Author(s): Kate Donaldson

Magazines

Black Summer (2019-2020) illuminated the phenomenon of the Australian bushfire as a violent, destructive and uncontrollable presence on the global media stage. Fire in Australia has become synonymous with trauma, for its immediately perceivable harmful effects on animals, humans and the built environment. However, Black Summer has also catalysed important discussions on the rich and ancient history of fire as an ecological tool, wielded as a promoter of biological diversity and flourishing ecosystems. Catastrophe can illuminate the ironies and contradictions of an anthropocentric lens and spur us to challenge our approach to reconstruction, erasure, memory and place. Inflection Volume 08 Presence therefore poses the question- How is the power of 'presence' shaping architecture and place-making today? Within Volume 08, infrastructure is viewed as active and relational; the experience of women of colour in architecture is unpacked; 'feral' effects of the Anthropocene are unearthed; a Planet City takes shape; Zoom is rendered (virtually) spatial; digital craft is embodied; demolition is rendered constructive; earthquake recovery transcends time and space; and much, much more.