COURSE SECTION DESCRIPTION:wild: uncontrolled, passionately eager or enthusiastic, going beyond normal or conventional bounds Imagine a neighborhood where artists could come from all over the world to paint images and depict stories over every available architectural surface. People would be free to share their wild ideas – aspirational political leanings, as-yet-to-be ideas for new futures, vibrant and randomized geometries, and written scripts and texts for all to take in. Like a Jorge Luis Borges map that is precisely the same size as the territory it represents, this conglomeration of artistic coverings would literally delineate an impossibly large three-dimensional painting that is occupied by the city’s inhabitants and visitors. Unlike a museum and more like an electronic game, this setting would not be frozen in time, but instead could be refreshed continually: an urban environment that never stops recreating the image of itself. In this setting, what might the role for architects and architecture be? Should buildings exist as a background only – a neutral canvas that supports painterly expression? Or can we imagine a mixed-media dialog where architecture becomes equally part of the art experience? This neighborhood in fact exists and will be our site this semester. The Wynwood Arts District is a former industrial neighborhood that is emerging as one of the most vibrant hubs of the city of Miami. Attracting visitors from around the world to explore and photograph its internationally renowned street scene, this edgy part of the city is home to the highest concentration of street art in the U.S. It is not an exaggeration to observe that painted murals visually layer every building: a 3-dimensional recursive canvas that evolves as its surfaces are continually worked on. The combined effect is an urban setting that never stops changing.

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