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Download Conference Proceedings HERE.
Download Conference Program HERE.
The ASCAAD 2021 theme is dedicated to the ARCHITECTURE IN THE AGE OF DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES – Transformation and Challenges. The theme focuses on addressing the paradigm shift due to computational design gradually renouncing the typical morphogenetic-centered associations in the architectural discourse. Participants are encouraged to identify visions and challenging aspects such as: from the tangible to the intangible, from the physical to the phenomenological, from mass production to mass customization, from the artifact-centered to the human-centered, and from formalistic top-down approaches to informed bottom-up approaches. This imminent shift of focus is increasingly stirring a debate in the architectural community and is provoking a much needed critical questioning of the role of computation in architecture as a sole embodiment and enactment of technical dimensions, into one that rather deliberately pursues and embraces the humanities as an ultimate aspiration.
A parallel evolving impact in the field of computational design and innovation is the introduction of disruptive technologies which are concurrently transforming practices and businesses. These technologies tend to provoke multiple transformations in terms of processes and workflows, methodologies and strategies, roles and responsibilities, laws and regulations, and consequently formulating diverse emergent modes of design thinking, collaboration, and innovation. Technologies such as mixed reality, cloud computing, robotics, big data, and Internet of Things, are incessantly changing the nature of the profession, inciting novel modes of thinking and rethinking architecture, developing new norms and impacting the future of architectural education. With this booming pace into highly disruptive modes of production, automation, intelligence, and responsiveness comes the need for a revisit of the inseparable relation between technology and the humanities. It will be possible to explore the urgency of a pressing dialogue between the transformative nature of the disruptive on the one hand and the cognitive, the socio-cultural, the authentic, and the behavioral on the other. As scholars and thinkers, we must evaluate these nuances in light of the digital humanities and a comprehensive rethinking of the intricate human-machine discourse.
The 9th ASCAAD International Conference (ASCAAD 2021) will be hosted virtually online by the Department of Architecture at the American University in Cairo (AUC), Cairo, Egypt. Established in 1919, AUC is a leading English-language, American-accredited institution of higher education and center of intellectual, social and cultural life of the Arab world. AUC has 38,000 alumni in more than 125 countries around the world. The University offers 36 undergraduate, 44 master’s and 2 PhD programs rooted in liberal arts education that encourages students to think critically and find creative solutions to conflicts and challenges facing the region and the world. Its educational assets include the largest English-language academic library collection in Egypt, 3 modern theaters and 15 cross-disciplinary research centers. Its modern, 260-acre campus in New Cairo constitutes a state-of-the-art facility for advanced research, innovative teaching, lifelong learning and civic engagement.
According to the latest QS World University Rankings, AUC ranks as the top university (No. 1) in Egypt, No. 2 in Africa, No. 9 in the Arab Region, and No. 395 internationally. Architecture at AUC is ranked at the 151-200 level, the highest level achieved by an architecture program in Egypt and the Middle East, and the second in Africa.
topics of interest /
ASCAAD 2021 conference invites submissions of original research papers, posters and exhibitions on topics related to computer-aided design, including but not limited to:
1) Human-Centered Computation
2) Emergent Modes of Learning
3) Architectonic Languages
4) Technology Integration and Collaboration
5) Computational Enculturation
important dates /
| First call for papers | 25 | May | 2020 | |
| Second call for papers | 04 | July | 2020 | |
| Deadline for abstract submission | 22 | July | 2020 | |
| Notification of abstract acceptance | 26 | August | 2020 | |
| Deadline for full paper submission | 8 | November | 2020 | |
| Notification of full paper acceptance | 5 | January | 2021 | |
| Deadline for full paper / presentation recordings submission | 8 | February | 2021 | |
| Conference days | 2-4 March | 2021 | ||
