Description

Parametric Places 2016: DATA Making + PUBLIC Space

Time and Location:    Winter 2016; T + TH, 2:00- 3:50pm, LA 279

Instructor:   Philip Speranza, speranza@uoregon.edu

In association with the UIxD Urban Interactions Lab

PURPOSE

How do we measure the city today? How do we measure built and social phenomena? At what scales?

Grasshopper plugins ELK, Mosquito, Human, Firefly and other media provide new ways to collection, analyze and visualize include urban processes. Methods using these tools support the inclusion of social qualities of cities in drawings that are: 1) systematic; 2) experiential and 3) open to allow custom formulation.

The research method taught in this class will investigate the off-site and on-site use of data using Rhino Grasshopper, plugins and custom scripts. These tools will be integrated with mobile technology to measure on-site phenomena, codify this qualitative information and create a customized urban design tool. These tools will not be seen as singular design solutions but rather as design agents that combine human and non-human authorship (Manuel De Landa 2008) (Bruno Latour 2005). Unlike GIS software ESRI ArcGIS and ESRI City Engine, the use of custom Grasshopper scripts allow the simultaneous analysis and synthesis of new custom data for design simulation. Students will design urban interventions at the scale of public space in Eugene or Barcelona.

Part I of the course will investigate urban design and computation in Eugene and Barcelona. Students will study various scales of urban design and learn various parametric urban design skills to integration various new and existing datasets. Students will learn various ways to code qualitative information including various forms of social integration data.

Part II of the course will allow students to develop an analytical approach using data collection in Eugene to measure social phenomena and other information that affects the health of our communities. Students will work in groups of two to measure in-situ data using Rhino Grasshopper with ELK, HUMAN and other plugins. Students are encouraged to use this media elective project as a research tool for studio, terminal studio and other course work.

Students projects from this course since 2010 have been  presented and published at: ACADIA Cincinnati 2015, ACADIA LA 2014; EU City, Architecture and Information Sustainable Places 2014 Conference in Nice, France; SIM Sustainable Intelligent Manufacturing 2013 in Lisbon and the Journal of Urban Design Special Issue on Pedagogy.

There will be an opportunity extend projects via the independent study or Barcelona Urban Design Summer Program.

*Basic knowledge of Rhino Grasshopper is required. Readings, media exercises and urban design methods will occur in lectures, workshops and online. http://www.lcabcn2015uo.wordpress.com, http://blogs.uoregon.edu/523w15/