DISTRIBUTED PROXIMITIES

Online + Global \\ October 26 - October 31, 2020

Acknowledging the disruptive change to established design, research practices, and routines, Distributed Proximities aims to investigate the current condition by prioritizing the processes and protocols by which the work is produced, rather than merely its artifacts. These include factors both mundane and extraordinary that may converge to impact research and production, and the logics employed in the (re)structuring of these investigations. Relying on the methods of distributed computing as a metaphor for resilience and ingenuity of our fragmented community, ACADIA 2020 intends to explore and encourage newly emerging practices of distributed research, practice and pedagogy.

We invite submissions addressing one or more, but not limited to, the following themes:

Adaptation and Disruption
• Computational design and health
• Retooling of fabrication and robotic craft
• Emergent modes of practice and cross-disciplinary collaboration
• Biological interactions, environmental responsiveness, ecological adaptation

Performative Synthesis
• Simulation, prototyping, and energy modeling
• Environmental tectonics and performance optimization
• Augmented construction and synthetic workflows

Material Processes
• Emergent and self-organizing material systems
• Composite matter, biomaterials, and synthetics
• Programmable matter and advanced material design

Resilient Automation
• Artificial Intelligence: theory, practice, aesthetics
• Robotic construction, fabrication, and operation
• Machine learning: between expediency and sensibility
• Real-time sensing and interaction, from the material to the urban scales
• Procedural and algorithmic workflows and labor

Computational Cultures
• The emergence of novel design cultures, representations, and aesthetics
• Architectures of care
• Remote practices: spaces of isolation, disrupted pedagogies, repurposed fabrication
• Notes on lab work and behind-the-scenes (glassbox vs blackbox)
• Politics of access

SUBMISSION TYPES & DEADLINES

1. Technical Papers: Extended Abstracts

This year, given the extraordinary circumstances, ACADIA 2020 will shift from a full paper submission to a blind peer-review extended abstract submission format (1000-words). Extended abstracts selected for presentation to the conference will be invited to produce a short video presentation for the conference, and will be invited to submit full-length papers (4000-word Full papers or 2000-word Work-In-Progress Papers) for publication in the proceedings. Published papers will be included in the CumInCad database. All ACADIA papers are searchable through ResearchGate and Scopus.

Extended Abstract Submission Deadline: June 15, 2020 Extended to June 24, 2020
Notification of Acceptance: August 18, 2020
Presentation Videos Due: October 1, 2020
Paper Submissions Due: November 20, 2020
Review Period for Final Papers: December, 2020
Final Paper Submissions Due for Proceedings: January, 2021

2. Projects

Project submissions will be blind peer reviewed. Projects will be published in a special Projects publication and featured on the ACADIA website. Select submissions may be invited to contribute a video presentation and/or participate in a discussion panel during the virtual conference.

Submission Requirements: 600 word text (excluding citations and captions) plus a maximum of 10 Images
Submission Deadline: June 22, 2020 Extended to July 1, 2020
Notification of Acceptance: August 18, 2020
Revised/formatted materials Due: October 1, 2020

3. Videos

This year, standalone videos will be a new submission type to the ACADIA Conference, as an alternative to the traditional paper or project submission formats. Video submissions will be reviewed and selected by a jury. Simultaneous submissions to Papers/Projects and Videos are possible; each submission will be evaluated on its own merits.

Submission Requirements: 5-minute videos in MP4 format
Video Submission Deadline: June 29, 2020 Extended to July 10, 2020
Notification of Acceptance: August 18, 2020

4. Field Notes

Field Notes are a new submission type to the 2020 ACADIA Conference and are an invitation for shorter pieces that may include provocative artifacts regarding the culture and practice of computational design: experimental ideas, behind-the-scenes, observations, brief narratives, provocations, and manifestoes. Submissions will be jury selected and published in the Project Book and as a special feature on the ACADIA website. Select submissions may be invited to participate in a discussion panel during the virtual conference.

Submission Requirements: 800-1000 word texts max; images are permitted and image-based essays are also welcome.
Field Notes Submission Deadline: June 22, 2020 Extended to July 10, 2020
Notification of Acceptance: August 18, 2020

SUBMISSION TEMPLATES

Please see the Submit page for all details on the submission process.

PUBLICATION ETHICS GUIDELINES

By submitting your work to the ACADIA 2020 conference, you agree to the ACADIA Publication Ethics Guidelines.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Submission Site Open: June 1, 2020
• SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Full Papers and Work-In Progress for Blind Peer-Review: June 15, 2020 Extended to June 24, 2020
• SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Projects for Blind Peer-Review: June 22, 2020 Extended to July 1, 2020
• SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Videos: June 29, 2020 Extended to July 10, 2020
• SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Field Notes: June 22, 2020 Extended to July 10, 2020

Contact: 2020@acadia.org
#acadia2020
#distributedproximities