Archinect - News

Architects would do well to apply lessons from philosophy in the age of AI, says Nayef Al-Rodhan

2024-07-01T17:39:00-04:00

New AI architecture tools will, in the short term, make good design affordable and accessible. But AI will still fall short when it comes to understanding human nature as well our emotional and dignity needs. Dignity means much more than just the absence of humiliation. It also requires recognition, manifested through nine critical human needs: reason, security, human rights, accountability, transparency, justice, opportunity, innovation, and inclusiveness.

"Looking to the future, tomorrow’s architects will need to be equipped with transdisciplinary tools such as Neuro-Techno-Philosophy, a framework I have introduced to understand the AI-neuroscience-philosophy nexus underpinning our society today," Oxford University's Nayef Al-Rodhan argues in a new treatise on the uses of academic philosophy in today's AI-driven design field. "Doing so will help ensure that the buildings of the future are in tune with our neurobiological predilections, neurobehavioral needs, aspirations and values for collective peace and prosperity."

Architecture is at a critical juncture as disruptive technology is remaking the industry wholesale. A litany of issues (housing justice, etc.) worldwide nonetheless commands its attention. As Foucault famously said in the 1970s, society "must be defended."

Plans for a new humanities center and concert hall at Oxford University have been unveiled

2021-07-09T17:37:00-04:00

Designs for a brand new concert hall at Oxford University have been unveiled, adding an elegant new music venue to the centuries-old campus thanks to a £150 million ($209 million) gift.

The proposed new Stephen A. Schwarzman Center for the Humanities has three distinct performance spaces varying in size and is currently undergoing a second public consultation on the new building’s design before plans are formally submitted to Oxford City Council in the fall.

Images courtesy Oxford University public consultation

Hopkins Architects are behind the scheme for the new concert hall, which will have separate 500-, 250-, and 100-seat spaces and will provide a much-needed upgrade to the existing venues on campus, of which some can recall fondly performances from bygone luminaries such as Handel.

The Center will also serve as the new home for Oxford’s history and humanities faculties. Furthermore, it will feature a dedicated humanities library and new Institute for Ethics in AI, forming an ove...

Justin Garrett Moore to join Mellon Foundation to "widen the range of complex public storytelling"

2020-12-03T14:01:00-05:00

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation today announced Justin Garrett Moore as the inaugural program officer for its new Humanities in Place program area. He will join the Foundation on December 16, 2020.

According to the Foundation, the Humanities in Place program "seeks to bring a variety of histories and voices into public, media, museum, and memorial spaces, widening the range of complex public storytelling." Moore will lead the effort, also partnering with the Foundation's president to shape and lead the Foundation's Monuments Project, which is a five year, $250 million commitment to reshape the US's commemorative landscape.

"Justin’s design and planning work is generous, creative, and geared toward impact. His work has resulted in truly transformative public spaces," said Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander in a statement. "He is an innovative, collaborative designer and educator who prioritizes the power of public design to help solve major challenges. I look forward to...

International debate over the new definition of "museum"

2019-08-20T18:30:00-04:00

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) will vote on a new definition of museums in September. The proposed change includes language about “social justice, global equality and planetary wellbeing.” Critics say the text is too political for most museums to employ.

After almost 50 years of consensus, the definition of the museum as "a nonprofit institution” that “acquires, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment," is being challenged.

The new definition "would incorporate mention of 'human dignity and social justice,'" reports Hyperallergic. This has caused intense debate amongst members of the ICOM. Jette Sandahl, the leader of the commission proposing the new definition and pushing for a more modern "language of the 21st century," has received consistent backlash.

Critics have said that the proposal is an "ideological manifesto" with "over inflated verbiage." Professor François Mairesse of the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and the chair of the International Committee of Museology, told Art Newspaper, "A definition is a simple and precise sentence characterizing an object, and this is not a definition but a stateme...

Sir David Adjaye to receive Washington University International Humanities Prize

2018-09-05T16:36:00-04:00

The building tells a story.

It begins underground, in somber galleries recounting slavery’s brutality. It spirals upward, through the Civil War and segregation, into sun-drenched spaces recounting the civil rights era and Black Lives Matter. It’s a tale of challenges faced and works yet to be accomplished.

Since opening in 2016, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, designed by British architect Sir David Adjaye, has become arguably the nation’s most prestigious, acclaimed and beloved new structure.

On Oct. 29, Adjaye will receive the 2018 International Humanities Prize from Washington University in St. Louis.

Granted biennially, the prize honors the lifetime work of a noted scholar, writer or artist who has made a significant and sustained contribution to the world of letters or the arts. Previous winners include Orhan Pamuk (2006), Michael Pollan (2008), Francine Prose (2010), Ken Burns (2012), Marjorie Perloff (2014) and Bill T. Jones (2016).

Smit...

NEH announces $13.2 million in grants for cultural infrastructure

2018-08-10T18:04:00-04:00

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has just announced $13.2 million in grants for cultural infrastructure. 29 U.S. cultural institutions were awarded with matching grants including libraries, museums, archives, colleges, universities, historic sites, scholarly associations, and other cultural institutions which build institutional capacity for long-term sustainability. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation was among those awarded, receiving a grant of $576,106.

A tool to digitally analyze Frank Lloyd Wright’s floorplans among the recipients from $12.8M in NEH grants

2017-12-15T20:45:00-05:00

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently awarded several grants in support of preservation of collections at small institutions, innovative digital projects for the public, and advanced humanities research. Among the many awarded projects was a new tool which uses digital analysis of architectural floor plans to show change over time in works by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Here are all the awarded architecture related grants:

"A two-year faculty and curricular development project at Tuskegee University to integrate humanities study and architectural training."

"The purchase and installation of environmental monitoring equipment to aid in the preservation of collections housed at Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona - modern historic homes designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright."

"A program to involve 32 teens from minority and low-income groups in the study of the architectural history of Chicago's neighborhoods."

"The continue...

A Liberal Education: Tom Wiscombe on Archinect Sessions One-to-One #14

2016-03-07T17:00:00-05:00

Architect and educator Tom Wiscombe has made major inroads as SCI-Arc's BArch chair to establish a stronger connection to the humanities and critical theory in architecture education, founding the school's Liberal Arts Program last year and bringing in contemporary philosophers and theorists to spark new dialogues. We discuss his role in the southern Californian architecture culture (particularly in regards to MOCA's 2013 New Sculpturalism show), how he prioritizes theory in architectural practice and education, and his ongoing Main Museum of Los Angeles project in the city's enlivened downtown.

Listen to One-to-One #14 with Tom Wiscombe:

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Special thanks to UCLA for helping coordinate the interview, after Tom gave his Distingui...