Architectural Theories of the Environment Posthuman Territory

As architects and designers, we struggle to reconcile ever increasing environmental, humanitarian, and technological demands placed on our projects. Our new geological era, the Anthropocene, marks humans as the largest environmental force on the planet and suggests that conventional anthropocentric approaches to design must accommodate a more complex understanding of the interrelationship between architecture and environment

Here, for the first time, editor Ariane Lourie Harrison collects the essays of architects, theorists, and sustainable designers that together provide a framework for a posthuman understanding of the design environment. An introductory essay defines the key terms, concepts, and precedents for a posthuman approach to architecture, and nine fully illustrated case studies of buildings from around the globe demonstrate how issues raised in posthuman theory provide rich terrain for contemporary architecture, making theory concrete. By assembling a range of voices across different fields, from urban geography to critical theory to design practitioners, this anthology offers a resource for design professionals, educators, and students seeking to grapple the ecological mandate of our current period.

Case studies include work by Arakawa and Gins, Arons en Gelauff, Casagrande, The Living, Minifie van Schaik, R & Sie (n), SCAPE, Studio Gang, and xDesign.

Essayists include Gilles Clément, Matthew Gandy, Francesco Gonzáles de Canales, Elizabeth Grosz, Simon Guy, Seth Harrison, N. Katherine Hayles, Ursula Heise, Catherine Ingraham, Bruno Latour, William J. Mitchell, Matteo Pasquinelli, Erik Swyngedouw, Sarah Whatmore, Jennifer Wolch, Cary Wolfe, and Albena Yaneva

Introduction: Charting Posthuman Territory Part 1: Posthuman Subjects Unfinished Work: From Cyborg to Cognisphere N. Katherine Hayles 2. Post Animal Life Catherine Ingraham 3. The Next Subject Seth Harrison 4. Approaching a New Biotope Francisco González de Canales 5. The Biosphere of Machines: Enter the Parasite Matteo PasquinelliCase Studies: Arakawa and Gins, Bioscleave House, East Hampton, NY, 2000-2008 Arons en Gelauff, The Plussenburgh, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 2001-2006 R&Sie (n), I’m Lost in Paris, Paris, France, 2008 Part 2: Posthuman Assemblies 6. Give Me a Gun and I Will Make All Buildings Move: An ANT’s View of Architecture Bruno Latour, Albena Yaneva 7. Lose the Building: Form and System in Contemporary Architecture Cary Wolfe 8. Pragmatic Ecologies Simon Guy 9. Futures, Cities, and Architecture Elizabeth Grosz 10. Against Program William J. Mitchell 11. Metabolic Urbanization: The Making of Cyborg Cities Erik SwyngedouwCase Studies: Minifie von Shaik, Australian Wildlife Heath Center, Melbourne, Australia, 2006 The Living, Living Light Pavilion, Peace Park, Seoul, South Korea, 2009 Studio Gang Architects, Ford Calumet Environmental Center, Calumet, Illinois, competition 2004, Millennium Reserve Initiative 2011 Part 3: Posthuman Territory 12. Zones of indistinction: Bio-political Contestations in the Urban Arena Matthew Gandy 13. Anima Urbis Jennifer Wolch 14. Hybrid Cartographies for a Relational Ethics Sarah Whatmore 15. The Emergent Alternative Gilles Clément 16. Risk, Globalization and the Cosmopolitan Imaginary Ursula HeiseCase Studies: The Living and Nathalie Jermaijencko, Amphibious Architecture, East River, New York, 2009 SCAPE, Oyster-tecture Project, 2010; Pilot in Brooklyn, NY, 2012 Marco Casagrande and C-Lab, Ruin Academy, Taipei, Taiwan, 2010–present

Ariane Lourie Harrison is a lecturer, School of Architecture, Yale University, and a principal of Harrison Atelier.