Envisioning Responses to Climate Change: COP28

This is one of a series of talks in the School of Art, Design and Architecture to mark our contribution to addressing the challenge of climate change. These events are timed to run in parallel with the COP28 conference, taking place in Dubai.

We will have talks from artists, filmmakers and architects who are engaging with COP themes and give valuable insights and research projects that inform a green transition.

All the projects in some way create new ways to envision or re-imagine our relationship with our material world and provide impactful outcomes as to how we transition to new ways of inhabiting our world.

The events are scheduled over a number of days and all are welcome to attend either one or single events.

Talk

Alejandro will talk about his research on digital fabrication of housing building elements to address local challenges through place-based and multidimensional ‘systems thinking’ challenges. The project aims to prompt discussion and exchange beyond housing stock into environmental, social and material issues surrounding communities’ envisioning of local futures. The project will support Bridport’s transition towards a greener and more inclusive community housing delivery plan by stimulating place-based co-creation methodologies with designers, builders, local communities, and supply chain stakeholders involved in housing delivery.

About:

I am interested in digital architectural innovation, with an emphasis on responsible social/inclusive innovation, digital fabrication, and virtual/extended reality. My work has been presented and published internationally, with research funding from AHRC, ESRC, EPSRC and Research England, and networks of industry and academic partners in Chile, UK, Italy and Australia (see "Research" for details of projects and publications). I am a trained architect (Chile) with 15 years of experience in research, teaching and leadership in HE. I am Associate Professor in Digital Design, Associate Head of School of Art, Design and Architecture (Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise), and programme lead for MA Architectural Design. Currently I supervise doctoral candidates in multiple areas of digital design and innovation, including Architecture, Digital Arts, and Arts and Media. Their projects investigate the value of digital design and innovation to social and creative settings, and follow action research and participatory approaches in areas such as healthcare, nature-based solutions, and community economies.

Co-creating rural building futures: The Bridport Living Lab