Architecture MPS Conf on Urban Assemblage: The City as Architecture, Media, AI, and Big Data (Jun 2021, Virtual & London & Hatfield, UK)

Dates: 28-30 JUNE 2021

Location: Virtual & London/Hatfield, UK

Website: AMPS-London-Hatfield

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 JUNE 2020

Organisers: UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE

Delegates can present virtually. The keynote will be held in London. Conference presentations will take place at the University of Hertfordshire campus in Hatfield on the outskirts of London.

DISCIPLINES:

ART, DESIGN  &  FILM   |   MEDIA  &  COMMUNICATIONS   |   ARCHITECTURE  &  URBAN DESIGN   |   SOCIOLOGY  &  POLITICS

FORMATS:

IN-PERSON, PRE-RECORDED FILMS, ZOOM, WRITTEN PAPERS.

CALL:

Today, the city is a technological infused entity premised on a plethora of digital phenomena including the Internet of Things, ubiquitous computing, computer-led infrastructure, big data and AI. It is also a place designed, envisaged and increasingly built through data-based digital architecture, planning and construction. Both scenarios mediate how we design and experience of the city. The result is a series of complex interactions of people, place and data and the establishment of the ‘digital city’, ‘smart buildings’ and ‘intelligent’ urbanism.

This new polemic agency of the machine informs the creative industries. A plethora of films in recent decades have built on the imagery it offers while, in the arts, data is increasingly used as both a tool and motive for artworks. However, there are concerns. GIS, Google Maps and Facebook all offer interconnected information on urban life. They are also conduits for the collation of personal data and its misuse. Sociologists highlight the dangers of the digital dependency of future generations.  3D printed buildings threaten job losses in the construction industry. The idea of parametric urbanism is anathema to many for whom city is a place of interpersonal interaction.

This conference seeks to explore these and related issues from a variety of discipline perspectives.

PUBLICATIONS:

This event is part of the research programme, ‘The Mediated City’. Previous events have been held by universities in London, Los Angeles, Bristol, Istanbul and Canterbury. Each conference leads to a book as part of the associated Intellect Book series ‘Mediated Cities’.

In addition, delegates submitting papers related to teaching and learning will be considered for the Routledge book series: ‘Focus on Design Pedagogy’.

To participate, submit an abstract at the website. 

Organisers: University of Hertfordshire, UK and Intellect Books, with Routledge, AMPS and PARADE.