Reprogramming the Anthropocene

The diverse international community at the Academy of Art University School of Architecture addresses relevant questions about the future of our society. The exhibition shows a sampling of student projects that gravitate around these values, mainly focussing on resilience and sustainability, but often within a broader cultural context.

The projects range from a proposal for a new fish market at the Fisherman’s Wharf in an attempt to help transform the industry into a more consequential public infrastructure with a pivot towards local needs, the proposal for a new zero-energy ferry transit hub in Redwood City substantially alleviating car traffic through an electric ferry service, a proposal for a nature center in a sensitive floodplain habitat at Irondequoit Bay, near Rochester, NY, which employs finely tuned engineering and construction methods to keep a light touch on the environment, the revitalization of a Nuclear Power Plant near Herald, CA, and a mixed-use development as a means to fostering a healthy, year-round community on Cape Cod’s outer rim.

Students are empowered to determine project parameters for the issues and communities important to them. The projects offer insight into young architect’s visions for change. The tangible solutions are often substantiated by hands-on research, including financial concepts, or clear paths for advocacy with concrete plans for potential realization. The architecture curriculum fosters students’ development as leaders and catalysts for meaningful change.