Architectures of Syntopia: An Interdisciplinary Speculative Model for Constructions with Insect-infested Wood

The new article »Architectures of Syntopia: An Interdisciplinary Speculative Model for Constructions with Insect-infested Wood« is out now, authored by Pelin Asa, Karin Krauthausen, Robert Stock and Karola Dierichs. The research was conducted at Matters of Activity. Image Space Material, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and Weißensee School of Art and Design Berlin. Thanks to the editors Cordula Kropp and Simon Aicher and the great team at TATuP – Journal for Technology Assessment in Theory and Practice.

The publication can be found here: https://www.tatup.de/index.php/tatup/article/view/7153

Abstract

Based on a case study in Franconia, Germany, where beetle infestation of spruce trees is high, we present an interdisciplinary approach from materials science, cultural theory, and computational design to develop architectures for syntopic living. The term syntopy was coined by Luis René Rivas and describes »two or more related species inhabiting the same macrohabitat.« It is a combination of the Greek words syn* for together and *topos for place. Architectures of Syntopia aim to create spatial structures for humans that emanate from and are located in a specific place – a topos. They also include non-human species, creating what Anna Tsing describes as »multispecies worlds«. By interweaving methods from materials science and cultural theory with computational design, different speculative perspectives are developed on one and the same subject: the beetle infestation of the spruce.