Invasion of the body snatchers: architecture and virtual space

Architecture, in one sense, has become part of the media: it has an aspect which is symbolic and semiotic, which is as ‘real’ in photography, film, television, advertising, computer games and literature as it is in our experience of landscapes, buildings and machines. But, I shall argue that the media, in one sense, have also become part of architecture, they have an aspect which we perceive as continuous with Cartesian space, and through this pseudo-physical presence they help shape and programme the space of habitation

Ingenious, eloquent and persuasive? Towards a critique of architecture as communication

The cultural role of architecture is viewed here in terms of the extent to which architecture participates in communicative processes. The rationale for this perspective is traced broadly through the lineage of Pragmatism culminating in the work of Rorty, which offers ‘social hope’; communication is ultimately directed toward human solidarity. In this context the achievement of modernist architecture is at best ambivalent. The utopian quest for transparency and solidity in architectural form represented a turn against the scenographic dimension of urban design, the very dimension in which the narrative, the symbolic and the connotative are most readily expressed. Postmodern architecture, proponents of which often profess explicitly critical and communicative ambitions, fares no better. The deconstructive, double coded and contradictory tendencies in such work may support its criticality but often result in isolated statements as likely to confuse and frustrate its users as facilitate productive relations. The question arises, therefore, of how we are to make sense of the various strands of twentieth and early twenty-first century architecture. This paper is speculative. It reviews a selection of research projects carried out by members of a postgraduate research group in the Lincoln School of Architecture in 2010. Six propositions concerning the relationship between architecture and communication were presented to the group in November 2009. Each project developed a critical response to one or more of these, with the intention of engaging in debate ultimately about the cultural role of architecture. In true Rortian style, the conclusions concern the trajectory of the conversation, the voices present and absent, and the contingency of theory, rather than any definitive agreement on any of the propositions, which are actually provocations

The naked truth: metaphors of space, complexity and communication

In this paper what I wish to explore is the question of sustainability as a viable goal in that realm of human activity broadly labelled ‘design’. I will put forward the argument that the peculiarly human activity of designing is one that has led us to accelerate the process of change in our locality; that this accelerated process of change is an attempt to enhance the intensity and meaningfulness of life; and that this generates an increasingly complex spatio-temporal environment organised by communicative constructs and actions. In design, therefore, the idea of sustainability is not primarily about physical realities: it is about humanity. The question I ask is, is sustainability a viable goal in design

Exhibition as mass communication: critical studies of multi-modal communicative environments

Generally, the literature on mass communication research ignores exhibition; that is, it does not investigate and provide any theories about the communicative function of trade show exhibits, museum exhibitions, and international expositions, particularly in their most advanced forms as multimedia spatial formations. This paper considers the reasons for the lacunae particularly in critical approaches to historical, cultural and philosophical perspectives on exhibition. It also identifies fields of research that the academic community are encouraged to explore

The play's the thing

For very understandable reasons phenomenological approaches predominate in the field of sensory urbanism. This paper does not seek to add to that particular discourse. Rather it takes Rorty’s postmodernized Pragmatism as its starting point and develops a position on the role of multi-modal design representation in the design process as a means of admitting many voices and managing multidisciplinary collaboration. This paper will interrogate some of the concepts underpinning the Sensory Urbanism project to help define the scope of interest in multi-modal representations. It will then explore a range of techniques and approaches developed by artists and designers during the past fifty years or so and comment on how they might inform the question of multi-modal representation. In conclusion I will argue that we should develop a heterogeneous tool kit that adopts, adapts and re-invents existing methods because this will better serve our purposes during the exploratory phase(s) of any design project that deals with complexity

Friendly chimeras: the evolution of critical creative practice in exhibition design

This paper aims to develop and articulate an historical perspective on the relationships between exhibition design, academic endeavour in the humanities and professional development. It reflects on design culture and educational philosophy and traces the recent history of curriculum development in exhibition design. The exhibition design course at University of Lincoln has a sixty-year history. Reviewing the way its philosophy has evolved reveals a consistently dynamic reflection of real-world interests. This has involved a pragmatic and somewhat eclectic appropriation of theory, particularly from the expanding field of museology, and its integration into an increasingly critical mode of creative practice. When the course became an undergraduate honours degree in 1991 the �project rationale� was introduced as an alternative to the traditional undergraduate dissertation. The principle of integrating theory and practice proved enormously successful and now applies throughout the curriculum. Discourse analysis is applied to articles and course documents from the period 1970 to 1999. Bibliographical survey is also used to analyse the range and type of literature used to support students� studies. This is set against a background of influences on the exhibition design curriculum. These include contemporary changes in design practice, the growth of research into and for design, and changes in the national and institutional frameworks for course development. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the role of the humanities in exhibition design creativity and highlights outstanding issues in the discipline

Conservation architecture and the narrative imperative: Birmingham back to backs

The paper uses a case study to explore how the opposing logics of conservation architecture and interpretive exhibition design were played out in the shaping of a narrative museum space. The former concerns itself with an archaeological conception of physical space, which is defined through the decipherability of traces and their layering over time. The latter concerns itself with a theatrical notion of event space defined through the mapping and programming of performances and information flows. The contingencies of the Birmingham Back to Backs project – its incep¬tion, the in¬volvement of the National Trust, the foregrounding of community interests and the interpretive design process – gave rise to a novel resolution of contrasting interests. A particular idea of narrative was able to frame the use of, on the one hand, physical evidence to interpret what may have existed and, on the other, a combination of lived and documentary evidence to reconstruct the patterns of daily life. This can be understood as a process of recovering ordinary lives. The research addresses the following conference themes: sites overlaid with narrative, the role of visitor-centred design in the production of museum space, and the emergence of new approaches that cut across disciplines. Analysis of interpretive design and heritage management documentation is informed by Samuel’s theorization of the shaping power of memory (1994). However, overall, the approach is pragmatic, in that it engages in critical conversations, resists reductionism, and tries to point up what may be useful in helping us cope together in the world. The principal conclusions concern the role that a focus on narrative (re)construction can play in framing cross-disciplinary collaboration and the potential of embracing radically different conceptions of space in museum design

Writing design

The complexity of design is defined in terms of four classes of object - product, programme, process and philosophy - the four 'P's of design. A range of possibilities for writing about these objects is outlined with reference to their methodological implications. Six formats for research presentation are described, each of which relates directly to a common type of designerly enquiry and embraces a productive account of the four 'P's. In conclusion, some observations are made on the value of such research and the opportunities it presents for developing the design discipline

Escaping the cave: the communicative origins of architecture

Through a study of language this paper explores the ironic possibility that a turning point in human communication as an environment shaping practice may help explain architecture’s prehistoric origins and its persistence. The paper begins with an Apology – a validation of the project. The practical effects of postmodernity can be identified with the hybridization of spatial phenomena and the implosion of media. Architecture, it seems, has become more complicated than the etymology of the word suggests; the architect – archi tektōn: master builder – is now also a master of ceremonies charged with orchestrating the space of communication. In a peculiar sense building and writing have become one. But is this a new phenomenon or could it be the present-day manifestation of a much older, perhaps ancient, idea: that architecture has an inherent communicative logic? The body of the paper focusses on Deleuze and Guattari’s writings on deterritorialization and inscription. It moves from the atmosphere of the present – the hybridity of architectural space after the postmodern turn – back down to earth – the territory of the nomad – to see what may be uncovered or recovered in the process. The method is informed by Rorty’s writing on hermeneutics and philosophy as edification, and by Vattimo’s on the return of myth in postmodern experience. It proceeds from Aphorism to Essay to Dialogue. Each layer of the text broadens and transforms the preceding one through purposeful shifts in literary style. The purpose of the Aphorism is to capture a truth, namely: that architecture is not a consequence of geography – a marking, marking out, and writing of the earth – but is born out of the collision of geography and scenography – a masking, marking, writing of the skin. The Essay exploits and adds to material brought from the margins by Deleuze and Guattari in Anti-Oedipus and in A Thousand Plateaus. It tests ideas and lines of argument to flush out the referential matter and flesh out its intricacies. The Dialogue attempts to make sense of the material through a dialectic procedure that ends in some sense of agreement or clarity over positions, peripheral or otherwise. An Epilogue is appended not so much to tie-up loose ends – the choice being between entanglement and confusion – as to fray and flay them – to expose the lineaments to censure. It does not arrive at foundations, essential terms, but at three images: the granularity of shifting sands, the nomadic spirit living on within cities, and the permanent refuge as a place of interiorization, projection and nostalgic reproduction. Is there anything beyond the cave – quiquid ultra speluncum

Sustainable exhibit design: guidelines for designers of small scale interactive and travelling exhibits

This study was commissioned as part of Lincolnshire County Council’s FLOWS ‘2B’ Information and Symbols Project and UK match funding for this particular FLOWS Project has been provided by East Midlands Development Agency. The aim of FLOWS is to improve the sustainability of development in flood risk areas through development of ‘good practice’, by improved integration of flood risk information into decision-support systems for spatial planning and water management. FLOWS involves over 40 individual projects which are based in four Work Packages. Lincolnshire County Council is jointly leading Work Package 3 (Spatial Planning) and is also leading on Projects in Work Package 2 (Public Perception/Dissemination). This study has been produced as part of Lincolnshire County Council’s ‘FLOWS 2B Information and Symbols Project’ and in the wider context, is focussing on raising public awareness of flooding and flood risk by exploring innovative methods of disseminating information on the subject of flood risk to the public. This project involves the production of interactive exhibits aimed at raising the awareness of flood risk in Lincolnshire and is a partnership between Lincolnshire County Council and the School of Architecture at the University of Lincoln. A study focussing on creating sustainable exhibitions has been undertaken via the University of Lincoln that will directly inform the FLOWS exhibits. As detailed in the project brief, this study on Sustainable Exhibit Design will investigate best practice in sustainable exhibit design and produce a report setting out guidelines for designers of small interactive and travelling exhibits, guidelines which are directly applicable to the proposed FLOWS exhibit. The report will form a contribution to exhibition design knowledge through wider distribution via the University of Lincoln and FLOWS websites and a conference presentation