Article:

The Architecture of ScarCity Game is a board game used as a pedagogical toolthat challenges architecture students by involving them in a series ofexperimental design sessions to understand the design process of scarcity and theactual relation between the craft and the digital. This means ``pragmatic deliveryprocesses and material constraints, where the exchange between the artisan ofhandmade, representing local skills and technology of the digitally conceived isexplored'' (Huang 2013). The game focuses on understanding the differentvariables of the crafted design process of traditional communities underconditions of scarcity (Michel and Bevan 1992). This requires first analyzing thespatial environmental model of interaction, available human and naturalresources, and the dynamic relationship of these variables in a digital era. In thefirst stage (Pre-Agency), the game set the concept of the craft by limiting studentsdesign exploration from a minimum possible perspective developing locallyavailable resources and techniques. The key elements of the design process oftraditional knowledge communities have to be identified (Preez 1984). In otherwords, this stage is driven by limited resources + chance + contingency. In thesecond stage (Post-Agency) students taking the architects´ role within thiscommunities, have to speculate and explore the interface between the craft (localknowledge and low technological tools), and the digital represented bycomputation data, new technologies available and construction. This means theintroduction of strategy + opportunity + chance as part of the design process. Inthis sense, the game has a life beyond its mechanics. This other life challengesthe participants to exploit the possibilities of breaking the actual boundaries ofdesign. The result is a tool to challenge conventional methods of teaching andleaning controlling a prescribed design process. It confronts the rules thatprofessionals in this field take for granted. The game simulates a `fake' reality byexploring in different ways with surveyed information. As a result, participantsdo not have anything `real' to lose. Instead, they have all the freedom to innovateand be creative