Farzin Lotfi-Jam

The fellowship supports original research projects that investigate issues relating to design and architecture in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and Asia through a transnational lens, aligned with the curatorial interests and activities of M+.

Farzin Lotfi-Jam and Mark Wasiuta will investigate the intensifying urban development pressures in Southeast Asia, with a focus on computational and data-driven planning. Increased reliance on technology has fundamentally changed the way in which urban planning is carried out, and this tendency is often positioned as a way for developing cities to skirt traditional planning and move effortlessly into a computationally organised future. By studying selected cities across Southeast Asia, Lotfi-Jam and Wasiuta will explore the deep implications of computational development and ‘smart’ urban futures for the region.

Columbia GSAPP has strong representation at architecture biennials and triennials taking place across the globe throughout the Fall of 2019. The School’s faculty, students, and alumni are participating with installations, lectures, discussions, and publications at important domestic and international events including the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, International Architecture Biennial of São Paulo, and the inaugural Sharjah Architecture Triennial, among others.