Come-Back City

Oxford School of Architecture, 2018-19

Within a decade one company changed the way we live, work and communicate like few others, only to be superseded by the afterlife of its own invention. Left behind is a short, but nevertheless rich archive of stories and memories to learn from: the cornerstones of an improbable success, of a new industry taking shape, driven by people that were inventing their own way into the future. Salo once drew the brightest minds to its town, how can its community be harnessed to inform the design of a future-proof architectural identity? Many have mused that it was the relationship of hardware and software that sealed the company’s decline. Its complacency, and its neglect to acknowledge that the 21st century is as much about hardware as it is about software, led Nokia to build shiny shells around a superseded operating system. The parallels to our own profession are uncanny. Unit C seeks to invent new methods of architectural research and production. Through community engagement and immersion, we aim to design sensitive yet radical interventions which take a step towards new crowd-sourced architectural typologies.

Bachelor of Architecture Studio, Unit C.

Teaching partners: Ness Lafoy, Agostino Nickl.