The MAK FUTURE LAB, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy invites to a panel discussion.

Admission free

Smart surfaces and mobile walls that automatically adjust to the needs of the inhabitants, or that regulate indoor climates like a living skin—such things already exist today, at least as prototypes. The networked home, in which machines and objects communicate intelligently with each other, is a frequent topic of discussion under the heading “Internet of Things.”

“As virtual systems become spatialised, our cities are being transformed into the so-called ‛Internet of Things’ (IoT). The inanimate physical environment is increasingly associated with digital layers: code married to matter, physical brick to virtual bit. The city is becoming a physical companion to Big Data, even as the urban infrastructure allows for digital information to proliferate. […] In this robotics-driven living experience, buildings will not appear as pieces of machinery or equipment, but rather as extensions of the lives of the subjects who inhabit them. They will provide environments in which more and more dimensions will be customisable, engaging our senses and resonating with our moods.” (Carlo Ratti in the catalog to the exhibition Hello, Robot. Design between Human and Machine)

Participants:
Christina Chiardullo RA, Architect, MARS ICE HOUSE
Rudolf Giffinger, Professor at the Department of Spatial Development and Infrastructure & Environmental Planning, TU Wien
Jeffrey Montes, Designer, Space Architect; co-author, MARS ICE HOUSE
Alexander Reben, Artist, Roboticist
Bruce Sterling, Science Fiction Author
Jasmina Tešanović, Author, Filmmaker, Activist

Moderator:
Andreas Rumpfhuber, Architect, Architectural Theorist

The event is taking place on the occasion of the VIENNA BIENNALE 2017: Robots. Work. Our Future (21 Jun – 1 Oct 2017).

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The MAK FUTURE LAB is a creative laboratory founded by the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art. Through workshops, lectures, panel discussions, and other formats the MAK FUTURE LAB generates interdisciplinary contributions to a humane shaping and utilization of Digital Modernity. It positions design, architecture, and fine art as driving forces of socially, ecologically, culturally, and economically sustainable market economy models. Through diverse cooperations, it networks these creative sectors with the fields of science, research, business, and politics. The MAK FUTURE LAB aspires to develop both holistic orientation models and strategies for the commons inspired by such models, as well as concrete, innovative business ideas for the future.