ACADIA 2021: Realignments: Toward Critical Computation

At the convergence of social, political, and environmental crises and a global pandemic ACADIA2021 reflects on realigning our practices to allow for alternative and constructive ways of knowledge and world making to address these issues. Computational systems have enabled creative solutions and innovations that benefit societies and demonstrate the ingenuity of the design community. However, left unchecked, they can also exacerbate issues of inequality, bias access and perpetuate methods and histories that may harm rather than foster positive change. With these entanglements of technology, power, and society as a backdrop, ACADIA2021 Realignments: Toward Critical Computation, asks us to question our current practices and priorities to address the urgency of the now. This conference provides a platform to engage with conversations, tools and methodologies that include knowledges and communities currently missing to enable realignments toward inclusive and critical practices in architecture across different scales. How can the computational design community critically address questions of emancipation, intersectionality and our computational publics?