In the monotony of standardized, cookie-cutter architecture, we continue striving for novelty in our designs. Yet, we find our imagination limited to the confinements of engraved in mind, set of typologies. Despite the pragmatic rationale behind the forms and shapes of our buildings, we wonder: is there a space for more originality and one-of-a-kindness? Will the future of design generate more limitations or possibilities, bringing dreamscapes to life? And if so, will our role as designers still be a creative one or will it become passive in favour of new (artificially) intelligent designer?

I recently traveled to Kassel in Germany for documenta fifteen, an art festival that happens every five years and occupies Kassel for 100 days. Nhà sàn collective and bà bầu air, Hanoi-based art collectives, hosted my stay at their queer guesthouse called ưh ưh 22 for a duration of five days. Behind the guesthouse was a luscious garden named vườn di cư (migrating garden) by the artist Tuấn Mami. A garden full of vegetables that the local Vietnamese community has donated to the artist to build a green haven full of produce. Frankly, in the middle of Kassel, having a garden flourishing with Vietnamese vegetables is a true depiction of a migrant dream. The familiar sight of the vegetables I grew up eating has lend me a hand to my childhood memories, to meal times with my family, and it has rekindled of my nostalgia for quê hương (homeland).

Rotterdam. The city you identify with, the city you belong in. The city that suits you perfectly, where you feel right at home. The city whose flaws you look past, or perhaps cherish because, well, ‘they give the city their character’. The city you moved to because you felt you had outgrown Delft, and you were looking for a new world to explore. If you recognise yourself in any of these statements, I’m sorry to tell you this but you’re unknowingly playing a role in a scheme that might be some 40 years in the making, and it has serious consequences.

What does the notion of DREAMED SPACES strike you as? Maybe you think liveability, large green spaces and walkable cities... or, maybe like me, you see them as personal interpretations of places around us which show themselves as visions while we sleep. These live between the deepest subconscious layers of our minds. What do they mean? Why should we watch them a bit closer?

You look young. You stand next to the flowers. I think you are more beautiful than the flowers. You are wearing a white dress with a hair scarf. You are smiling toward me. You look perfect in this picture.

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The connection to the real world has become distinct with the emergence of artificial intelligence. In addition to the progressive advances that can be made with technology, the possibility for fantasy, gates, and transitions to other realities is highlighted by A.I.. With a single click, it is now possible to enter a world where regulations and boundaries are relative, therefore it is logical that individuals flee from the limited physical world to discover their identity and ideas in a questionable existing reality. What difficulties and opportunities occur when the relationship between the real world (RW) and virtual world(s) (VW) is strengthened by incorporating real-life processes into digital communication? And with the rise of the digitalization of urban spaces and surrealistic architecture resembling dreamscapes, what will be the effects on the new age architects when they can build in a world where everything is possible? 

The more we know what kind of future we aspire the more we can shape our actions. A short overview on the different positions in the Anthropocene.

An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris

There exists a state between consciousness and unconsciousness — a state which suspends fear, knowledge, bias, hardship, and reality. We pass through this state when we dream, navigating the liminal space between reality and fantasy. How can we recognise this boundary and leverage it for our own growth?