New Generations is a European platform that investigates the changes in the architectural profession ever since the economic crisis of 2008 by analysing some of the most innovative emerging practices at the European level, providing a new space for the exchange of knowledge and confrontation, theory, and production. The project was conceived by Itinerant Office in 2012.

New Generations has pioneered a novel architecture festival format involving architects, designers, makers, thinkers, and citizens. Since 2012, 8 international festivals have been held in Rome, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Warsaw, and Madrid. The platform is constantly growing, and currently includes more than 500 practices from around 25 countries in the European territory, participating in our cultural agenda through video-interviews, satellite research projects, exhibitions, publications and other public events.

“New Urban Challenges” is the three-year edition (2020 – 2021 – 2022) of the New Generations festival that takes place in Rome, Italy. These three editions of the festival aim to explore the relation between the urban environment and six intertwined themes, two every year. The project has been awarded by the public tender “Estate Romana 2020 – 2021 – 2022” and is part of Romarama, a cultural programme promoted by Roma Capitale.

Anticipatory Editorial PracticesThe three-year edition of the festival is based on the concept of ‘Anticipatory Editorial Practices’. Many emerging architects develop their discourses through the realisation of theoretical texts, articles, publications, anticipating future scenarios, trends, and innovative ideas, often during the early stages of their careers in an experimental fashion; embryonic productions that have the potential to be translated into concrete projects, guidelines and ideas, allowing a critical positioning that prepares them to face a multitude of urban challenges in the years to come. Through this open call for publications, the festival revolves around this concept with the intention of discovering early theoretical reflection by emerging architects that have great potential to influence the coming generations of architects.

Open call for Publications: Exhibition and public eventNew Generations is looking for publications developed by emerging practices and architectural publishing projects. The call is open to books, magazines, zines, digital projects, papers, critical articles, and other forms of editorial production since 2016, related to one of these two year’s topics: (City and) Technology — (City and) Image. The call will close on Sunday - March 21st - 24:00 GMT+1.

The open call aims to select editorial projects that will be featured in either of the two following formats:

(A) Festival 2021The 2021 festival will feature the participation of around 20 international guests in a hybrid format with both public and virtual activities over the course of three days (June - July 2021). Selected participants will get involved in the various activities of the festival programme such as the Speakers Corner, Brainstorming Workshop and the Pecha Kucha Presentations. Those selected as participants in the festival will also be able to participate in the travelling exhibition.

(B) Exhibition 2021Selected editorial projects from the call will be exhibited within a travelling installation. The installation is conceived as a mobile device divided into six pieces, where each piece represents a different theme. Over the three festival editions, the six pieces of the installation will collect new publications, proposing a sort of traveling library with a selection of relevant books related with each of the six themes proposed during the triennial edition of the Festival. The installation will be opened to the public at the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome (May 2021) and consequently travel through a number of prestigious locations across Europe over the three years of the festival.

Selected submissions for both categories will be displayed on newgenerationsweb.com.

ThemesThis year the Festival will focus on the following themes: (City and) Technology — (City and) Image.

(City and) TechnologyWhile technology has always been a central part of human innovation, only recently have automation and hi-tech devices become such an integral part of our day-to-day lives. As we bridge the gap between our bodies and these devices, technology begins to visibly mutate the way in which we inhabit our domestic spaces. The rapid development of technology also paves way for speculation about the different possible futures that we are building in our contemporary cities and our collective imaginaries. How will the future of technological innovation affect our cities and the way in which architecture is not only conceived, but also produced and executed?Keywords: technology, artificial intelligence, automation, devices, bodies, domesticity, isolation, loneliness

(City and) ImageFrom Ledoux’s Architecture Parlante to Lynch’s Image of the City, urban theorists have always speculated on the city’s identity and the factors that influence the mental images we ascribe to our cities. However, in the heart of the information age where social media has become saturated with a panorama of methods to communicate architecture and urban space, how can we use research and experimental methods as a tool to reimagine the identity of our cities? Although social media spaces have fetishised the “architectural collage” and “pastel” aesthetic, perhaps its open and expansive nature can allow architecture to reconnect with a wider public. How can we rethink architectural representation in an increasingly virtual world where simulated environments are becoming more common everyday?Keywords: communication, image, identity, representation, aesthetic, social media,

Key Info- Selected publications will be exhibited at the aforementioned installation.- Shipment of publications to Rome shall be assumed by the selected applicant (the concerned author, publisher, etc.)- 8-10 selected speakers will be invited to join the public event, which will take place between end of June and beginning of July 2021 (date to be confirmed).- Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by New Generations.- Selected event participants will commit to submitting a written article related to their intervention of 1500-2000 words. The article will be edited and reviewed after the Festival and will be compiled in a single publication at the culmination of the three years of the festival (2020-2022).- Selected participants will be contacted by New Generations before April 30th.

Download the information related to this competition here.