AA

Gonçalo M Furtado C L, “The Encounters Around Architecture and Systems Research: [An Introductory Excerpt]”, in: AA Issue 8 (Newsletter), Architectural Association, London, 2009. [Forthcoming]

This text is an excerpt of Furtado’s original text: Gonçalo M. Furtado C. L., “Envisioning an Evolving Environment: The Encounters of Gordon Pask, Cedric Price and John Frazer” [PhD Dissertation], London: University College of London, 2007, pp.6-8.
The thesis was based mainly on Furtado’s 2005 primary research of Gordon Pask’s personal archive (held by Ms. Amanda Heitler at the time) and Cedric Price Archives (held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture). Research was made possible by a scholarship from FCT (Co-financiamento do programa Operatcional da Ciência e Inovação 2010 e do Fundo Social Europeu). The thesis’s abstract reads: “This thesis provides a history of exchanges between architecture and the fields of cybernetics, systems research and computation throughout the last five decades. In particular, it focuses on the encounters between three pre-eminent British professionals - Gordon Pask, Cedric Price and John Frazer - and provides a complete account of two outstanding architectural projects related to systems and computation - Generator and Japan Net. It also highlights the architectural relevance of these encounters and the importance of their contemporary legacy - the genesis of the systemic and computational paradigm in architectural design and the promotion of an evolving environment.”

In addition, see my papers and books on these topics [above], as well as the following documents:
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Towards a Responsive Architecture: Cedric Price’s Architecture and Systems Research” (Scientific report), FAUP, March 2006; and Gonçalo, “Envisioning an Evolving Environment […]” (Scientific Report), FAUP, February 2007.

Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Terence Riley (for the Interview published in 2003); to OA (for their invitation to give a talk at Serralves about the Metabolists and MoMA’s “the Changing of the Avantguard” in 2003); to C.Larsen (for his help during my research at MoMA in 2003(?)), to H.Schubert (for his help during my research at the CCA in 2005), to A.Heitler (for her help during my research at Pask’s archives in 2005); to V.Silva (for his brief commentaries on my text on C.Price and Cybernetics submitted to PSIAX in 2004); and to Jonathan Hill (for his commentaries during my 2005 presentation at the Bartlett titled “Enabling Architecture and Technological Responsivity in Cedric Price”). I am also grateful to Neil Spiller, the Frazers and Roy Ascott.

Further readings:
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Algumas notas sobre uma ‘segunda ordem’ de relacionamento entre arte e tecnologia e seu reflexo na arquitectura”, Ar: Cadernos da FAUTL, Lisbon, 2006, pp.50-57.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Generator and Beyond”, Coimbra: Semear Palavras, January 2008.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “The JN Experience ("Cedric Price, Gordon Pask and John Frazer: Generator, Japan Net and Other Responsive and Evolving Environments”: Part A)”, in: Luis Borges Gouveia (ed.), “Internacional Colloquium “Digital cities summit: From virtual world to human world”, (Acts Proceedings; ICSP, 2007), (Forthcoming)
FURTADO, Gonçalo, "Cedric Price and Gordon Pask: The Japan Net Experiment (1986)", in: Robert Trapll (ed.), Vienna: Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies, EMCSR 2008, pp.138-143.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, "Cedric Price's Generator and the Frazers' System Research 1", in: Technoetic Arts (edited by Roy Ascott), Vol. 6, N.1, (submitted March 2007) 2008.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “A Viragem dos anos 60-70 e o reconhecimento de novas attitudes” (“The shift of the 60s and 70s and the Acknowledgment of New Attitudes: Notes about Systems Thinking in the Language of Architecture”), in: Arq./a, Nº61-"Intervenções informais", September 2008, p.24-27.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, "Towards an Evolutionary Archiectural Aesthetics (Part A: Today’s techno-scientific interests and the earlier enabling of the emergent”, in: Furtado e Póvoas (eds.), “Contemporary Architectural Challenges”, Oporto: FAUP, 2008, p.15-18.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Some readings on Cedric Price’s work and the Generator”, in: Furtado e Póvoas (eds.), “Cedric Price’s Generator and the Frazers´Collection”, in: “Cedric Price’s Generator […]”, Oporto: FAUP, 2008, p.79-95.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Envisioning an Evolving Environment-Encounters of Gordon Pask, Cedric Price and John Frazer: A Brief Account”, in: W.Fiel, M.Jahrmann (eds.), “New Realities. Being Syncretic. BOOK OF ABSTRACTS”, Wien: University of Applied Arts, 2008, p.34.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Envisioning an Evolving Environment-Encounters of Gordon Pask, Cedric Price and John Frazer: A Brief Account”, in: Roy Ascott, Wolfgang Fiel, Gerald Bast, Margarete Jahrmann (eds.), “New Realities. Being Syncretic, NewYork-Wien”: SpringerWienNewYork, 2009, pp.118-122.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Gordon Pask: Exchanges Between Cybernetics and Architecture and the Envisioning of the ‘Informational Environment’”, in: J.Józefczyk, W.Thomas, M.Turowska (eds.), XIVth International Congress of Cybernetics and Systems of WOSC: Prodeedings, Poland: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wroclawskiej / World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics, 2008, p.910-921.
FURTADO, Gonçalo, “Gordon Pask (1928-1996): Seminal Experiments on Cybernetic Art and Design (From a Childhood Curiosity and Mobiles to the I.E.’s Symbiosis”), in: Álvaro Barbosa (ed.), "Artech 2008: IVth International Conference on Digital Arts", Porto: 2008.