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| Digram showing application of central place theory to qualitative relationships among cities in a region. From Walter Christaller (1893-1969), Die zentralen Orte in Süddeutschland (Jena: Fischer, 1933) (Source) |
But on to bigger news. I have submitted a panel proposal to SXSWInteractive 2011 (I was a panelist in 2008). It's called A User's Guide to Architectural Histories and Fictions, and if you go to the conference website and peruse its many panels, you'll see this description:
The future is here, but you may have already missed it. Don't worry! Thanks to a crack team of architecture critics, historians, writers, and curators, you can catch up on what passed you by. Watch and listen as panelists present on a variety of themes related to the history and future of architecture and urbanism. Whereas a historian may show urban plots in early 20th century cities, a critic may give you a tour of a future exhibit showing architecture trends, circa 2020. Or look here: there’s that writer talking about building technology from 3,000 years ago! Did you know that the Egyptian Pyramids had air-conditioning systems? Exciting! “A User's Guide to Architectural Histories and Fictions” is not just a panel that will showcase the thinking of a generation of young architectural writers. Each panelist will present material that is entertaining and speculative. They will cover a wide range of topics, including green technologies, airplanes-and-ships-as-architecture, fake manifestoes, fictional histories, real fictions, urban spacesuits, people movers, jet-pack rentals, liquid architectures, vegetative structures, pneumatic pods, and many, many other things—all of which concern the very buildings and cities we inhabit. It is up to the audience to determine whether what is being described did actually happen. And in some cases, the panel may not even know. And that’s where the fun begins.
I suppose that there are some readers out there who have no inkling as to how the panel selection process for SXSW works. It's quite simple: visitors to the website have until August 27 to give my panel suggestion a thumbs up, and if everything works out, I should know by September whether I make the first cut. So, if you are interested in seeing more architecture programming at SXSW, vote for my panel. If you are interested in seeing even more interesting, thought-provoking material, vote for my panel.
If my panel makes the cut (and my fingers are indeed crossed that it does), I will reveal who will be joining me in Austin in March 2011. I am sure that you will recognize many of the participants. Let me just say right now that I have some heavy hitters on deck.
SXSW is a big, big deal. So go out and vote!
