Map of Doom

“Progress and catastrophe are the opposite sides of the same coin.” — Hannah Arendt

Studio rationale

The impending catastrophe that humanity confronts in the face of global warming can be attributed to one single originary cause: late-capitalism and its doctrine of ‘continuous growth.’ In this context, however—in which scientific evidence is widely available—humanity is surprisingly still dormant. Evidence of this affirmation is the lack of compromise shown by our political representation, as well as by our limited capacity to participate in sustained forms of collective action. Arguably, this is the result of what theorist Mark Fisher called “capitalist realism,” but also of poor forms of global warming representation, which have largely failed to shock the public and mobilise people into action.

This studio offers the opportunity to learn how architecture can contribute to addressing this predicament, while exploring ways in which design can be exercised as a form of political commentary. While inviting students to understand architectural design as a process with open-ended results, the studio seeks to harness the discipline’s capacity to question and challenge the status quo. In times where the consequences of global warming seem irreversible, Map of Doom suggests that architecture can at least con- tribute to finding more effective ways to represent and communicate them.

Design process

The design process will follow a prescribed sequence of activities, from which students will create projects at different scales, pro grams, and locations. This process will be generative, starting with the observation, interpretation, re-enactment, and representation of scenes and locations extracted from Children of Men (2006), a film directed by Alfonso Cuarón that encapsulates some of the most significant effects of late-capitalist extremist ideology. Having designed individual projects based on the selected scenes, students will collaboratively assemble a map of the dystopian future that they have envisioned. In sum, Map of Doom will provide students with skills to respond to questions that include:

  • Beyond harnessing evident ‘design opportunities’ (e.g. Bjarke Ingels Group’s ‘The BIG-U’ project, etc.) are there any additional roles that architecture can play in the context of global warming?
  • Is architecture a political activity?
  • Can architecture express discontent, and thus stimulate forms of collective action?
  • Are there any productive correlations between architecture and other creative disciplines such as lm, literature, fine art, and music?