The University of Melbourne will host Professor Kent Larson as he presents the work of his MIT Media Lab research group which tackles issues such as the sustainability, demographic, and health challenges of the future.
The work recognises that new strategies must be found for creating responsive places where people live and work, and the mobility systems that connect them.
Larson will present research which explores ‘the intersection of high-performance housing with urban mobility-on-demand systems, including persuasive electric bike-lane vehicles to encourage exercise, the transformable live-work “CityHome” that functions as if it were much larger, and autonomous parking/charging technology’.
He will also review the group’s “Living Lab” experiments to better understand and respond to human activity in natural environments.
Larson brings his insights as an architect, researcher and academic at the renowned MIT Media Lab to this lecture.
The MIT Media Lab applies an unorthodox research approach to envision the impact of emerging technologies on everyday life.
Larson’s current research is focused on three related areas: Responsive Urban Housing; Ubiquitous Technologies; Living Lab Experiments.
The lecture is presented by the City of Melbourne (Melbourne Boston Sister Cities), The University of Melbourne and International Specialised Skills Institute.
Professor Kent Larson is the City of Melbourne Boston International Fellow and recipient, University of Melbourne William J Mitchell Professorship.
An exhibition of selected projects by Kent Larson and MIT Media Lab Research Group will be on display in the Wunderlich Gallery, Architecture Building at the University of Melbourne, 11-22 July.
Date: Friday 22 July 2011, 6.15pm-7.15pm
Venue: Prince Philip Theatre, Architecture Building, The University of Melbourne
Register online at www.msd.unimelb.edu.au
