Principal Investigator
Prof. Azra Aksamija, Architecture; Ms. Melina Philippou, Architecture
Fund:
Alumni Class Funds
Funding Period:
AY2020
Department/Lab/Center:
Architecture
As the world faces the rise of humanitarian, environmental, and financial crises there are pressing questions as to whether the art and design community is prepared to offer meaningful responses. Design & Scarcity is an interdisciplinary course by the MIT Future Heritage Lab that aims to advance the rapidly evolving field of social design through artistic methods. Bringing forth questions around ethics, cultural relevance, and collaborative creation, the course introduces theoretical, methodological, and practical tools for art and design in fragile environments. Students will learn how to work in conditions of scarcity creatively and efficiently. The course development leverages resources from the Future Heritage Lab's previous two-year engagement at the Al Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan and is partly supported by MITx-Open Learning (blended education is meant to
complement and improve classroom experience at MIT).