“Move to Detroit” Call for Projects

ACSA invites project submissions under the following 8 thematic session topics + additional open sessions. Authors may submit only one project per topic. The same project may not be submitted to multiple topics. Projects should be submitted in relation to one of the following topic areas:

• Architecture in an Expanded Field, from Interiors to Landscapes  | Scholarship and design-based investigations situated at the architectural scale often slip toward the space of the room or the expanse of the site.  Indeed some of the most often studied projects of recent years operate within this larger field of space making.  This topic seeks to provide a home for work beyond the precise scale of the building.
• Building Behaviors  Climate change has led to an elevated interest in the sustainability and behaviors of buildings, particularly related to energy usage. In addition, lighting, acoustical responsiveness and structural stability are increasingly at the foreground of public interest.
• Design Research in the Studio Context   The studio is the traditional core of the architecture school. The 1996 Boyer Report on architectural education described it as the “holy of holies” of architectural education: “these studios scruffy though they may be are models for creative learning that others on campus might well think about.” Since the Boyer report was written design has become a hot trans-disciplinary phenomenon, putting the architecture studio in an enviable position relative to our peers in the academy. This topic might include research done on the design studio or research done in the design studio.
• History/Theory  Scholarship on historic architects, settings, periods and themes occurs in a variety of research modalities. In addition ideas of design epistemology are often reflected in essays falling under this broad rubric.
• Housing  As the planet’s population grows it becomes increasingly imperative that housing effectively provide appropriate shelter with reduced means. Housing research varies from historic and emerging typologies to urban and social concerns to evolving family types, all set in a global arena of cultural confluences.  Research and design projects in all these areas are encouraged.
• Materials  In recent years the convergence of new manufacturing processes and new materials has led to a proliferation of material studies with spatial, economic and societal implications. In addition, traditional materials and their methods of fabrication continue to hold interest for researchers and offer new information to the construction industry.
• Media Investigations  Theories and practices of media and representation, ranging from historic drawing techniques to contemporary digital modalities, are critical to the production of architectural ideas. Scholars and designers often focus their inquiries on this key link in the design process.
• Urbanism  Designers and scholars study and engage the differences between private and public, individual and societal spaces, incorporating buildings and public space in a variety of scales and densities within an increasingly global context. Two well-developed research trajectories are smart growth and new urbanism, and we solicit posters from our members working in these areas. In addition, we are seeking proposals that redefine architecture, urban design, city planning, and life in the cyber-age, in unexpected terms. We recognize that positions taken today may be located on the periphery of the architectural discourse but are poised to make a significant impact tomorrow.
• Open  Submission will accommodate promising research posters that do not fall into any of above areas.