XYZoom Unit mapping prep
De-constructing a text. The reading of The Agency of Mapping by James Corner.
As we begin mapping prep for the XYZoom Unit, the focus is on deconstructing a text—engaging with James Corner’s “The Agency of Mapping” as a foundational reading to challenge traditional materialist and morphological notions in architecture. Mapping is not just a representational tool but an active agent of transformation, a generative process that reveals latent possibilities and constructs new spatial realities.
This studio asks students to rethink form beyond static materiality, instead understanding architecture through its constructive qualities and conceptual organizational properties. The ambition is to move away from purely formalist approaches and toward a methodology where geography, geometry, logic, and structure intersect as creative drivers in architectural innovation. How can mapping operate beyond site analysis to become a design instrument that unlocks new forms of architectural intelligence?
Through this critical and experimental approach to mapping, we will explore:
_ Mapping as an instrument of speculation rather than mere representation
_ Singularity of form emerging from process-driven, conceptual frameworks
_ Intersections between mapping, materiality, and spatial sustainability
_ New generative tools and workflows that respond to contemporary social, ecological, and urban challenge.
By questioning the agency of mapping, we set the groundwork for exploring a new generation of architectural ideas and tools, pushing the limits of physical, sustainable, and social infrastructures. This prep stage is about constructing a framework for design exploration, one that extends beyond the traditional boundaries of architectural thinking and positions mapping as a critical and creative practice in the advancement of spatial design.
