The Creation of E A U

E stands for Evolution, A for Arch and U for Urbanism. The intention has been defining urbanism in a new era of industrialization through creative research and design paradigms.

This seed had been growing in mind when witnessing challenges in post industrial cities and emerging industrial cities during the Great Recession of late 2007, that started unfolding a time, being seen as a generic global industrial system transforming to composition of varieties. Responding to the historical change, E A U was formed by Columbia University alumni on the Morningside campus of Columbia University in the city of New York, to vision a future and to preserve treasured values in traditions. 

From "The Saline De Chaux" to Apple's new campus in California, design of industrial city has evolved from Institution to Factory, from Factory to Campus. The representation of industrial setting has evolved from the leading driver of a society to massive reproduction, from massive reproduction to intellectual creativity. Industrialization is circling upward to unfold a new era. A new relationship between production, environment, creativity, visual branding, is defining the new industrialization. 

In this era, development of 3D print, new materials and various network will change the size of production and make "create" and “produce" come closer to daily life and go farther to the space. A continuing technology development in micro level will change the way we see the world and ourselves, which eventually influences how to design. Those developments will change design industry from "massive production" to "renewable and customized creation". Industrial city will not agglomerate on the edge of cities. It is becoming the center of emerging city and scattering into the existing urban fabric. In both ways, it can not be neglected. Will it be a new cultural icon? Will it be new urban phenomena? They are not questions. They are happening.

By collaborating with genuine entrepreneurs and professionals, E A U create has been defined as the seed for evolution of culture, environment, society and technology in Each industrial site, industrial space, and industrial product. 

Like an individual who holds a dream for beloved profession and has compassion to contribute to good-natured society, E A U involves individuals who are persistent to design big for each individual's small justice, which emerges as a character of E A U. We tailor characteristic design for each individual's dream and for gathering those beautiful small dreams to make a better world.

When overlapping population increasing trend from 2000 to 2080 with other important indexes such as PPP, job opportunity, virtual water exchange and climate change vulnerability in the global scale, few region in the world has enough natural resource, capital and manpower to sustain a comprehensive growth by itself. Growth juxtaposes with declination globally and regionally.

The imbalanced distribution of material, capital and manpower is essential to reshape industrial development and the flows of exchange. It melts many cultural boundaries in global scale, but redraws conflicts in a micro scale. It may revert the regional trend of urbanization to de-urbanization. It stimulates design of controversies: urban, farming, industry, and landscape preservation.

A series of research and design has been directed under the model of Dissolving.City.  It states to reshape fragmented sites and controversial elements, through reciprocity evolution of infrastructure, farming, landscape and social media.  “Big”, “medium” or “small” scale is apt to the specific site and cultural background. 

On New York New Design at AIA, our exhibit “Industrial arch off the mainstream” reveals an attitude of switching attention from architecture itself to interaction on the edge, from autonomy to talking with users, visitors, light and landscape. It echos a sensitivity to people, environment, culture on site, and embraces changes and certain value of timelessness.

Hope everyone with a dream in heart to find each other, team up and walk in a way toward this dream with courage, persistence and compassion. And together, individualities and dreams make the world a better place.