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Gradient Shares Current Conversations in Architecture and Urbanism

Taubman College’s Gradient has released the second drop of feed 2, “Inflections,” edited by Tszyan Ng, associate professor of architecture, and Jono Sturt, lecturer in architecture and urban planning.

Gradient is an online platform that publishes current conversations in architecture and urbanism at Taubman College and beyond. The journal breaks from the traditional print medium and organizes in feeds rather than issues, leaning into the potential of digital media formats. Articles take advantage of the multimedia form and publish in a combination of images, video, text, and more.

The second feed, “Inflections,” discusses the role of technology in the building, experience, and practice of architecture. Technologies such as computational design, digital fabrication, AR/VR/XR, and AI have made their place in architectural production and influenced people’s interactions with the built environment. This feed spotlights members of the Architectural Computational Design + Construction Cluster (ACDCC), who hold conversations around technological principles and express their inflections in their current thinking and production.

“The second feed for Gradient was a great opportunity for the ACDCC to reassess our role and production in context to salient topics of contemporary discourse,” said Ng. “This includes areas related to climate change, socially impactful collaborations, and critical nuances to how architectural design and building processes are continually shaped by emergent technology.”

Reflecting on the feed, Ng shared, “It was not only thought-provoking to be in dialogue with our Taubman faculty, but also truly inspiring to engage with our external guest contributors. The papers for feed 2 highlighted the level of production from the broader Taubman College community in the last couple of years, in spite of the challenges presented by the pandemic. As we return to a new normal with a renewed sense of purpose, it is valuable to reaffirm our values and chart a way forward – even if it means that we are asking more questions.”

Gradient feed 2 is available for reading.