THRILLING WONDER STORIES
Speculative futures for an alternate present

A symposium co-ordinated by Liam Young (AA INTER 7 / Tomorrow’s Thoughts Today) and Geoff Manaugh (BLDGBLOG)

29/05/09- 11:00-18:00 AA Lecture Hall

“Everything is becoming science fiction. From the margins of an almost invisible literature has sprung the intact reality of the 20th century.” J.G. Ballard

We have always regaled ourselves with speculative tales of a day yet to come. In these polemic visions we furnish the fictional spaces of the near future with objects and ideas that at the same time chronicle the contradictions, inconsistencies, flaws and frailties of the everyday. Slipping suggestively between the real and the imagined they offer a distanced view from which to survey the consequences of various social, environmental and technological scenarios.

In this symposium we will hear stories from such foreign fields as gaming, film, comics, animation, literature and art.  These speculative practitioners present alternative models as test sites for the deployment of the wondrous possibilities or dark cautionary tales of our own architectural imaginings. And so we wander off the map to embark on a future safari into the brave new worlds that may evolve from our own.

The symposium will be a collection of presentations, interviews and group discussions. The event will also be streamed live online from the AA website and will be live blogged on http://www.tomorrowsthoughtstoday.com.

Speakers include

Geoff Manaugh- bldgblog.blogspot.com (Chair)
Journalist, Commentator, Author. Founder of blog BLDGBLOG

Vicktor Antonov- http://www.vulkanbros.com
Art Director for game ‘Half Life 2’ and Production Designer for film ‘Rennaissance’.

Francois Roche and Stephanie Lavaux. http://www.new-territories.com
R&Sie; architects Paris.

Warren Ellis- http://www.warrenellis.com
Comic author. Creator of ‘Transmetropolitan’ and ‘Fell’, writer for Marvel and DC comics.

Ian Macleod- http://www.ianrmacleod.com
Science Fiction Novelist. Winner of 2009 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction

Archigram Peter Cook http://www.archigram.net
Seminal visionary architecture group

Squint Opera- http://www.squintopera.com
Film and media production studio.

Jim Rossignol- rossignol.cream.org
Gaming author and journalist.

Nic Clear.
Editor of ‘Architectures of the Near Future: Architectural Design’ and Bartlett U15 tutor.