Arcadia

 

“We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims”

Richard Buckminster Fuller

 

Arcadia is the city of flows. Here, every day, millions of digital data are exchanged through the Smartexes, small technological devices that represent the only interface between the individual and the rest of the world. Shopping, watching a movie, having a conversation: everything happens in real time through the Smartexes. Every citizen of Arcadia has one, that is assigned to him at birth along with a username and a password that allow him to access his personal database and enjoy an unlimited number of services.

 

The 50 million inhabitants of Arcadia live in smart buildings called Domoters. These buildings, arranged according to an ordered chessboard mesh, are formed by the CLI - Computers to Live In, interconnected housing units, managed through the Smartexes and equipped with every technological comfort. You can meet another person, eat together or make love by simply connecting to his CLI.

 

Public life is very important in Arcadia: people meet in Social Squares, open spaces bordered by the Domoters where you can do all kinds of activities such as drinking a coffee or eating a pizza with friends, all through the Smartex.

 

The Net is the physical and digital infrastructure system of Arcadia. Flows of people, goods and data travel simultaneously within the same network that allows rapid movement from one part of the city to another. People move within the Net through the City Caps, single-seat solar powered capsules. The City Cap is a sort of cab: it’s called via Smartex and leads independently to the desired place simply by setting the destination.

 

Trade is the most profitable economic activity of Arcadia: it’s possible to make purchases of any kind through the Smartex, using Datacoins, the electronic currency. All goods are stored within the Bigboxes, large warehouses from which the wares depart to arrive at the final recipient via the Net.

 

Arcadia is a lively and energetic city: it represents the deep interweaving of physical and digital space, the highest expression of human evolution connected to every point of the planet. Citizens of Arcadia don’t give up living physical space and human contact but they do that by the use of technology.

 

Arcadia is the city of flows.

Arcadia is one and many cities in the global village.

 

Credits:

 

Type: Research

Location: Viale IV Novembre, Corso Piave, Corso Isonzo, Via Piangipane - Ferrara, Italy

Dates: 27 October 2017 - 19th April, 2018

Idea: SET Architects (Lorenzo Catena, Onorato Di Manno, Andrea Tanci)

Curators and Promoters: Collettivo Järfälla

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