Nexus

Santiago del Águila joins us for his second appearance on the Architect-US Portfolio Challenge with his project called Nexus. This portfolio is a narrative guide to my final thesis work “Nexus”, a project that explored the possible outcomes of over urbanisation in the near future. Trying to exploit its most extreme prospects concerning social, political and environmental aspects; the focus of the narrative proposed will consider the possible constraints of choosing to live outside of cities. That is living outside of the support of society.

In this situation a new human-machine relationship will appear with a new agent that would fill the vacancy, this new actant would be an autonomous infrastructure that would replace the current human footprint outside of mayor urban areas, the “Industrial Nexus”.

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AD 2080, Cities already contain 99% of the population,  the territory of Spain is for the most part a demographic desert. The service sector occupies most of the working population, in a socio-economic space based on digital values.   The resulting megalopolis have become an integrating mechanism based on the government of artificial intelligence, where its citizens are subject to a programmed balance for all.

The complete mechanization of the industrial corridors and the rural areas, will eventually cause the population to abandon completely their enrolment in those economic sectors, moving to the city to be absorbed into the I.A framework. The resulting environment between the main urban conglomerates will be without services or population.

People who want to escape this control must adapt to the digital language of the corridors infrastructure that acts as links in between the urban areas. Living within a decoy device, the structure illustrated functions as a physical Trojan. Providing an electronic counter measure that allows for an infiltrated use of the corridor’s hardware, for communication, transport and survival in the environment beyond the control of the A.I.

As Cities become environments directed by Artificial Intelligence and people will be governed by productivity programs controlled by robots. In this scenario, cities would become areas of restricted freedom and few opportunities to escape from data control.

The project uses this dystopian scenario to envision what would be of the rural and natural environment. If this demographical and technological pattern continues, would it be a possibility to inhabit a landscape scattered with technological contamination? (remains of computers, vehicles, industrial machines). What experience would result of re-conquering and exploring these new areas?

The narrative of the drawings follow a group of people in the search of freedom to self-build their space and living out from the recycling of industrial remains. Therefore, claiming a right to choose other ways of life outside of what might be programmed.

Please visit Santiago’s Portfolio by clicking HERE!!

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How would you design a city for the future challenges we face as humanity? Leave us your thoughts/insights in the comments section below!! 👇👇👇

Images by Santiago del Águila

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