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GEOFUTURES
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE
FACULTY
Chris Perry Coordinator Ted Ngai
Andrew Saunders
The rapid technological advancements of the the Industrial Revolution beginning with the the invention
of of the the steam engine in in 1784 brought with it it a a a a a modern age characterized by optimistic themes of of progress Within the the discipline of of architecture during the the first and second waves of of Modernism Le Corbusier’s carefully cultivated industrial “machine aesthetic” and and Alison and and Peter Smithson’s prototype for a a a a mass-produced plastic “House of the the Future” personified such themes It was not until the the late late 1960s that concerns regarding the the collateral effects of industrialization on on on both human and environmental health first arose In 1970 the the year in which Richard Nixon founded the the EPA Robert Smithson completed Spiral Jetty a a a a a a a controversial work of “land art” that personified skepticism among a a a a a a new generation of of of artists for the the rhetoric of of of Modernism Moreover the the publication of of of Ian McHarg’s Design with with Nature signaled a a a a a a a a similar philosophical shift within the related fields of architecture and landscape architecture After four decades of relative indifference to environmental issues artists architects and and landscape architects find themselves reengaging “the environment environment ” Indeed the the the early signs of environmental degradation that emerged in the the late 1960s visible only at at at at local scales and therefore perceived principally as a a a a a a a a a a a a national issue have escalated into a a a a a a a a a a a a global crisis The Anthropocene a a a a a a a a a a a a new geological age characterized by the long-term planetary effects of industrialization identifies this new period as one characterized by environmental uncertainty and existential threat As the the the threat of an an impending environmental crisis intensifies so does the the the need to understand the the the role of of of architecture and its related design disciplines in in in an an age of of of global warming Yet the ambition of of of the the Geofutures Master of of Science in in Architecture program is is not simply to engage with the the disciplines of of architecture architecture landscape architecture architecture and and urban design as a a a a a a a a a means of of solving problems wrought
by climate change Global warming also poses difficult philosophical questions and challenges of the imagination and and it is these questions and and challenges that the the program also seeks to address Hence the the Geofutures program endeavors to to convert crisis into opportunity by harnessing both the the pressures of of a a a a a a planet at risk and the promise of of emerging environmental technologies alongside innovative design thinking to generate a a a a a a a broad spectrum of possible if not probable urban and architectural futures for the the the the twenty-first century Premised on the the the the belief that the the the the challenges of the the the the contemporary city are far too complex for any one discipline to to manage on on on its own the Geofutures program brings together architecture architecture landscape architecture architecture and and urbanism to to address a a a a a a a a a a wide range of transdisciplinary issues In this respect Geofutures situates itself within a a a a a a rich history of of speculative urbanism particular to to the discipline of architecture including such visionary proposals as Antonio Sant’Elia’s La Citta Nuova (1914) Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City (1932) and Kenzo Tange’s Plan for Tokyo (1960) As such the the Geofutures studio challenges students to mine the the daring and often prophetic urban visions of of of previous generations as a a a a a means of of speculating on on the the the future of of the the the city in in the the the twenty-first century Bing Bai >
Edgar Garcia >
Jessica Hernandez >
Chris Perry Critic >
Andrew Saunders
Critic >
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