JOHN FRAZER

Accelerating Architecture: The Art and Science of Autotectonics

CHRISTMAS LECTURE SERIES 2005 for the INVISIBLE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

The lecture series is now over, but it has been recorded and videoed and will be the basis of a book and hopefully a film as well.

Many thanks to Alison and Vanessa for filming and Will for recording.

Sam Hardingham is now doing the hard work editing John’s ramblings into intelligible written English for the book and Alison is editing the film material.

Book to be published early in the new year.

Watch this space for announcements about the film.

There may be an abridged version of the lecture series early next year.

Accelerating Architecture: The Art and Science of Autotectonics

The environmental and social imperatives for a self-organizing architecture

New roles for the Citizen, the Architect, Construction, the Computer and the Environment

EXP (Research Centre for Experimental Practice) is delighted to present the first Invisible University Christmas Lecture Series. Globe-trotting academic Professor John Frazer will deliver, seven public lectures over five days from
Monday 12th to Friday 16th December 2005, 10.30 to 12.00 noon at the University of Westminster.

The lectures will present for the first time in its entirety, the new discipline of AUTOTECTONICS as devised by Professor Frazer. Autotectonics is the art and science of designing and creating self-generating, self-organizing and self-sustaining systems interacting and evolving with the users in conjunction with the natural forces of the environment and enabled by massive computer power and artificial intelligence.  It is a radical re-think of architecture, not a new style, but a new approach to the way that we design our future built environment.  As with all new disciplines it requires new roles, new tools, new social and political attitudes, and new economic and educational models.

The urgent need for such a radical reappraisal of our design culture is driven by the impending environmental, political and social crisis that urgently faces the planet as a result of unbridled energy consumption. The largest industry in the world is construction, consuming 50% of the world’s energy in building, demolition, heating, cooling, lighting and power.  As global concerns about energy compound there is an increasing requirement for the design of new energy efficient buildings that are socially responsible in construction and operation and arise out of a design and planning process that engages people.

Autotectonics is a proposal for how we might urgently address these most pressing issues of our time. To get us started in the field, the fundamental elements of the discipline will be fully described over the five days; from new definitions for designer and client, to new relationships with nature and the computer.

Professor Frazer is renowned world-wide for relating and testing his hypotheses with imagination, tireless enthusiasm and a captivating seriousness of purpose. Be prepared for a wholesale redefinition of all preconceptions of what architecture is capable of and what we might come to expect of a future building industry.

Monday 12 December

Lecture 1          Introduction: Autotectonics   (short introductory half lecture)

Lecture 2          The Citizen’s Tale

Tuesday 13 December

Lecture 3          The Architect’s Tale

Wednesday 14 December

Lecture 4          The Building’s Tale

Thursday 15 December

Lecture 5          The Computer’s Tale

Friday 16 December

Lecture 6          The Environment’s Tale

Lecture 7          The Integrated Model    (short concluding half lecture)