Architecture for the Commons: Participatory Systems in the Age of Platforms

Abstract

Does the Discrete offer a pathway to a more equitable architecture? Jose Sanchez, director of the research and learning initiative the Plethora Project and Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture in Los Angeles, laments the exclusivity of parametric design, and argues why the Discrete could be the answer. Two combinatorial assembly projects and a gaming platform that he has been involved in creating serve as practical illustrations of the possibilities of social engagement that this new paradigm presents.