2019 AIA|LA 2×8: Exchange Hackathon – Invisible Cities

2×8 is a unique annual exhibition & scholarship program showcasing exemplary student work from architecture & design institutions throughout California. It culminates in an exhibition where student projects are celebrated and scholarship prizes are awarded. The audience for this exhibit historically draws from the design communities within LA, both professional and academic, though in 2019 we anticipate a wider audience.
In recent years, the evolution and utilization of VR technology has transformed how buildings are imagined, evaluated, communicated and built. This year, 2×8 will be incorporating a parallel VR gallery in the exhibit to explore the potential of VR and cross disciplinary collaboration within the field of architecture. We would like to explore the following questions:

• What would a future in which architecture evolves beyond tangible objects look like?
• What can the introduction of game mechanics into a virtual built environment teach us about design?
• How does VR integration shift the existing paradigm of architectural design?
• How can VR help immerse designers in the life and breath of a city?

At the 2×8 Invisible Cities Hackathon, we hope you’ll join us in striking at the heart of the questions, and discovering the unseen frontier of architecture in virtual reality!

Design Challenge:
Re-imagine and re-contextualize pre-existing architectural projects in new ways that best take advantage of the re-emergent medium of virtual reality. Aside from being viewable and navigable in a VR headset, attendees’ ‘remixes’ of this source material is free to take on any form, schema, audiovisual components, or interactivity they design in their pursuit of their own Invisible City. To guide our pilgrimage into the unknown, we will take inspiration from Italo Calvino’s book, Invisible Cities, wherein an intrepid Marco Polo describes to the conqueror Kublai Khan all the cities in his empire through different lenses and systemic perspectives.