Conceived as part of the one-year investigation Catching Up with Life, A Section of Now looks at today, at the society in which we currently live, with a focus upon expanding notions of family, property ownership, activism, work, technology, and life expectations. How can architecture and urbanism better understand our contemporary conditions, and how might they adapt to better address the challenges these conditions present?
While contemporary values are rapidly reshaping the built environment, architecture is not only responsive but can also, at its best, anticipate and even influence the direction of society through spatial endeavours. Multivalent conditions have gradually displaced societal norms, leaving many interconnected questions – and design opportunities – in their wake. Through TV series, contemporary photography, architectural research, and designed objects, A Section of Now critically depicts where we are now and points to the urgent need for a new spatiality and the formation of new societal relationships.