as the Minor in Design (D-Minor), which provides students design tools they can use to prepare for diverse careers in industry or academia. All of the programs are continually evolving to engage new ways of thinking about architecture, art and design. This semester a series of Course 4 electives are being offered such as: - How to Design / Skylar Tibbits & Marlena Fauer Where is & What is Architecture & Design / Paul Pettigrew Design Techniques & Technologies / Axel Kilian The Human Factor in Innovation & Design Strategy / Lee Moreau Design Computation: Art, Object, & Space / Larry Sass - See more undergraduate work at @designatmit Image: Fluid Assembly Chair, by the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT --