Telling tales in smooth and striated spaces

This talk will be based upon my building work in virtual worlds. This activity incorporates not only architecture but also deals with the creation of virtual geography, virtual climate and a virtual ecology. This building activity will be considered within the contexts of the Deleuzian notion of ‘smooth’ and ‘striated’ space. The aim is the creation of a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ that can also be considered to be a ‘storyworld,’ since one of the uppermost aims of the avatars who visit such locations is the creation of personal tales that take their impetus from the environment in which they are immersed. A number of such ‘storyworlds’ that take their impetus from the ‘smooth/striated’ will be demonstrated and their building strategies be explained through a visual based presentation

Forms for electronic books

Thesis (M.S.V.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1983.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCHBibliography: leaves 80-84.The book is proposed as a candidate form for new electronic information systems. The electronic book casts the powerfully expressive new media of computers and video in the accessible forms of the printed book. It is a testbed for developing novel methods of interactive information retrieval and perusal that are as useful and intuitive as those of the printed book. The evolution of the book in a history of technological innovation is examined, and the electronic book is established as a logical and adaptive next stage in that evolution. The influence of media forms on the information they carry, and on the way we think, is also considered. The movie manual, a videodisc-based prototype for an electronic book, is presented in a photo-demonstration. Videodisc production and the design and implementation of an object-oriented software system for editing and viewing the movie manual are described. The final section proposes some directions for further work on the movie manual, and looks at possibilities for forms of future books.by Steve Gano.M.S.V.S

Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch

In order to warrant a good present and future for people around the planet and to safe the care of the planet itself, research in architecture has to release all its potential. Therefore, the aims of the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture are: - To focus on the most relevant needs of humanity and the planet and what architectural research can do for solving them. - To assess the evolution of architectural research in traditionally matters of interest and the current state of these popular and widespread topics. - To deepen in the current state and findings of architectural research on subjects akin to post-capitalism and frequently related to equal opportunities and the universal right to personal development and happiness. - To showcase all kinds of research related to the new and holistic concept of sustainability and to climate emergency. - To place in the spotlight those ongoing works or available proposals developed by architectural researchers in order to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. - To underline the capacity of architectural research to develop resiliency and abilities to adapt itself to changing priorities. - To highlight architecture's multidisciplinarity as a melting pot of multiple approaches, points of view and expertise. - To open new perspectives for architectural research by promoting the development of multidisciplinary and inter-university networks and research groups. For all that, the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture is open not only to architects, but also for any academic, practitioner, professional or student with a determination to develop research in architecture or neighboring fields.Cabrera Fausto, I. (2023). Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/VIBRArch2022.2022.1686

Adult Learning Sign Language by combining video, interactivity and play

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or a disorder they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a theoretical framework for the design of interactive games to support learning BSL supporting the entire learning cycle, instruction, practice and assessment. It then describes the proposed design of a game based on this framework aiming to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment, by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper concludes with the planning of a large scale study and directions for further development of this educational resource

UNSTABLE TERRITORIES OF REPRESENTATION: Architectural Experience and the Behaviour of Forms, Spaces and the Collective Dynamic Environment

This thesis applies an interdisciplinary cybernetic and phenomenological analysis to contemporary theories of representation and interpretation of architecture, resulting in a speculative theoretical model of architectural experience as a behavioural system. The methodological model adopted for this research defines the main structure of the thesis where the narrative and the contributing parts of its complexity emerge. The narrative is presented through objectives and hypotheses that shift and slide between architectural representation and its experience based on three key internal components in architecture: the architectural forms and spaces, the active observers that interact with their environment, and finally, the responsive environment. Three interrelated research questions are considered. The first seeks to define the influence of the theoretical instability between complex life processes, emerging technologies and active perception upon architecture. The second questions the way in which the architectural experience is generated. The third asks: Does architecture behave? And if so, is it possible to define its behavioural characteristics related to its representation, experience and the medium of communication in-between? The thesis begins by exploring the effect of developments in digitally interactive, biological, and hybrid technologies on representation in architecture. An account of architectural examples considers the shift in the meaning of representation in architecture from the actual and literal to the more conceptual and experimental, from the individual human body and its relations to the multifaceted ecosystem of collective and connected cultures. The writings of Kester Rattenbury, Neil Leach, and Peter Cook among others contribute to the transformation of the ordinary perceptual experience of architecture, the development of experimental practices in architectural theory, and the dynamism of our perception. The thesis goes on to suggest that instability in architectural representation does not only depend on the internal components of the architectural system but also on the principles and processes of complex systems as well as changes in active perception and our consciousness that act as the external influences on the system. Established theoretical endeavours in biology of D’Arcy Thompson, Alan Turing, and John Holland and philosophies of Merleau-Ponty, Richard Gregory, and Deleuze and Guattari are discussed in this context. Pre-programmed and computational models, illustrative and generative, are presented throughout the thesis. In the final stage of the development of the thesis architecture is analysed as a system. This is not an unprecedented notion, however defining the main elements and components of this system and their interactions and thereafter identifying that the system behaves and defining its behavioural characteristics, adds to the knowledge in the field of theoretical and experimental architecture. This thesis considers the behavioural characteristics of architecture to be derived from the hypothetical links and unstable thresholds of its non-dualistic notions of materiality and immateriality, reality and virtuality, and finally, intentionality and interpretation

Designing for mod development: user creativity as product development strategy on the firm-hosted 3D software platform

The thesis is designed to improve our understanding of user participation in Web-based development practices in the commercial setting of the 3D software industry. It aims to investigate whether the creative capacities of users and their contributions to the online firm-hosted 3D platform are indicative of a novel configuration of production that influences the processes of product development across firm boundaries. The thesis mobilizes the user participation literature developing in media research as its main theoretical framework. It builds on insights derived from work on user participation in media sites as seen through a cultural lens, in particular, as developed in Henry Jenkins' notions of 'participatory' and 'convergence culture'. The user participation literature is supported by a combination of insights drawn from work on communities of practice and user-centred innovation so as to offer a more robust approach to examine and appreciate the firm-hosted 3D platform as a site of user participation. More specifically, the conceptual framework for the study provides a basis for an examination of the ways a software developer finn encourages user participation in a market and of how this enables and facilitâtes particular modes of user creativity. These are shown to shape and maintain a firm-hosted platform that aids product development efforts that are expected to benefit the developer fimi. An empirical study of the platform, Second Life, provides the basis for the analysis of finn-user interactions which are shown to underpin a distinctive finn leaming process in the context of product development that occurs across permeable fimi boundaries. The thesis yields insight into the way a developer firm invites its user base to partner with it in product development, indicating how aspects of user participation associated with non-market dynamics are embedded in commercial activity and professionalism. The pivotal role of users is revealed in the design, development and sustainability of a firm-hosted 3D product. The findings point to interesting relationships between the distinctive creative capacities of users and the range of capabilities afforded by the firm-provided design space. Variations in user participation and contributions to product development suggest that particular patterns of learning opportunities occur. The analysis yields several new concepts including a 'modification effect market' which are used to extend existing conceptualizations of user participation in digitai development practices in the commercial setting of the 3D software industry

Wayfinding Situations

Wayfinding, which is the task of getting from some origin to a destination, is one of the primary spatial problems humans encounter in everyday life. When we wayfind, we act in the environment based on the structure and features of the environment, set against a background of knowledge which is generally understood as having visual characteristics. As mobile and wireless technologies proliferate in urban space it can be considered as having an existence in terms of several spaces, those of places that make up our direct perceptual experience and those of the digital devices and networks that facilitate communication, which are primarily non-visual in nature. This thesis will extend existing work on perception and action in urban space to investigate the role of mobile and ubiquitous technologies in wayfinding and environmental legibility, or more literally how we orientate and find our way in space when we experience it both with and through technology. In order to do this, the research takes the approach of considering wayfinding as a situated activity that takes place against a rich and articulated background of experiences and social connections. Through a series of empirical studies the concept of wayfinding situations is explored from two different perspectives. The first study investigates the relationship between an individual and technology as they act in environmental settings, by comparing learning for a spatial task depending on whether the individual accesses a map or a mobile map to make judgements. The second study seeks to understand the relationship between individual and environment as they act in technological settings, and focuses on the perception and action in space as affected by wireless technologies. The combined outcome of these two empirical studies provides the basis for the definition of a richer and more differentiated concept of wayfinding situations. This informs the final stage of the research in which an applied response is proposed to supporting wayfinding in a specific urban scenario, where the aim is to embed the technology into the spatial setting.Eine der grundlegenden Arten, wie wir die Welt wahrnehmen, ist die räumliche Wahrnehmung: Die physische Gestalt und Erscheinung unserer Umgebung ist der Schlüssel für unsere Handlungen und Wahrnehmungen darin. Das Aufkommen von Kommunikationstechnologien hat den Charakter der visuellen Präsenz im Alltag wesentlich beeinflusst, so dass das Bild, das der Einzelne von der Stadt hat (Lynch 1965), das er benutzt, um sich im städtischen Raum zurechtzufinden und zu orientieren, nicht länger ausschließlich auf physische Elemente und Strukturen beschränkt ist. Bei dem Versuch, die räumliche Erfahrung in zunehmend vermittelten Umgebungen zu entflechten, besteht der Bedarf, zu überdenken, wie wir in räumlichen Situationen denken, handeln und interagieren. In diesem Kontext bietet uns der Bereich der Wegfindung eine Möglichkeit, zu verstehen and darauf zu reagieren, wie wir im Raum handeln und uns zurechtfinden. Die Wegfindung ist eine zielorientierte, gelenkte und motivierte Handlung (Golledge 1999). Menschen benutzen unterschiedliche Wegfindungsstrategien, je nach ihrem eigenen individuellen räumlichen Bewusstsein und nach ihrer Kenntnis der Umgebung, durch die sie reisen. Wahrnehmung und Handlung im Raum werden teilweise durch unsere Fähigkeit ermöglicht, auf Denkschemata des Raumes zu reagieren (z. B. Siegel and White 1975, Tversky 1993). Wenn wir uns in der städtischen Umgebung bewegen und auf motivierte Art handeln, eignen wir uns Kenntnisse über sie an, die in geistige Repräsentationen umgewandelt werden. Diese Repräsentationen können abgerufen werden, um während des Navigierens Entscheidungen zu treffen; aber wir benutzen außerdem grafische Repräsentationen, wie Karten und mobile Karten, zur Unterstützung. Unterstützung in Form von Papierkarten wird zunehmend durch dynamische Karten verdrängt, die mithilfe von mobilen Vorrichtungen mit GPS arbeiten. Da solche Technologien es dem Einzelnen ermöglichen, Kenntnisse abzuladen, sind wir der Ansicht, dass ein Lernprozess über die Umgebung während dieser Aufgabe nicht gefördert wird. Die kognitiven Fähigkeiten Einzelner werden als solche nicht unbedingt von den derzeitigen Interaktionsmodellen solcher Anwendungen unterstützt. Zur weitergehenden Untersuchung dieses Themas beschreibt die erste Phase unserer Forschung eine Studie, die die Kenntnisaneignung bei einer Anzahl von räumlichen Aufgaben vergleicht, je nachdem, ob der Teilnehmer Zugang zu einer Papierkarte oder einer mobilen Karte hatte. Die zweite Phase unserer empirischen Arbeit bemüht sich um das Verständnis dessen, wie Einzelne die räumliche Situation wahrnehmen, wenn sie in Kommunikationstechnologie gebettet ist und untersucht den Fall „drahtlose Netzwerke“. Diese Ergebnisse werden dann in einer Zusammenfassung dargestellt, die sich bemüht, Wegfindungssituationen zu charakterisieren. Sie werden dann als Grundlage für das Design einer Anwendung genutzt, die solche Wegfindungssituationen innerhalb spezifischer städtischer Situationen unterstützt