Archinect - News

Megacities and the Future of Warfare

2017-05-15T00:14:00-04:00

The conclusions of the SSG research are clear: megacities are unavoidable, they are potentially the most challenging environment the Army has ever faced, and the Army is unprepared to operate in them...by 2030 there will be 662 cities around the world with at least one million inhabitants (compared to 512 today) and 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. The potential for operations in dense urban areas will rise correspondingly, presenting a challenge the Army cannot ignore.

Back in February, Maj. John Spencer made the case for why It's Time to Create a Megacities Combat Unit. A few days ago, he fleshed out the concept, by detailing "What would such a unit look like?"

Interesting to note, that rather than the more au courant image of a generic middle eastern/Arab city, the Major used a photo of Ho Chi Minh/Saigon for the essay published in Feb. Though the more recent essay, did use a photo of the rooftops in Cairo. Future mil-tech referenced includes; hover bikes, enhanced counter–unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) and soldiers skilled at Cyber Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA).

If you are interested in further U.S. Army Futures Ideation, check out SciTech Futures, where past exercises have explored everything from; Defending – and hacking – “Intelligent” buildings and Autonomous Infrastructure Destruction/Maintenance bots, to the simpler Crowd sourcing (of) innovation.

Architecture Won’t Save the World: “Tactical Urbanisms” at MoMA (...or will it?)

2014-11-26T14:18:00-05:00

“Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities” is, at least nominally, about urbanism and architecture. [...] The problems, not the solutions, presented in “Uneven Growth” are very real. Before Gadanho and his teams of architects, planners, and researchers can suggest productive solutions, they would do well to acknowledge that their fellow practitioners hold responsibility for the very state of urban affairs they seek to remedy.

Previously: MoMA's “Uneven Growth” case studies conclude with exhibition this month

MoMA's “Uneven Growth” case studies conclude with exhibition this month

2014-11-13T13:03:00-05:00

MoMA began its "Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities" initiative last year aiming to advance international discussion on disproportionate urban development and its potential consequences. To address this issue, six interdisciplinary teams spent 14 months in workshops designing proposals that investigate new architectural possibilities for six metropolises. Each case study will be exhibited to the public at MoMA starting on November 22.

But the discussion doesn't end there. MoMA also created a user-generated Tumblr that collects examples of emerging modes of tactical urbanism taking place in the six cities.

Here's a glimpse:

LAGOS
By NLÉ (Lagos, Nigeria and Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Zoohaus/Inteligencias Colectivas (Madrid, Spain)

HONG KONG
By MAP Office (Hong Kong, China)
Network Architecture Lab (Columbia University, New York, U.S.)

ISTANBUL
By Superpool (Istanbul, Turkey)
Atelier d’Architecture Autogérée (Paris, France)

MUMBAI
By URBZ: user-generated cities (Mumbai, India)
Ensamble Studio/MIT-POPlab (Madrid, Spain and Cambridge, U.S.)

RIO DE JANEIRO
By RUA Arquitetos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
MAS Urban Design at ETH (Zurich, Switzerland)

NEW YORK
By SITU Studio (New York, U.S.)
Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) (Rotterdam, Netherlands AND New York, U.S.)

For further details and images from each case study, head over to Bustler.

MoMA’s “Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities” to launch Oct. 26

2013-10-24T20:23:00-04:00

MoMA will launch the first workshop for "Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities" starting Saturday, Oct. 26 at MoMA PS1 in New York City.

In this workshop series, six interdisciplinary teams will propose innovative ways of how to perceive urban growth as a response to the disproportional expansion and its potential consequences in six of the world's metropolises. The workshops will also open these pressing issues to public discussion.

The proposals will then be exhibited at the MoMA PS1 in November 2014, the second phase of the Uneven Growth initiative.

More details from the MoMA press release:

"The Museum of Modern Art announces a 14-month initiative to examine new architectural possibilities that address the rapid and uneven growth of six global metropolises: New York, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, Lagos, Hong Kong, and Istanbul. Organized by Pedro Gadanho, Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megac...