Design for a Complex World

Design for a Complex World

Design for a Complex World – Challenges in Practice and Education is founded on the belief that the forces of globalisation that have affected design practice for decades have, in recent years, manifested themselves in design education as well. The book brings together authors, practitioners and educators from ten countries across six continents, Australia, East Germany, the UK, the US, Mexico, Hong Kong, Finland, Central India, Greece and South Africa.

Each contributor addresses radical design, architecture, art and politics and offers an overview of the socio-cultural and economic factors that affect the built environment in their particular region of the world. They discuss how the practices of architecture, interior design, planning and landscape architecture interact with these forces but, equally as importantly, how design education does the same.

The contributions reveal that the issues that challenge us are more than just aesthetic. As concerns increase about the impacts of global environmental change, we are becoming increasingly aware that we struggle to understand the unique ecology and complex diverse cultures which characterise different cities. These, from a landscape architecture perspective, can be seen to be influenced by climate change, technological change, diminishing resources, pollution, water quality, energy sources and population dynamics. To respond to such challenges requires exploring new models of urbanism and place-making which encompass local perspectives and knowledge. It is clear that ‘one size fits all’ approaches will not do.

Design for a Complex Worldpoints to the need to develop aesthetic and compositional ability together with the acquisition of technical and design knowledge. This may well require combined courses in town and country planning, urban design, architecture, interior design, landscape and environmental design.

About the Editor

Dr Graham Cairns,

MA, B(Arch), BA, IE, RIBA, is an author and academic. He has taught at universities in Spain, the UK, Mexico, South Africa and the United States; worked in architectural studios in London and Hong Kong; and is currently editor of the academic journal Architecture_MPS. His previous titles include The Architect Behind the Camera (Abada Editores, Madrid, 2007); Deciphering Advertising, Art and Architecture (Libri Publishing, 2010); and The Architecture of the Screen – Essays in Cinematographic Space (Intellect Books, 2013). He is also editor of Reinventing Architecture and Interiors – the Past the Present and the Future (Libri, Publishing, 2013).