HUMAN (original) (raw)

ROUSING THE DARK HORSE: Enacting Social Action

An interdisciplinary investigation of relations between creativity and constructions of identity, experimental performance in film and theatre, collaborative discourse and social action. The work describes how problem-solving strategies and internal resources that I name collectively as Adaptivism have shaped my creative methods in community art, as well as provided a theoretical base for explicating critical junctions between performance, affect and performativity.

Infrastructures of the Imagination: Community Design for Speculative Urban Technologies

Recent speculative and critical design practices may critique the dominant socio-cultural assumptions of technologies, but often lack diversity and participatory input outside the privileged realm of academic and professional designers. This paper investigates the process and potential of designing speculative futures with local communities, in order to collectively imagine technology that serves a common good and reinforces local identity. This study reflects on the "Sankofa City" project, a three-month community-university collaboration based in a historically black neighborhood in South Los Angeles. The project utilized design fiction scenario videos and collages to present provocative design concepts to local stakeholder meetings and the general public. This paper analyzes the methodology and outcomes of co-designing emerging technologies (such as augmented reality and self-driving cars) in order to establish "infrastructures of the imagination " for long-term strategies and alternative cultural models of innovation.

From an Agora to a Trojan Horse.

The possibility of expanding the Habermasian public sphere by combining modern mediated virtual spheres with traditionally place-bounded arenas of meeting and interaction.

Citizen’s words are not just idle talk: Collecting stories for giving ground to the project

2009

This paper is concerned about the way we approach a project on ordinary urban spaces. Changing such spaces takes more than just a clear political vision guided by a strong architectural design. The people are already there, settled; The place is a palimpsest of buildings and personal stories. We make the hypothesis that better design needs to take the existing condition into account. Giving an account of the place and its inhabitants can help reaching it. This story telling of the genius loci is both singular and plural. It gives an account of social practices, ambiances, history(ies). It mixes past, present and future. It gives voice to the ordinary citizens in the same way as it does to the politicians or the urban managers. We make the hypothesis that hybridizing techniques and expertise from practical and research fields in architecture/urban design can help developing a project. Many methods coming from research world can be adapted to urban design: “commented visits”, observat...