Art direction and design for issue 97 of Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston, a quarterly publication of the Rice Design Alliance. Working alongside editor Raj Mankad and guest editor Nicola Springer for the issue titled “The Future Now”, we wanted to present the idea of futurism as something now, as if it’s happening in front of our eyes and we’ve been living with it. Initially the title was “The Future Is Now”. Our recommendation was to remove “Is” because of the implied call to action for an upcoming decision to make. Instead, we imagined it as already having arrived.
Much of content on imagining the future presents it as if something foreign and in stark contrast from our current reality. Our thinking and questions were: What if we present the content in a way that is completely approachable—as if it’s less of a ‘to-do’, less high-brow? Would this increase the chance that we adapt ideas sooner, create less resistance to change?
Editors’ Note:
When this issue was proposed, we looked at projects in development today that help us imagine a day in the life of Houstonians 10, 20, 30 years from now—how will they rest and relax at home, how will they move through the city, what will their work environment look like, and where will they play? Before we speculate, let us deepen our understanding of the present.
Nicola Springer, Raj Mankad
About Cite Magazine:
Published in Houston by the Rice Design Alliance, Cite: The Architecture and Design Review of Houston, which has been in circulation since 1982, with 102 printed issues of the magazine to date. Cite’s online platform is Cite Digital, formerly OffCite, which has published additional content on urban and design topics since 2008.
Both Cite and Cite Digital feature a wide variety of thought-provoking content, including reviews, architectural news, opinion pieces, interviews, and photo essays, and aim to provide an independent forum for reflection, analysis, and action.
About Rice Design Alliance:
Rice Design Alliance (RDA) believes fostering architecture and design writing is crucial to the dissemination of ideas and to supporting the improvement of our cities through critical thinking. RDA produces a series of independent printed and online publications. In addition to Cite and Cite Digital, RDA publishes independent editorial projects in collaboration with other cultural and educational organizations from across the globe, as well as with local architects, designers, and Rice Architecture faculty.