Course summary

For the last 17 years the Emergent Technologies and Design (EmTech) programme has been open to graduates in architecture and engineering who wish to develop skills and pursue knowledge in an architectural design science located in new production paradigms. This year we will continue to investigate new synergies of architecture and ecology through the critical intersection of computational design and fabrication. Our focus is on the experiential and social potential of new material and spatial configurations for architectural and ecological urban systems situated in the dynamic contexts of emerging biomes. The programme is designed to stimulate critical thinking through the experience of research-driven design projects that are developed in an intellectually rigorous and creative studio environment. Our projects are pursued in multiple iterations - as hypotheses, to material and computational experimentation, to robotic fabrication and evaluation. At the same time students reflect on this work in presentations and group discussions throughout the year, and analyse their findings in scientifically structured papers.