Transition as Condition: Reconstruction in Times of War and Environmental Crisis

HIS 4537 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Urban design and architecture operate not only under conditions of transition and persistent instability, but increasingly also under the dynamics of crisis. Violent disruption and catastrophic events – acts of war and environmental disasters – are increasingly frequent and ubiquitous conditions of urbanization. They are also inextricably intertwined: the destruction of war spurs natural disasters; environmental crises create conflict.

These events can no longer be considered as isolated or exceptional, but rather as constitutive of global urbanization processes and practices. Construction in this context is a continuous process of reconstruction. To design, as Bruno Latour insisted, is always to re-design. Those dynamics, their impact on the built environment and significance for architecture, urban design and planning practices, are the central concerns of the course.

The focus of the course is on the agency of the design disciplines, and with understanding how conflicts and disasters produce design knowledge and generate new practices. The course raises fundamental questions about how architecture, urban design, landscape, and planning can respond effectively under conditions of violent conflict and ongoing destruction, conditions that require rapid and decisive action while never losing sight of the long-term. It puts forward the proposition that in such times, the design and planning disciplines and the project of reconstruction itself must adopt the modalities of conflict and crisis, and be strategic, tactical and practicable. Reconstruction, in other words, begins when the destruction begins.

The central concern is with the issues and conditions of contemporary practice. In the course we will examine design and planning practices that have emerged and continue to be generated in the context of ongoing reconstruction efforts in conflict and crisis zones. The investigation will focus on three ongoing conflicts and catastrophic events: the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster following the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami and (since 2011); the War in Ukraine (since 2014), and the
Los Angeles Wildfires (most recently in January 2025). The investigation is part of a larger research project on environmental and post-war reconstruction from the early 20th century to today, which will culminate in an exhibition at the GSD scheduled for spring 2028.

Course Requirements & Assignments
This is a limited enrollment project-based research seminar. Solid graphic and representational skills, as well as proficiency in theoretical and historical analysis of the built environment are strongly recommended.

Students will be working in groups and individually. Coursework involves historical and theoretical research as well as mapping and other representational methods and media to understand transformation over time and to reflect on the wider impact of war and environmental crises on the built environment.

Class meetings include lectures by guest speakers, discussion of readings, review of group and individual research projects, as well as occasional visits to libraries and archives. The success of the course therefore depends on the regular, informed, energetic participation of its members. Students are expected to have read all assigned course materials before each class meeting and to be prepared to discuss them. Active participation in class discussions is required of all students.