Science Fiction Meets Architecture Part One: Rising Sea Levels

Guest Speaker: Sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson and Usman Haque, Founding Partner, Umbrellium and Thingful Date: May 4th, 2016 Time: 10:30am - Noon Location: Calit2 Auditorium, Atkinson Hall, UC San Diego Host: Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination

DESCRIPTION/ABSTRACT: This events is the first in a two-part series of transatlantic conversations on science fiction and architecture in the London of 2080, jointly hosted by the Clarke Center and the Bartlett School of Architecture. We invite you to join the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination and The Bartlett School of Architecture for a jointly hosted, two-part transatlantic lecture series on designing for the future. Both events are free and open to the public. The May 4 event will focus on "Rising Sea Levels". Responding to the rising sea level-a design for the waterfront/riverfront of London in 2080. Current estimates are that the Thames will rise a meter by 2080, though some estimates put the rise considerably higher. Speakers design a response and discuss. (For more about part two of this series, it will take place on May 25 at 10:30am in the Calit2 Auditorium of Atkinson Hall.) The conversations at both events will be moderated by Clarke Center director Sheldon Brown and Cognitive Science professor David Kirsh. UCSD's Kirsh is also an organizer of the Clarke Center event, together with Prof. Alan Penn and Ava Fatah of the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London (UK). SPEAKER BIO: KIM STANLEY ROBINSON is an American writer of speculative science-fiction and winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the World Fantasy Award. He has published over twenty books of science fiction, translated into 24 languages, including the award-winning Mars trilogy. Time magazine named him a "Hero of the Environment" in 2008, and in 2012 his novel 2312 was a New York Times bestseller. His most recent novel is Aurora. USMAN HAQUE is founding partner of Umbrellium and Thingful, a search engine for the Internet of Things. Earlier, he launched the Internet of Things data infrastructure and community platform Pachube.com, which was acquired by LogMeIn in 2011. Trained as an architect, he has created responsive environments, interactive installations, digital interface devices, and dozens of mass-participation initiatives throughout the world. He received the 2008 Design of the Year Award (interactive) from the Design Museum, UK, a 2009 World Technology Award (art), the Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence prize, and the Asia Digital Art Award Grand Prize.    MORE INFORMATION: For more information, visit http://imagination.ucsd.edu.