This lecture will present the work of the O(U)R, the Office of (Un)certainty Research, the conceptual design practice led by Vikram Prakash and Mark Jarzombek. Begun during the enforced hiatus of Covid, O(U)R is dedicated to thinking about architectural possibilities for the 21st century. Actively transdisciplinary O(U)R connects learnings from ecology, physics, indigenous and non-Western epistemologies with those of all the disciplines of the built environment. Projects presented include: a Cenotaph for Niels Bohr (based on quantum entanglement and building on of previous cenotaphs for Newton and Einstein famous in the history of architecture), a 1x1 Land Acknowledgement Design Challenge that seeks to extend this issue into design and property ownership, D.I.A.N.A a digital data virus critique of AI in the form of a spoof, A House Deconstructed that documents the ultimate source of the materials and processes of a recent house built in Seattle (also published as a book), Tirtha A Human Body Composting Temple that develops new rituals and practices for the now legal practice in WA of composting human remains, and Kishkindha a multi-species city imagined as an inhabited forest building on a city concept found in the Hindu epic The Ramayana, and the Temple of Reassurance, a “quantum phase antenna” designed to communicate with Voyager, now that it is beyond the Solar System.
What is Friday@1?
On most Fridays at 1 p.m. during the academic term, PSU School of Architecture students and faculty gather to hear from professional designers and architects, academics, visiting artists, innovators, and students in the program. Friday@1 is a perfect way to wrap up each week of intense creativity in the studio and get inspired for the productive weekend ahead.
Free and Open to the public. All are welcome.