m7red: inundacion!

"buenos aires based architectural collective m7red has come up with a proactive tool for designers and planners called "inundacion! a board game that lets player try their own hand at solving the problems created by catastrophic disasters such as Katrina, tsunamis, floods and earthquakes. its not just a playful game but a project that is meant to foster conversations between experts and non experts. characters include: politician, policeman, engineer, anarchist, gaucho, immigrant etc. the game works using anywhere from 8 to 80 players divided in teams. each selects at random a previously established character, style and secret goal. team members must transform theseelements into a story which they present through icons on a map of for example, flooded buenos aires. styles range from the ecologically minded to the entrepreneurial, and secret goal can include any tak from starting a refugee angency to attracting tourist in the flood-stricken area."

courtesy of november 2005 art forum.

their profile on archinect reads:

Instead of designing buildings, we build forums that bring together both experts and non-experts to discuss the most pressing political and urban topics: from total economic collapse to healthcare in a post-welfare state.

In the past five years, we have used eclectic cultural forms – games, karaoke, conversation – to challenge the city-state monopoly on urban planning and urbanity. Since architecture is a social product, m7red creates situations for "site-itizens" to question the planning process.