This is a vertical studio combining students in their second and third year of the MArch program with students in the MAAD program, and those in the final semesters of the undergraduate architecture program. The students may choose from a diverse range of options of study proposed by different faculty members. In general the studio options are grounded in a conceptual basis that invites theoretical and/or programmatic innovation. These studio options may vary from year to year.Architecture is a speculative act. We design in the present for a not yet fully known future. This might take the form neutral and adaptable floor plan layouts or systems of responsive tectonics. These flexibilities are designed to embrace the unknown, and are a form of built-in adaptive intelligence. Possible Futures will expand on a broader set of ideas to describe what we mean when we say ‘intelligent’. We will begin with simplified terms of engagement: intelligence is the ability to embrace changing conditions, with some form of autonomy aimed at productive goals. This studio will pursue a range of ideas for architecture to invite shifting input with non-fixity and openness. Added to the conversation will be ways that ‘humans + buildings’ working together provides the most resilient form of adaptability. When people and buildings interact, assumed hierarchies ‘for whom’ and ‘for what’ become blurred. In a movement called Metabolism, a group of likeminded young architects in 1970’s Japan also believed in architecture’s ability to learn from biologic systems, aimed specifically valuing impermanence and growth. The Nagakin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, one of the most important works of architecture from this period, was constructed so that entire living units could be added or removed in response to shifting program demands. Due to years of inertness and decay, the building was demolished in 2022 creating an international public outcry for its preservation. In a strange twist of fate, the first capsule to be rescued from destruction was purchased by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Of the 23 surviving pods (out of 144 total) one has found a new home just 2 miles from CCA. Our site will be the empty lot where Nagakin once stood in Tokyo. The studio will focus on an entirely new vision of architecture for the site that learns from these past ideals. In keeping with its history, the challenge is to find ‘next gen’ possibilities for adaptive qualities – with a more nuanced lens toward heterogeneity and materiality - that address today’s pressing issues. Each student will invent a new tectonic language as the basis for emergent design outcomes. Instead of proposing another solid building block, our work will focus on a porous ‘architecture of atmosphere’ for a new 13-story Experimental Habitat that engages the entire site and immediate surroundings. The building will contain a menu of possible functions that are rigorously defined and achieved. A primary consideration will be architecture’s outer edges and new ways to embrace external conditions, both artificial and natural. Please note: The selected Tokyo context provides a test-case scenario for a broader set of issues and is not the central theme for the studio. For students planning to apply for the Project Tokyo Summer Travel Studio in 2024 (with Thom Faulders/Andre Caradec), there will be no overlap in course topics or projects. Both studios will be entirely different learning experiences. Visionary, Logician, BuilderAs is the foundation for any architect, you will be challenged to translate your speculative ideas into building strategies that can be realized. Each student will complete a large-scale model later in the semester, which will be the basis for a large-scale exhibition in the CCA Nave for final reviews. Important is that these models will play a critical role during the design process, as opposed to after-the-fact representation. Individual projects will be well-crafted to articulate your argument around studio themes. To support this studio’s emphasis on making, a limited selection of drawings is required for the final presentation.

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