What is the economic context of the research projects discussed in this issue?
In “Task Environment,” Arindam Dutta has demonstrated a shift in architectural research from a state-funded research-industrial-academic complex to ‘creative economy’ funding structures dominant today. While some projects shown in this isssue are rooted in the legacy of military and industrial interests (see Wisnioski and Zacharias) and the research university (Günel, Barber), others operate within the structure of clients (Brugger), the art market (Leung, Riano, Armstrong, Hoang), the design studio (Kaseman and Smith, Hovenkotter and Lamphier, Ponte and Zhai and McGown), multinational corporations (Ponte, Carver), marketing research (Montgomery), volunteer workforces (Orff), public-private partnerships (Zhai and McGown), municipalities (Jaque), regulating agencies (Geiger, Heindl), and non-profit funding (Buonocore, Miller, Oyarzun and Fernández-Muro). What funding and labor systems do these projects operate within, and where is there room for experimentation with these structures of research?
Janette Kim
ARPA Journal
LABORATORY SERIES. No.22. DARPA’s new Biological Technologies Office (BTO). Launched in April 1, 2014, the BTO is charged with exploring the intersection of biology, engineering and computer science to harness natural systems for national security. “Biology is nature’s ultimate innovator, and any agency that hangs its hat on innovation would be foolish not to look at this master of networked complexity for inspiration and solutions.” – DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar to U.S. House of Representatives, March 26, 2014. Photo Courtesy of DARPA.
