Master in City & Technology Second Year 2019/21
Seminar Name: Research & Methods // Cosmogrammes – Dealing with Complexity in the Age of Anthropocene Workshop
Faculty: Mireia Luzárraga

Credits: Cosmogramme on zero waste.
M. Bonvehí, N. Oliver, M. Solà, M. Vallès
Teacher: Mireia Luzárraga

The scope of architecture nowadays goes beyond the interest on light, space, aesthetics and composition. Affairs such as climate change, the oil crisis and the beginning of Anthropocene require from architects to include wider range of parameters into the design and construction processes, in a scenario where architecture is responsible for 80% of the CO2 emissions.
A great diversity of agents (climatic, regulational, technological, institutional, ecological, transportational, molecular, human, non-human…), controversities and the relationship between them take part on the contemporaneous architectural practice. The media that we are going to use in order to map this complexity will be a Cosmogramme which is a graphic visual representation of the controversies, agents and information that take part on a certain topic, that can unveal relationships that we are not used to connect otherwise. A cosmogramme can host also a multiplicity of graphic information such as images, texts, arrows, news, drawings…

Credits: Cosmogramme on Acceleracionism
J. Marsol, D. Bonpart
Teacher: Mireia Luzárraga

Learning Objectives

At course completion the student will:
– have an approach to the contemporaneous ecology thinking
– read and understand a complex system that calls a multiplicity of agents.
– use design as a tool for creating a healthier, more inclusive environment, taking into account many diferent inputs.

Faculty

Mireia Luzárraga is co-Founder of TAKK, a space for architectural production based in Barcelona and Madrid focused in the development of experimental and speculative material practices in the intersection between nature and culture in the contemporary framework.

TAKKs work has been showed in international events such as the Venice Architecture Bienale 2014, and 2018 (IT), the Orléans Architecture Biennale 2017 and 2019 (FR), the Rabat Bienale 2019 (MA), the Porto Bienale 2019 0(PT), the San Sebastian Architectural Biennale 2017 (ES), and the Oslo Architecture Triennale 2016 (NO) among others. Part of their work belongs to the permanent collection of FRAC Centre Val de Loire (FR). They have lectured and workshoped internationally in places such as Columbia (New York), Inda (Bangkok), Floating University (Berlin), ETSAM (Madrid), among many others. Theiur work has been widely published in Magazins, books ans presss, and they have been awarded with pricez such as the FAD award on architecture (2011).

Additionally to her profesional practice Mireia Luzárraga teaches at Universidad de Alicante, BAU (Barcelona) and IAAC (Barcelona). They have also taught at UIC (Barcelona) and IED (Madrid).