Classes

4.s37 UG | 4.s33 G

This is an incredible opportunity to dive into the basics of biomimicry and natural algorithms in computational design and artificial life. Prior programming or modeling software experience is not needed. Advanced folks will be accommodated on an individual project-based track. Students learn about the cultural and visual implications of automation and biotechnological advancements driven by computational technology, exploring their aesthetic significance through the analysis of data and algorithms.  

This course is designed as a beginner's guide to ethical solutions to design problems in computational design and data concerning nature through visualization and art. It is structured to be accessible and considerate of the broader impact of design decisions on communities, society, and culture. Students will receive a low-level, beginner-friendly introduction to the basics of data visualization in processing and Python, biomimicry, agent-based systems in Grasshopper visual coding, and C# and animation in Maya.

• Learning Objectives/Pedagogy:
• Understand the historical context and evolution of data visualization, biomimicry, and Artificial life as an art form.
• Explore the ethical considerations and social implications of data visualization, biomimicry, and Artificial life.
• Acquire practical skills and techniques for creating bio-inspired artworks.
• Engage in critical discussions on the intersection of art and biology.
• Collaborate with peers to develop innovative data-based projects.
• Analyze and interpret databases from various perspectives.
• Develop a strong foundation for future research in data visualization, biomimicry, and Artificial life.

MIT Certificate Protected Syllabus

Considers the multiple trade-offs at various abstraction levels and scales when designing complex, multi-component systems. Covers topics from foundational principles to advanced applications, emphasizing the role of compositional thinking in engineering. Introduces category theory as a mathematical framework for abstraction and composition, enabling a unified and modular approach to modeling, analyzing, and designing interconnected systems. Showcases successful applications in areas such as dynamical systems and automated system design optimization, with a focus on autonomous robotics and mobility. Offers students the opportunity to work on their own application through a dedicated project in the second half of the term. 

Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

Decolonial Ecologies examines the relationship between political ecology, architecture, and processes of (de)colonization. Students critically interrogate histories and futures of (de)colonization and evaluate theories of political ecology and architecture. Following Stefanie K. Dunning's invocation "May our egos die so that the world may live," this seminar asks, how can we continually transform our praxis on a personal and structural level to create the possibility and space for decolonial ecologies? And most importantly, whose imaginations are presently shaping our collective futures?

Weekly themes include architecture in the avant-apocalypse, origin myths of the state, the allure of abstraction, evolutionary materialism, epistemology and political ecologies of production, homo economicus v. homo reciprocans, growth and the trophic structure of the economy, accelerationism, the 'dark enlightenment,' and the cult of intelligence. For their final projects, students will be asked to produce original interdisciplinary scholarship or creative work. 

Open for cross-registration. And open to undergraduates with instructor’s permission.

MIT Certificate Protected Syllabus

Program of research and writing of thesis; to be arranged by the student with supervising committee. 

Designed for students writing a thesis in Urban Studies and Planning or Architecture. Develop research topics, review relevant research and scholarship, frame research questions and arguments, choose an appropriate methodology for analysis, and draft introductory and methodology sections.

Program of thesis research leading to the writing of an SB thesis. Intended for seniors. Twelve units recommended.