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Co-published by Strelka Press and Park Books, The New Normal book is the result of a three-year collaborative project and “Speculative Urbanism” think-tank at Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design in Moscow, investigating the impact of planetary-scale computation on the future of cities in Russia and globally. The multi-authored publication is a comprehensive record of the questions posed and designs created in response to what the new normal is, and more importantly, what it should be.
The book was edited by design theorist, writer, and The New Normal program director Benjamin H.Bratton; architect, designer and program design and education tutor at Strelka Institute Nicolay Boyadjiev; and deputy editor of e-flux Architecture Nick Axel. The design and layout were developed by Larissa Kasper, Rosario Florio, and Samuel Bänziger from the Swiss collaborative design office PIN.
The New Normal is the first expanded publication in English developed by Strelka Institute. The 548-page book encompasses the breadth and diversity of the work and features twenty-two interlinked research projects showing how speculative urban design can move upstream in decision-making processes. It also includes a series of nine new thematic essays by program director Benjamin H. Bratton which reflects on the questions posed and designs created by the think-tank, and a series of seventeen newly commissioned essays by some of the most important designers, philosophers, architects, and artists who were part of the program: strategist and designer Ben Cerveny, architect and writer Keller Easterling, philosopher Yuk Hui, writer and researcher Anastassia Smirnova, architect and engineer Lydia Kallipoliti, writer Geoff Manaugh, digital culture theorist Lev Manovich, filmmakers, artists, and writers Metahaven, artist Trevor Paglen, designer Robert G. Pietrusko, artist and writer Patricia Reed, filmmaker and designer Liam Young, contemporary strategists Rival Strategy, conceptual artist Julieta Aranda, researcher Stephanie Sherman, and designer and writer Molly Wright Steenson.
The visual stream running through the publication is compiled from design studies, archival footage, and curated fieldwork material originating from the research process of the think-tank over three years. Complementing and partitioning the individual authors' essays, these interwoven illustrations, photographs, and collages are the outcome of a collaborative and unified effort and render a montage-like “cinematic” experience throughout the book.
