Urban and Environmental Theory Sessions

Paola Viganò

The series of sessions on URBAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL THEORY is a curated collection of public discussions developing a deeper understanding of modern critical thought, a current reading and understanding of the territorial space in which we act, questioning the ever more complex relationships between nature and humanity, ecology and society. Examining the issues raised in the MAS UTD, each semester considers a specific theme, building toward the creation of a contemporary library of territorial knowledge.

This series focuses on the possibilities of presentation and representation in the modern design context, as a tool for design, for imagining the impossible and as a method of public interaction. Beginning with a look at the historical graphic work of Zoe Zenghelis and it’s influence on the work of many architects it moves to a consideration of modern mapping such as applied in collaboration with Frédérique Aït-Touati in the book TerraForma. The contextual possibilities of other media are discussed through the work of Anne-Marie Filaire and Matthew Gandy, camera, video and text, round off this semester’s series.

Looking at the role of Systems Thinking in modern society and design development this series specifically considered the problematics and possibilities that emerge when we question the complexity of the apparently simple terms used in today’s society, looking beyond their banalisation though over exploitation in modern discussion.