OVERVIEW

The Laboratory for Cybernetics (L4C) is one of the experimental Research Laboratories within Carnegie Mellon—Architecture, launching in January 2025.

L4C enables students across Architecture, Design, and other CMU disciplines to explore Cybernetics and Systems for conceptual and pragmatic benefits. L4C offers:

1. an approach to Cybernetics in a Laboratory Context
2. a $5,000 award for Best Design Brief given in May 2025 for its focus on wicked challenges and understanding of Cybernetics in its design approach
3. a new course in Spring 2025, Engaging Wicked Challenges, Architecture 48-551 | 48-751 and Design 51-305 | 51-605 — Wed & Fri 2pm to 3:20pm CFA 310, open to all graduate students and 3rd- and 4th-years by permission
4. a growing repository of concepts and materials, models and methods, all in support of approaching "wicked challenges."

In addition to sharing the transdisciplinary DNA of Cybernetics, L4C embraces collaboration that is also transgeographical (diverse and inclusive) and transgenerational. L4C builds on recent experiments in "colloquies" that cross all these boundaries with specific techniques for bridging differences in background and discipline, education and learning style, and generational wordview. L4C has adopted the organizing principles of Colloquies for Transgenerational Collaboration (CTC) whereby in-world practitioners are matched to students based on the student's worldview and commitment to specific "wicked challenges."

A general introduction to L4C is available here.
 

L4C is exploring opportunities for research projects that support the intentions of the lab and especially the needs of students who wish to use the lab as extensions of their academic pursuits, including defining and performing thesis research, developing detailed design briefs, and supporting the systems and cybernetic components of their course projects.

Existing and Candidate Projects include:

1. Re-Braiding Cybernetics & Artificial Intelligence: A book exhibit, a series of critical essays, and a symposium to trace the sometimes sequential, parallel, intertwined, or contradictory paths across the histories of the two fields. Why do certain themes and questions continue to arise in each, despite differences in concepts and methodologies? What may be gained from spotlighting the differences across AI and Cybernetics as well as the way that each may have (in the past), and may still (in the future), contribute to the intentions of the other?
2. Colloquies for Transgenerational Collaboration (CTC): Continuing the pedagogical exploration begun in Fall 2023 as the Pittsburgh Hub of the RSD12 Symposium, the Engaging Wicked Challenges course will use the approach of CTC to bridge gaps in worldview, education, culture, and values between students and established in-world practitioners.
3. Book Proposal for Cybernetic Models for Design: L4C will prepare a detailed book proposal for a practical toolkit grounded in cybernetic modeling of thinking, ethics, and design—including definition and rationale for the operations of L4C—that demonstrates the continued relevance of Cybernetics for addressing contemporary challenges.

(Click here for further information and additional candidates.)

The resources of the L4C fall into broad categories:

• Concepts and Materials, Models and Methods—multi-media of essential content for applying Cybernetics to wicked challenges. The primary means for collecting resource entries is a GOOG survey, which feeds into a database that supports the research and projects of students and researchers of the lab. Click here to contribute to the resource collection. Content will be vetted by the Lab and widely shared across geographies and organizations. Links will be added here when these resources are available in early Spring 2025.
• Networking and Collaborating—connecting students to in-world practitioners and scaffolding their on-going interactions for mutual learning. The primary means for seeking collaboration will be available in early Spring 2025.

Paul Pangaro, ppangaro@cmu.edu