CAADRIA 2014: The 19th International Conference of the Association of Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia is set to take place May 14-17 in Kyoto, Japan. Hosted by Kyoto Institute of Technology, keynote speakers include Paul Richens (Professor, University of Bath), Joichi "Joi" Ito (Director of the MIT Media Lab), and Hitoshi Abe (Chair, Professor, UCLA & Architect).
With the theme, 'Rethinking Comprehensive Design: Speculative Counterculture,' the conference is influenced by Buckminster Fuller’s holistic worldview as the concept of Comprehensive Design was proliferated by the publication of the Whole Earth Catalog, an American counterculture publication, by Stewart Brand in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 45 years have passed since then, and now the concept of Comprehensive Design has evolved from a utopian idea to an actualized design tool. More information after the break.
Stewart Brand's catalogue featured innovative ideas, scientific discoveries, and technological advancements that demonstrated the interconnectedness of the environment and human activities. It emphasized the need for cross-disciplinary approaches towards understanding and nurturing our complex world. This concept also inspired a generation of computer engineers and programmers to view technology as a tool for individual empowerment and collective transformation.
It not only transformed the way we network seamlessly, linking the physical with information and solving complex problems via advanced computational processes, but it also democratized and domesticated technology by offering an alternative trajectory for more open, creative, comprehensive, societies. “Rethinking Comprehensive Design” provides a cross-disciplinary context for the challenging mainstream culture of computation and invites researchers and practitioners alike to speculate and explore the potential of counterculture with an emphasis on four themes:
1.Complex calculations to explore, discover, optimize, and achieve design intentions
2.High volume real-time data with ubiquitous social network
3.Cloud computing to collaborate design processes via open source network
4.Integration of advanced materialization and fabrication processes
Besides the above specific themes, CAADRIA 2014 also invites submissions of original research papers and posters on general topics in computational design research. The abstract submissions is due September 7.
For more information on the event, and for submitting your work, please visit here.