Day 1 August 16th, 2010
1. Designing the hybrid city 10:15 – 12:30
Speakers: XML Architecture Research Urbanism; Space & Matter architects; Ohyoon Kwon; MIT Senseable City Lab
In this session urban professionals show how new technologies can be employed in the design process. How is information gathered via digital technologies fed into the design process?
Technologies may also induce a shift in the relations between parties involved such as architects, clients, end users? ‘Design objectives’ may be rephrased: what are the idea(l)s about ‘a better city’ implicated in new design practices?
2. Everyday life in the hybrid city 13:30 – 15:30
Speakers: Jack Qiu, Christian van ’t Hof
How is the experience of everyday urban life changing with the rise of digital technologies? In this session ‘non-designer’ speakers present their insights of the hybrid city. Urban design not only means physically intervening. It starts with (and feeds back into) broader knowledge about urban life and its interrelations to new technologies. Speakers depart from different angles, focusing on user practices, specific techno-social situations, and understanding the city at large. The aim of this session is to (re)consider how participants can apply ‘non-designer’ knowledge into their professional practices.
3. Engaging the hybrid citizens 16:00 – 17:30
Speakers: Anne Nigten, Stefan Höffken & Vincent Rebers, Nikola Bojic
In this session the social side of urban life is key. Urban design is not just about the buildings and infrastructure (the hardware of the city), but also about the social life that takes place in these spaces. How can digital media be employed to engage citizens with each other or with the urban community at large? Can digital technologies be used to stimulate and strengthen a sense of ownership among urbanites? The aim of this session is to reflect on the potential of using technologies to engage people.
Day 2 August 17th, 2010
4. Self-expression in the hybrid city 10:15 – 12:00
Speakers: Polise De Marchi, Almar van der Krogt, Shuo Wang & Qing Wang (including a tour at the exhibition)
This session takes up yesterday’s question and looks at how urbanites employ digital technologies in presenting themselves and in ‘writing’ the city with their own experiences. One of the issues at stake is whether technologies stimulate meetings between people based on expressed similarities or on differences? Do people interact with others based on shared preferences or on some other principle?
5a. Working in the hybrid city 13:00 – 15:00
Speakers Liu Yan (Xindanwei), Isaac Mao
This session is about shifts in how people work in the hybrid city. The old idea(l) of ‘placeless’ telework has been superseded by various creative clusters centering around physical hotspots that might induce synergies. Increasingly, social networks play an important part in the organization of co-working practices of freelancers. The case of co-working community Xindanwei is taken as an example. Here, co-working is more than just sharing physical space together; it’s a new way to connect with other out-of-the-box thinkers and proactive doers, which makes work not only more creative and productive, but also a whole lot more fun for everybody. Are hybrid workspaces the future of work?
5b. ‘Picture this, Google Earth Live!’ 13:00 – 15:00 (workshop,max. 20 participants) Christian van ‘t Hof
What if data coming from mobiles, payment systems, camera’s and navigational devices are plotted live on a digital map? What kind of applications would you build if you were government, business or consumer organization? During this session participants will receive a brief explanation of the possibilities of GPS, RFID, GSM and other technologies used in the public space and how these technologies could provide live data on the Google Earth platform. Participants will develop their own application for users to navigate through the public space. These applications serve to start a debate on the societal aspects of smart environments: privacy, identity, empowerment and control.
6. Art in the hybrid city 15:30 – 17:00
Speakers include: Lu Leiping/Hipic, Karen Lancel & Hermen Maat , Li Zhenhua, Luis Hernández Galván
In this session artistic interventions in urban space are presented. What are the objectives of these interventions, and what role can artists and curators play in the shaping of the 21st century city?