KINE[SIS]TEM'17 From Nature to Architectural Matter

Kine[SiS]tem – From Kinesis + System. Kinesis is a non-linear movement or activity of an organism in response to a stimulus. A system is a set of interacting and interdependent agents forming a complex whole, delineated by its spatial and temporal boundaries, influenced by its environment. How can architectural systems moderate the external environment to enhance comfort conditions in a simple, sustainable and smart way? This is the starting question for the Kine[SiS]tem’17 – From Nature to Architectural Matter International Conference. For decades, architectural design was developed despite (and not with) the climate, based on mechanical heating and cooling. Today, the argument for net zero energy buildings needs very effective strategies to reduce energy requirements. The challenge ahead requires design processes that are built upon consolidated knowledge, make use of advanced technologies and are inspired by nature. These design processes should lead to responsive smart systems that deliver the best performance in each specific design scenario. To control solar radiation is one key factor in low-energy thermal comfort. Computational-controlled sensor-based kinetic surfaces are one of the possible answers to control solar energy in an effective way, within the scope of contradictory objectives throughout the year.FC

On Walking

Imagine the anatomy of architecture as a complex system, where the form is the result of generative processes, the material properties of the components, and their patterns of assembly. Within this paradigm, surface is that part of the system which exchanges energy, information, and materials with the local environment. How does human occupation of a space offer energy, information, or material to the system-building, and how can the surface best vector these exchanges? Walking could represent human occupation in this context. I choose my walker’s lineage and declare my interest, as an architect, in empathetic space. I explore the history of bipedalism, of the path as an architectural object, and of the sciences, philosophies and poetries of walkers. And I browse through contemporary architectural discourse pertaining to emergent design methodologies. Along the way, I test my proposal in two experiments: one complete, and one in progress..

Between God and beast: An examination of the ethical and political ideas of the poet, Pindar; the historian, Thucydides; and the philosopher, Aristotle.

Through an analysis of the work of the poet, Pindar, the historian, Thucydides, and the philosopher, Aristotle, this thesis builds on the conception of man as a creature between god and beast in an attempt to develop a sense of the kinds of thought and language that are appropriate for political theorising. It discusses an understanding of political theory that is based on the human capacity for reasonable, creative action. In this, it opposes another model of political theorising, one that has been collapsed under a scientific model that judges itself successful only when it yields precise and definitive answers to dilemmas that grow out of a contingent and indeterminate world. I have argued that man's good, his potential to become a responsible and flourishing actor, is realised through attentive and reflective political experience. This experience is not 'raw', acquired alone by passively 'absorbing' whatever man perceives to be the case in pursuit of his individual whims. It is instead guided, shared, interpreted, evaluated, and demanding. The texts I have chosen serve to supplement direct political experience. Pindar's odes - their elliptical language and use of metaphor, their juxtaposition of seemingly mutually exclusive characteristics in men - demand effort on the part of an audience/reader to cultivate the capacity to derive meaning from culturally-situated complex ideas and images. Thucydides' description of the war through a 'fragmented' perspective, his examples of the kinds of reasoning that precede decisions, point to a perspective that seems to argue that agents should develop the kind of character that can creatively balance a general conception of what man is as a species with the relevant concrete details of a situation and proceed to act accordingly. That man is a species with a fixed good is one of Aristotle's fundamental assumptions, and leads to his conviction that ethics and politics are inherently imprecise. I discuss how he defends this position and its consequences as elaborated in the Nicomachean Ethics and Politics. I then attempt to show how what he has to say in the Poetics realises and supplements his ethical and political goals. The Poetics indicates that men must learn to extract sound generalisations by drawing inferences from disparate actions, to transform mistakes into valuable aspects of life, and be able to carve out the proper, dynamic, realm of responsibility. This generates a conception of man whose good goes beyond mere preference satisfaction but instead grows out of a reasonable (general) sense of what he is which can be used creatively in the specific (concrete) circumstances he confronts

Risking lives: Smart borders, private interests and AI policy in Europe

Recent years have seen huge investment in, and advancement of, technologically aided border controls, from biometric databases for identification to unmanned drones for external border surveillance. Data infrastructures and Artificial Intelligence (AI), often from private providers, are playing an increasingly pivotal role in attempts to predict, prevent and control often illegalised mobility into and across Europe. At the same time, the European Union is in the final stages of negotiating and adopting a final text of the proposed AI act, the inaugural EU legislation designed to establish comprehensive protections and safeguards with regards to the development, application and use of AI technology. This report explores and interrogates the interplay between smart borders, private interests, and policy surrounding AI within Europe. It does so to make apparent how the concept of ‘risk’ is integral to the advancement of smart border controls, while concurrently providing the framework for the governance of data infrastructures and AI. This highlights how AI is both embedded within and entrenching particular approaches to migration controls. To understand the relationship between smart borders, private interests and AI policy, we explore four components of smart borders in Europe: the development of ‘Fortress Europe’ in terms of securitisation, militarisation, and externalisation; technology used in smart borders; funding and profits; and AI policy. The report demonstrates that the concept of ‘risk’ in the context of migration and AI is used as both a legitimisation and regulatory tool. On the one hand, we see risk used to legitimise the ongoing investment in and development of hi-tech surveillance and AI at the border to prevent illegalised migrants from reaching European territory. Here, illegalised migrants are portrayed as a security issue and threat to Europe. On the other hand, the language of risk is also adopted as a regulatory tool to categorise AI applications within the AI act. Within these policy developments, we maintain that it is essential to include an exploration of the role of private defence and security companies and, as we investigate, their lobbying activities throughout the development of the AI act. These companies stand to make huge profits from the development of smart, securitised borders, seen as the answer to the problem of ‘risky’ migrants. From this, we end by considering the extent to which the AI act fails to benefit and protect those most affected by the harmful effects of smart borders

Our Mythical Hope

Classical Antiquity is a particularly important field in terms of “Hope studies” […]. For centuries, the ancient tradition, and classical mythology in particular, has been a common reference point for whole hosts of creators of culture, across many parts of the world, and with the new media and globalization only increasing its impact. Thus, in our research at this stage, we have decided to study how the authors of literary and audiovisual texts for youth make use of the ancient myths to support their young protagonists (and readers or viewers) in crucial moments of their existence, on their road into adulthood, and in those dark hours when it seems that life is about to shatter and fade away. However, if Hope is summoned in time, the crisis can be overcome and the protagonist grows stronger, with a powerful uplifting message for the public. […] Owing to this, we get a chance to remain true to our ideas, to keep faith in our dreams, and, when the decisive moment comes, to choose not hatred but love, not darkness but light. Katarzyna Marciniak, University of Warsaw, From the introductory chapte

Our Mythical Hope

Classical Antiquity is a particularly important field in terms of “Hope studies” […]. For centuries, the ancient tradition, and classical mythology in particular, has been a common reference point for whole hosts of creators of culture, across many parts of the world, and with the new media and globalization only increasing its impact. Thus, in our research at this stage, we have decided to study how the authors of literary and audiovisual texts for youth make use of the ancient myths to support their young protagonists (and readers or viewers) in crucial moments of their existence, on their road into adulthood, and in those dark hours when it seems that life is about to shatter and fade away. However, if Hope is summoned in time, the crisis can be overcome and the protagonist grows stronger, with a powerful uplifting message for the public. […] Owing to this, we get a chance to remain true to our ideas, to keep faith in our dreams, and, when the decisive moment comes, to choose not hatred but love, not darkness but light. Katarzyna Marciniak, University of Warsaw, From the introductory chapte

Spanish pavilion : 17th International Architecture Exhibition

Catálogo publicado con motivo de la celebración de la Bienal de Arquitectura celebrada en Venecia del 22 de mayo al 21 de noviembre de 202

Illinois Classical Studies v.19 1994: Studies in Honor of Miroslav Marcovich (vol. 2)

published or submitted for publicatio