As humans face the existential threat of a warming climate that promises natural disasters and extreme living conditions, our politicians, engineers and scientists are scrambling to create infrastructure to mitigate impending chaos. For centuries, humans have adapted to and thrived in vastly different ecologies and landscapes. In the wake of rising global temperatures, however, large populations of climate refugees will have to quickly adapt to unfamiliar terrain and coexist in urban areas already beyond their capacity. Despite rapidly developing technology and medicine, our future survival is still in question.
For decades, the world of entertainment and science-fiction has imagined alternate realities of augmented cyber-humans and cross-species superheroes for decades. Students will engage with research on local and regional climate issues, learn how to design using 2D and 3D software and tools, and fabricate prototypes of their ideas. In this studio, students will expansively imagine our speculative futures through the lens of climate change, and design devices that encourage and enhance our adaptation capabilities to accelerate the pace of human evolution.