Like most functions in recent months, this year’s Digital FUTURES, which is held annually since 2011 at Tongji University in Shanghai, had to move online due to the pandemic. The organizers took this as an opportunity to give the event a global dimension, turning the festival into what they rightfully call the most significant worldwide event for architectural education ever staged, with a 24/7 display of workshops, lectures and panel discussions involving some of the most prominent architects and educators. Here is an overview of the festival, together with a selection of lectures from Digital FUTURES World.
Through its manifesto, Digital FUTURES 2020 called upon leading figures in architecture, technology and architectural education to offer their time for the benefit of students all over the world, granting them access to a valuable learning experience, in an effort to democratize architectural education. Prestigious architectural schools around the world answered the call, including AA, UCL Bartlett, Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, SCI-Arc, UCLA, Tongji, ETH Zurich, ICD Stuttgart and many more. With over seventy contributors, the event features leading architects such as Thom Mayne, Wolf Prix, Peter Eisenman, Yansong Ma, Jenny Sabin, Patrik Schumacher, Achim Menges, or Liam Young to name a few.
