by Gytis Dovydaitis, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
When? 21.11. at 14-15
Where? HELSUS Hub Lounge (Porthania, 224) and Teams. HELSUS Hub Lounge is located in Porthania (Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki) second floor.
Abstract:
As Europe strives for climate neutrality, architecture demands a paradigm shift—one that moves beyond techno-solutionism, accounts for climate justice, questions the extractive undercurrents of “ecological modernization", and more. The figure of the Tree here stands both as a victim - a resource - and a signifier of utopia, embodying everything that stands for sustainable futures. The Tree asks us to think critically and act symbiotically. Inspired by it, the project "Laboratory for [Living] Tree [as] Architecture" asks: how can we grow the path towards climate neutrality by accounting for diversity of perspectives and inter-species wellness as key elements in sustainable futures? To answer this question, the project aims to critically investigate predominant sustainability practices and develop research, design proposals and art objects in response. The laboratory brings teachers and students from 14+ universities into a year-long transdisciplinary collaboration that will culminate at Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Here all the insights will manifest in a week-long symposium that will further lead to publications, international study subjects, and more.
The laboratory is just starting, and now it is a perfect time to join its transdisciplinary cohort. In this seminar, the curator Gytis Dovydaitis will present the laboratory’s details and ways to get on board. Living spaces are on the brink of an evolutionary leap. Join us on the move towards symbiotically minded, sustainable futures.
Gytis Dovydaitis is a PhD candidate at Vytautas Magnus University; researcher at V. Kavolis Transdisciplinary Research Institute; associate researcher at Institute of Network Cultures, and a curator of independent culture platform "3022". He has more than a decade of experience managing art and science projects related to urban studies, philosophy of technology and media arts. Currently he is focused on critical internet studies, symbol of the tree, and the process of fermentation, working hard to actualize a future where togetherness wouldn't be just a concept at the horizon of what's possible, but an actuality lived here and now.