Notes Towards User-Object Objectivity Definitions:
Interactive
in·ter·ac·tive [in-ter-ak-tiv] 1 adjective 1. Acting one upon or with the other. 2. Of or pertaining to a two-way system of electronic communications, as by means of television or computer: interactive communications between families using two-way cable television. 3. (Of a computer program or system) interacting with a human user, often in a conversational way, to obtain data or commands and to give immediate results or updated information: For many years airline reservations have been handled by interactive computer systems. Origin: 1825–35; inter- + active
ar·chi·tec·ture [ahr-ki-tek-cher] 2 noun 1. The profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect. Architecture often includes design or selection of furnishings and decorations, supervision of construction work, and the examination, restoration, or remodeling of existing buildings. 2. The character or style of building: the architecture of Paris; Romanesque architecture. 3. The action or process of building; construction. 4. The result or product of architectural work, as a building. 5. Buildings collectively.
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Random House Dictionary, definition of ‘interactive’ (2014) <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interactive> [accessed: 03/03/2013] Random House Dictionary, definition of ‘architecture’ (2014) <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/architecture> [accessed: Random House Dictionary, definition of ‘architecture’ (2014) <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/architecture> [accessed: 03/03/2013] 2 2
Notes Towards User-Object Objectivity
My intention in writing the following thoughts is certainly not to convey a definitive philosophy on what an interactive architecture ‘is’ - and what it ‘is not’ – but to suggest that the reader may momentarily consider what such words could currently represent, and what this marriage might potentially serve in the future. Widely held beliefs, immediate connotations of such words, appear to be a creative subtext for something of a technological bearing, thoroughly scientific and advanced; indeed, a bracketed and epitomized form expressing a robotic architecture that recessed into the pit of expectation. The existence, or revival of a futuristic architecture can be easily admitted to a natural tendency for creative advancement within a community that has nurtured an increasing belief in societal potential through a technological medium. Still remaining, and often omitted, is an analysis of how exactly we are to ‘interact’ with persistent proposals, and whether we are able to reciprocate proportionately at all. Perhaps similar sentiments may be found through the critical analysis of a triangular rock stolen from the base of the Colosseum in Rome, where context and concept intertwine, presenting themselves as more than a comparatively distinctive and unconventional gesture. An otherwise isolated and forgotten rock had assumed the stature of classified memory, passed from father to daughter in indication that she too, may experience the ‘architectural hub’ previously visited. Indeed, it is the relationship and association of being and memory to object that gives rise to the notion that two people may connect through a stationary and otherwise static medium. Assigned meaning, however, does not nearly begin to address interactive inclinations; what would be the difference between this rock, that rock, and a photograph? It is often through a direct awareness not with the medium in question but with the individuals involved that such objects are made precious. In fact, the distinct separation of the fraction from the whole could define it as simply, ‘a rock’, or ‘Sandra’s rock’ – it can no longer certainly be a ‘Colosseum rock’. This is most relevant when considering human intercommunication with objects, and architecture too should be considered similarly – it can be viewed, and must be considered as, interchangeable with the rock. It has been previously noted that our understanding of space is influenced by the objects with which we can interact, and that collective experiences are defined and enhanced through those objects; 3 the transition between ‘object’ as an interactive condition opposes the often suggested passive nature of architecture; a paradox concerning the façade as mere imitation of an interior, versus the interior which first defines the purpose of the architecture - the façade is an icon whilst the interior, an object. Fig 1. Colosseum Rock
Indeed, a certain collective effort has been made, particularly since the 1980s - the term ‘interactive design’ was coined in the late 1980’s by Bill Moggridge of IDEO and Bill Verplank of Xerox 4 - to address such notions and thus ever increasingly, so-called ‘interactive’ facades have spawned across the architectural realm, claiming to tend to an issue of synergy yet existing only as elaborate compositions of intelligent or smart materials ‘designed materials that have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, electric or magnetic fields.’ 5 It remains an unfortunate possibility that potent claims may not extend beyond the ‘skin deep’, operating largely on a superficially aesthetic basis, and that these occurrences are both prominent and current – they epitomise the interactive products of past and present – when did ‘interactive’ mutate into ‘computerised’ or ‘technological’? Bloom is a temporary installation by USC Architecture professor Doris Kim Sung, whose ‘research deals with biomimetics, or how architecture can mimic the human body.’ 6 The design is a proposal for a bimetallic façade
Sandra Kolacz, ‘The Architectural Moment’, Term One History and Theory Essay (2013), page 1 Grinham, J. and Ku, K.. 4D Environments and Design: Towards an Appliance Architecture Paradigm, Digital Aptitudes + Other Openings, Proceedings of the 100th ACSA Annual Meeting Conference, (March 1-4, 2012,) Boston, MA 5 Wikipedia, Smart Materials, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_materials> [accessed: 12/03/2013] 6 Kelsey Campbell-Dolloghan, 5 Smart Building Skins That Breathe, Farm Energy, and Gobble Up Toxins (2013) <http://gizmodo.com/5smart-building-skins-that-breathe-farm-energy-and-g-1254091559> [accessed: 20/03/2013] 3 4
that expands and contracts under various degrees of heat to simulate the dynamic nature of the human body – bare fact that it is responsive to heat does not mean users will respond to it similarly, or that the façade mimics human skin despite being a ‘skin’, or even, that stitching claims of interaction based on a heat factor render it interactive to humans (and, arguably, in any substantial way to the environment). In an increasingly technological world, could architecture void of concentrated technology be labelled ‘interactive’? Is it not painfully ironic for architects to fantasise about mimicking the (human) nature around them, having produced endless ‘skin deep’, ‘dynamic’ façades? The misuse of ‘dynamic’ as a benchmark for modern architecture is exacerbated by the definition itself, relating to a ‘constant change, activity, or progress’, 7 and does not allude to blunt repetition nor the static awareness of what a dynamic architecture explicitly is; specifically, if architecture is indeed ‘interactive’, it must be ‘dynamic’ and at its current state, if it is ‘dynamic’, it moves a little bit, and all in the same manner. Fig 2. Doris Sung Kim, ‘Bloom’ installation
Perhaps interactive architecture is ill addressed; systems adhere to ‘a codified set of procedures or rules’8, what is described as ‘a form of intelligence [though] unlike humans, the computer is not aware of, nor able to reflect upon this action.’ 9 Thus it is necessary to mark clear distinction between the myriad forms of intelligence: in relation to material ‘memory’, or S.M.A. 10 – Shape Memory Alloy – a pre-established script detailing varied levels of technological output, or emotional communication which, at least on a sensory level, remains isolated as a consistently human trait escaping replication. Considerable time was invested in developing the ‘Neural Network House’, an autonomous system and an ‘optimal control policy’; 11 ‘the pre-programmed intelligence is able to learn about the habits and needs of the user through a series of subtle user-oriented tests (if the lights are left on before entering a room, will the user immediately turn the lights on?)’ 12 This framework utilises algorithms to calculate the habits of an occupant by considering the dollar cost of energy conservation against the dollar cost of the relative discomfort of the user, 13 and through analysing this information it is capable of calculated decisions referring to opportunity cost. MIT’s ‘House_n’ 14 takes similar steps towards algorithmic design but offers a greater level of user control, affording the occupant authority by passively suggesting alternative configurations for a structure to potentially enhance its efficiency by reminder as opposed to vigorous administrator. This directionality, and the realm of scripted systems, appears to be where thoughts of a user-object interactive architecture currently reside arrangements geared towards achieving an interactive environment instead fall into a familiar master-servant relationship, with no scope for further contemplation from the ‘servant’ of actions formerly performed. It is largely due to the rigid status of machine as servant and the lack of a mutual understanding, that progress in the field of interactivity remains hitherto unsuccessful. Fig. 3 Neural Network House compared to MIT’s House_n
However, ‘interactive architecture’ is not confined to the margins of contemporary expression. Certainly, the topic summons connotations of futuristic notions and satiates in the associated excitement, though it nevertheless appropriates the shoes of the preceding – Futurism, and later ‘Retrofuturism’15 – movements, which sequentially matured strapped to the back of Mother Technology, envisioning prospective cityscapes by assuming the technological extent of future generations. Terms mimicking ‘the future is now’ 16 have never been as relevant as they are today, tomorrow, and yesterday. In the 1960s Archigram challenged current architectural concepts; ‘Le Corbusier had demanded a “machine for living in,” which Archigram now delivered, provocatively taking the master’s advice literally: “A house will no longer be this solidly built thing which sets
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The Concise Oxford Dictionary, definition of ‘dynamic’ (1982), page 301 Kostas Terzidis, Algorithmic Architecture (2008), page 45 9 Kostas Terzidis, ‘Design inside the Chinese Room’, International Journal of Architectural Computing, (2008), pages 361-370. 10 Richard Lin, Shape Memory Alloys and Their Applications (2008) <http://www.stanford.edu/~richlin1/sma/sma.html> [accessed: 21/03/2013] 11 Michael C. Mozer, The Neural Network House: ‘An Environment that Adapts to its Inhabitants’, American Association for Artificial Intelligence Spring Symposium on Intelligent Environments. Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press (1998), pages 110-114. 12 Grinham, J. and Ku, K.. 4D Environments and Design: Towards an Appliance Architecture Paradigm, Digital Aptitudes + Other Openings, Proceedings of the 100th ACSA Annual Meeting Conference, (March 1-4, 2012,) Boston, MA 13 Grinham, J. and Ku, K.. 4D Environments and Design: Towards an Appliance Architecture Paradigm, Digital Aptitudes + Other Openings, Proceedings of the 100th ACSA Annual Meeting Conference, (March 1-4, 2012,) Boston, MA 14 MIT, House_n <http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/intro.html> [accessed: 19/03/2014] 15 Morgan, GUIFix: ‘The Apple Store That Almost Was’ (2009) <http://blog.guifx.com/2009/06/03/the-apple-store-that-almostwas/>[accessed: 19/03/2014] 16 Chip Douglas, The Caple Guy, movie (1996), <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115798/quotes> [accessed: 19/03/2014] 8
out to defy time and decay… it will become a tool”. 17 This ‘tool’ was to be parodied as a ‘Walking City’, 18 instruments that were to be inhabited literally, as projected, though performed as ‘massive mobile robotic structures, with their own intelligence, that could freely roam the world, moving to wherever their resources or manufacturing abilities were needed. Various walking cities could interconnect with each other to form larger 'walking metropolises' when needed, and then disperse when their concentrated power was no longer necessary. Individual buildings or structures could also be mobile, moving wherever their owner wanted or needs dictated.’ 19 The scheme was intended to divide responsibility between man and machine, an attempt at authentic symbiosis that might express dual ownership of the world, ultimately abandoning the master-servant authority. Though such strategies were never to be realised, many were bound to paper, a legacy that has been extrapolated into similarly themed projects today. ‘Experimentation in form is far more advanced than the material production – we still build in concrete, etc. - this advancement is virtual because the materials are not as advanced so the advancing comes from the paper architecture’, 20 where many fantastic scenarios are damned to reside. Fig.4 Archigram: ‘Walking City’
Evidently, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ 21 is not the appropriate methodology here, for an interactive architecture has never been entirely necessary; ‘the basis of the growth of the modern invention is science, and science is almost wholly the outgrowth of pleasurable intellectual curiosity.’ 22 Indeed, the distinct study of such user-object relationships, or Digital Anthropology is so new, it ‘has a variety of names with a variety of emphases’ 23 and a number of different approaches. Considering the notion that, as previously stated, there exists a prominent association and general link between topics of ‘interactive’ and ‘technological’, it is imperative to propose an alternative arrangement for this exchange; one, which recognises the predicament of a non-‘inter’active quality at all and their fundamental ability to exist in diverse states. A ‘reaction’ can be observed when mixing chemical compounds together to establish a new chemical. Between the processes involved – pouring the chemicals into a conical flask and observing the reaction – there is no interaction involved. Whilst individuals may assume the role of a catalyst in similar scenarios, the outcome maintains that the solution will turn pink or blue regardless of how frantically the flask is rattled – the user exists outside the system and cannot alter preprogrammed instructions, only anticipate the conclusion and behave accordingly. Usman Haque argues, ‘A brick wall crumbles over years under the impact of rain. Is the wall "interacting" with the environment? …it is merely "reacting" – because the wall does not have an effect on the environment that it is responding to (other than, arguably, in an inconsequential way at the level of molecules).’ 24 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - the sequel book to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy provides an insight into what a truly interactive architecture could be like: “Yeah," said Zaphod, stepping into it, “what else do you do besides talk?" “I go up," said the elevator, “or down." “Good," said Zaphod, “We're going up." “Or down," the elevator reminded him. “Yeah, OK, up please." There was a moment of silence. “Down's very nice," suggested the elevator hopefully. “Oh yeah?" “Super." “Good," said Zaphod, “Now will you take us up?" “May I ask you," inquired the elevator in its sweetest, most reasonable voice, if you've considered all the possibilities that down might offer you? “Like what other possibilities?" he asked wearily. “Well," the voice trickled on like honey on biscuits, “there's the basement, the microfiles, the heating system ...
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Simon Sadler, Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture (2005) page 100 Archigram, Walking City project, paper architecture (1964) http://www.archigram.net/projects_pages/walking_city.html [accessed: 12/03/2014] 19 Wikipedia, Walking City <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_City> [accessed: 12/03/2014] 20 Alex Vougia, History and Theory tutorial, timestamp: 3pm, AA Bar (19/03/2014) 21 Unknown - sometimes attributed to Plato <http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention.html> [accessed: 20/03/2014] 22 Plato, Julius A. Sigler, Anne Marshall Huston, Education: Ends and Means (1997) page 140 23 Wikipedia, Digital Anthropology <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_anthropology> [accessed: 20/03/2014] 24 Usman Haque, Architecture, Interaction, Systems (2006) <http://www.haque.co.uk/papers/ArchInterSys.pdf> [accessed: 12/03/2014] 18
er ...” It paused. “Nothing particularly exciting," it admitted, “but they are alternatives." “Holy Zarquon," muttered Zaphod, “did I ask for an existentialist elevator?" he beat his fists against the wall. “What's the matter with the thing?" he spat. "It doesn't want to go up," said Marvin simply, "I think it's afraid." "Afraid?" cried Zaphod, "Of what? Heights? An elevator that's afraid of heights?" "No," said the elevator miserably, "of the future..." 25 Fig. 5 ‘The Restaurant at the End of the Universe’ fan art
Though the demand for an ‘existentialist’ appliance may not be essential, the notion that a machine must possess the capacity for disagreement, might be. Verbally, physically or otherwise, such an interaction would remain ‘interactive’, maintaining that this condition for expression is permitted. Indeed, a system that is too complicated to be pre-programmed by the user may be the development necessary to achieve a conscious state; it is only when this consciousness is met, can such notions embrace an interactive culture. This obligation has passed between hands; ‘early studies and development of interactive architectures struggled to find its foundation due to the architect’s inability to construct the computational and structural systems needed to realize the vast complexity of interactive architectures. Instead, the studies found residency in the fields of mechanical, electrical and structural engineering’ 26 and although these professions continuously inform each other, at least within the architectural discipline, interactive architecture is inclined to constantly remind an audience that it is indeed interactive by utilising numerous sensors to either rain 27 or emit light to attempt ‘techno poetry’, 28 a visual indicator, reminding an audience of its interactive authenticity. Currently, mechanical sensors are indifferently applied to ‘interactive’; if such tedious reactive placement were extrapolated across individual homes, one might foolishly mistaken tea parties for a form of architectural interaction. Can architecture vigorously and effectively alter physical landscapes in a real time setting while. presenting a social medium? Could architecture link the virtual and physical dimensions and could it become an interface for what were once assumed to be separate and disassociated worlds? It may be that the only way to experience an interactive architecture is through the careful augmentation of (virtual) reality, the superimposition of an individual into an altered Cyberspace, or ‘world of computer networks.’ 29 As Heeter explains, ‘ . . . the yardstick to measure presence is applied not to assessing how closely a virtual world mimics real world sensations, but instead to analyzing the kinds of evidence a virtual experience provides to participants that help convince them they are there.’ 30 The most popular category of virtual reality, the gaming industry, often endeavors to simulate a world of enchanted weapons, potions and dragons, generally avoiding devoting equal imagination to the cityscape in a territory free of physical constraints open to absurdity; often, structures featured in such games operate on an exclusively membranic basis and cannot be explored. Intermediate 11 student, Roman Lovegrove, aspired to advance the predominant structure in his game beyond dull aesthetic; ‘The Interactive Treehouse’ 31 relies upon sequential scripts and ‘triggers’ to mimic everyday mechanical sensors. Roman asks, ‘imagine you are a critter. And you live in this tree. And your home was scripted to interact and changed based on your movements. What would you build?’ 32 this trigger-based system investigates how a gridded structure might pivot planks of wood away from a target to facilitate further virtual exploration - still, this might render the Treehouse reactive and not interactive. Cyberspace provides the potential to render a user as physically malleable as the objects it presents; an individual, or ‘player’, may spontaneously distort and convulse if a script allows it, due to the infinite possibilities the microcosm unlocks. One might argue that to achieve an interconnected quality, all parties considered should have the means to affect each other equally: the computer must have the means to influence and warp a human, as a human does the virtual reality. ‘A revolutionary… headset so realistic it gives people motion sickness’, 33 the Oculus Rift, is a continuous development in pursuit of intensifying an augmented reality, endeavoring to establish heightened
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Dougals Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, chapter 5, pages 33-34 Tristan d’Estrée Sterk, The Office for Robotic Architectural Media, ORAMBRA (2003) 27 Brenda Emmanus, ‘Barbican’s Rain Room Where Visitors Stay Dry’ (2012) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19873953> and Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett, Nuit Blanche Calgary (2012) <http://incandescentcloud.com> [accessed: 18/03/2014] 28 Dan Roosegaarde, ‘Interactive Landscapes’, TED talk: timestamp at 3:32 (2013) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXYAsql-0yE> [accessed: 21/03/2014] 29 Merriam-Webmaster, definition for ‘cyberspace’ <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyberspace> [accessed: 21/03/2014] 30 J.P. Marsh, B. Gorayska, J.L. Mey, Humane Interfaces: Questions of Method and Practice in Cognitive Technology (1999), page 135 31 Roman Lovegrove, Intermediate 11, conversation about interactivity (18/03/2014) 32 Roman Lovegrove, ‘MS2 Video Edit’, Media Studies submission video, timestamp: 0:33 (2014) 33 Jane McEntegart, ‘Tesco Shows Off Oculus Rift Virtual Shopping Concept’ (2014), <http://www.tomshardware.com/news/tesco-virtualshopping-oculus-rift,26280.html> [accessed: 21/03/2014] 26
responsivity on the human counterpart; of the myriad downloadable environments currently available online, most endure ‘real life’, and even offer a TESCO shopping experience.34 Fittingly, William Gibson states, ‘Virtual Reality is like mainlining television’, 35 as both programmes and programs follow scripts and anticipated schedules. Fig. 6 Oculus Rift TESCO experience
What is the appropriate spatial context for architecture in order to enhance interaction? In actuality, an interactive architecture may not persist into reality or evolve within a supposedly unlimited virtual universe. Ironically, the single constraint an augmented reality may possess is the inability to function realistically; the impression that computer systems can communicate equally, ‘at least on an emotional level, presently, is not the case.’ 36 Artificial intelligence algorithms like the Cleverbot 37 project can create the illusion of human intelligence and feign emotion but operate merely as vessels to regurgitate the messages of previous guests, and within the physicality of architecture inhibits development to a series of progressively sensitive sensors, most formats producing a visual output as justified ‘reciprocation.’ How might we hope to interact with architecture, and what would such an interaction provide? ‘Why, when there are five senses, has one single sense – sight – become so predominant in architectural culture and design?’ 38 What if the intended audience fails to grasp the visual articulation of the construction? Juhani Pallasmaa argues that ‘the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture’s ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.’ 39 Indeed, despite claims of dynamism, interactive architecture remains a largely static affair, and thus public ‘interaction’ declines to ‘reaction’. Despite an undeniable interdependence (architecture cannot occur without human input / humans require shelter) one must consistently question the potency of that beyond: perhaps the human brain might be the only genuine interactive architecture.
...
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Figure Digital, ‘Tesco Pele – Virtual Reality Experience’, YouTube video (2014) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08S86X_5Crs> [accessed: 21/03/2014] 35 William Gibson, US science fiction novelist in Canada (1948 - ) [No further details] <http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/33906.html> [accessed: 21/03/2014] 36 Roman Kolacz, conversation on artificial intelligence, Computer Science student at the University of Cambridge (20/03/2014) 37 Rollo Carpenter, Cleverbot (1997) <http://www.cleverbot.com> [accessed: 21/03/2014] 38 Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses, 3rd Edition (2012) <http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119941288.html> [accessed: 21/03/2014] 39 Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses, 3rd Edition (2012) <http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119941288.html> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
Notes Towards User-Object Objectivity
BIBLIOGRAPHY MIT School of Architecture + Planning, MIT Architecture, Facebook video, <https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100661760413639> [accessed: 18/03/2014] Romain Colin, ’15 Amazing Interactive Installations’ (2010), blog entry, <http://www.noupe.com/inspiration/15-amazing-interactive-installations.html> [19/03/2014] Simone Rebaudengo, ‘It’s Not You It’s Me: Brad the Toaster Wants to Break Up With You’ (2014) <http://uncannyflats.com/its-not-you-its-me-brad-the-toaster-wants-to-break-up-with-you/> [accessed: 19/03/2014] Grinham, J. and Ku, K.. 4D Environments and Design: Towards an Appliance Architecture Paradigm, Digital Aptitudes + Other Openings, Proceedings of the 100th ACSA Annual Meeting Conference, (March 1-4, 2012,) Boston, MA Power Rangers Super Megaforce - Super Megaforce - New Super Mega Powers (HD) (2014), timestamp: 0:42 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsS2zHcmi-w [accessed: 20/03/2014] FigureDigital <http://www.figuredigital.com> [accessed: 21/03/2014] Isabellarago, ‘The Boundary’ (2011), blog entry, <http://isabellarago.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/85500_week-seven/> [accessed 21/03/2014] Hanno J.J. Ehses, Representing Macbeth: A Case Study in Visual Rhetoric Design Issues Vol. 1, No. 1 (1984) pages 53-63 Warren C. Weber, Educational Technology Research and Development Vol. 40, No. 1 (1992), pages 29-39 James George and Jonathan Minard, CLOUDS Interactive Documentary, kickstarter project (2013) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1636630114/clouds-interactive-documentary [accessed: 20/03/2014] Mario Carpo, The Alphabet and the Algorithm (2011), pages 3-8 Keith Hullfish, Virtual Reality Monitoring: How Real is Virtual Reality? <http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/hullfish/ch1.html> [accessed: 19/03/2014] Rollo Carpenter, Cleverbot (1997) <http://www.cleverbot.com> [accessed: 21/03/2014] Cyrus Nemati, Virtual reality just got real: Could the Oculus Rift headset change the way we play, work and learn, The Independent article (2014) <http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/virtual-reality-just-got-real-could-theoculus-rift-change-the-way-we-play-work-and-learn-9033066.html?origin=internalSearch> [accessed: 21/03/2014] Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, chapter 5, pages 33-34 Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett, Nuit Blanche Calgary (2012) <http://incandescentcloud.com> [accessed: 19/03/2014] Barie Fez-Barringten, Interactive Architecture Makes Metaphors <http://www.academia.edu/1790178/Interactive_architecture_makes_metaphors> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
Kas Oosterhuis, Lukas Feireiss, The Architecture Co-laboratory: GameSetandMatch II : on Computer Games, Advanced Geometries, and Digital Technologies (2006), pages 497-500 Tristan d’Estree Sterk, Thoughts for Gen X— Speculating about the Rise of Continuous Measurement in Architecture (2009) <http://cumincad.architexturez.net/system/files/pdf/acadia09_18.content.05561.pdf> [accessed: 19/03/2014] Brenda Emmanus, ‘Barbican’s Rain Room Where Visitors Stay Dry’ (2012) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukengland-london-19873953> [accessed: 18/03/2014] J.P. Marsh, B. Gorayska, J.L. Mey, Humane Interfaces: Questions of Method and Practice in Cognitive Technology (1999), page 135 Roman Lovegrove, Intermediate 11, conversation about interactivity (18/03/2014) Roman Lovegrove, ‘MS2 Video Edit’, Media Studies submission video, timestamp: 0:33 (2014) Jane McEntegart, ‘Tesco Shows Off Oculus Rift Virtual Shopping Concept’ (2014), <http://www.tomshardware.com/news/tesco-virtual-shopping-oculus-rift,26280.html> [accessed: 21/03/2014] Roman Kolacz, conversation on artificial intelligence, Computer Science student at the University of Cambridge (20/03/2014) Figure Digital, ‘Tesco Pele – Virtual Reality Experience’, YouTube video (2014) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08S86X_5Crs> [accessed: 21/03/2014] William Gibson, US science fiction novelist in Canada (1948 - ) [No further details] <http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/33906.html> [accessed: 21/03/2014] Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses, 3rd Edition (2012) <http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119941288.html> [accessed: 21/03/2014] Morgan, GUIFix: ‘The Apple Store That Almost Was’ (2009) <http://blog.guifx.com/2009/06/03/the-applestore-that-almost-was/>[accessed: 19/03/2014] MIT, House_n <http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/intro.html> [accessed: 19/03/2014] Chip Douglas, The Caple Guy, movie (1996), <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115798/quotes> [accessed: 19/03/2014] Kelsey Campbell-Dolloghan, 5 Smart Building Skins That Breathe, Farm Energy, and Gobble Up Toxins (2013) <http://gizmodo.com/5-smart-building-skins-that-breathe-farm-energy-and-g-1254091559> [accessed: 20/03/2013] Kostas Terzidis, Algorithmic Architecture (2008), page 45 Michael C. Mozer, The Neural Network House: ‘An Environment that Adapts to its Inhabitants’, American Association for Artificial Intelligence Spring Symposium on Intelligent Environments. Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press (1998), pages 110-114. Simon Sadler, Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture (2005) page 100 Archigram, Walking City project, paper architecture (1964) http://www.archigram.net/projects_pages/walking_city.html [accessed: 12/03/2014] Wikipedia, Walking City <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_City> [accessed: 12/03/2014] Alex Vougia, History and Theory tutorial, timestamp: 3pm, AA Bar (19/03/2014)
Unknown - sometimes attributed to Plato <http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/necessity-is-the-mother-ofinvention.html> [accessed: 20/03/2014] Plato, Julius A. Sigler, Anne Marshall Huston, Education: Ends and Means (1997) page 140 Wikipedia, Digital Anthropology <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_anthropology> [accessed: 20/03/2014] Usman Haque, Architecture, Interaction, Systems (2006) <http://www.haque.co.uk/papers/ArchInterSys.pdf> [accessed: 12/03/2014]
Fig 1. Colosseum Rock <http://golden-library.com/pet-supplies/aquarium-fish/decorations/other-decorations/aquarium-rock-decoration-romancolosseum-detail> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
Fig 2. Doris Sung Kim, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bloomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; installation <http://arch5541.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/dorissung-surfacechangehorizontal.jpg?w=614&h=182> [ accessed: 21/03/2014]
Fig. 3 Neural Network House compared to MITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House_n <http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~mozer/Research/Selected%20Publications/reprints/nnhadapt.pdf> <http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/documents/PlaceLab.pdf> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
Fig.4 Archigram: ‘Walking City’ <http://designmuseum.org/media/item/4539/-1/87_2Lg.jpg> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
Fig. 5 ‘The Restaurant at the End of the Universe’ fan art <http://williamwerk.com/art/milliways5.jpg>[accessed: 21/03/2014]
Fig 6. Brad the Toaster, ‘there is a new toaster in town, and his name is Brad. He’s not here to be an appliance, he’s looking for a relationship and if Brad can’t get the attention he needs from you then he’ll pack up and find someone who will appreciate him more.’ <http://uncannyflats.com/its-not-you-its-me-brad-the-toaster-wants-to-break-up-with-you/> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
Fig. 6 Oculus Rift TESCO experience <http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9211876.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/tesco-dead-in-side.jpg> <http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tesco-590x330.jpg> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
Fig. 7 Roman Lovegrove: ‘Interactive Treehouse’
Fig. 8 ‘Cleverbot’ conversation, (21/03/2014) <http://www.Cleverbot.com> [accessed: 21/03/2014]
The Architectural Moment. Sandra Karolina Kolacz . . .
Let’s take a walk. The Architectural Moment is an investiagtion into both structure and moment, in an effort to understand whether architecture can contain any moments, and the possible implications of a quantified, universal architectural experience. The essay exists as a developing document and conversation where change in thought can be observed as more material is encountered and cross-analysed. . . .
I am sometimes asked ‘what is architecture?’ This question often emerges under the guise of small talk, having met a friend of a friend holding a beer and leaning against an architectural incident. I am eternally sighing at this question - a student of such an apparently comprehensive profession, it is my perpetual duty to communicate to others exactly what it is I am so interested in. However, I am consumed by inner conflicts; it might be easier to put it simply, as: ‘Making engineering pretty’.1 And so creeps the pretentious element of the architect, in hysterics, crying that nobody will ever truly comprehend what exactly it is we do – a condition that permits even amongst the architectural horde. Nobody knows ‘how to architect’ yet somehow we succeed and fail in a relatively unrestrained realm without knowing what it is we are failing or succeeding to do. His casual stance might declare the epitome of architecture. A direct interaction with the walls, or peering through windows – the mindless moments when concrete space is forgotten, might be the point when we most experience it. Viewing a landscape without directly confronting it, the act of passing a threshold; perhaps it is in these lesser details where architecture is concealed. Our understanding of space is influenced by the objects with which we can interact, and we can only define it through those objects. At this point the transition between object (conveyed as an interactive condition) might confront the apparent static nature of architecture; a paradox concerning the façade as mere imitation of an interior, versus the interior which first defines the purpose of the architecture. The façade is an icon whilst the interior, an object. This tender divide is only branched when we recognize the wall as object, where a conscious interaction with architecture - forever at the forefront of architectural discourse – exists. It is a most potent irony that the moments when we appear to disrespect and wound the wall (graffiti, drilling, leaning against and even urinating upon the architecture) are the moments when this cryptic interaction is revealed. The universal constant in all architectural doctrine is the notion that one ought to object the objectivity of the object in Architecture – to assume, or propose, that such explicit interaction cannot, circumstances aside, be quantified as a definitive and calculable response to a given set of architectural rules. Let us suppose it can. How would such a quantifiable experience take shape, which form ought it adhere to? Assuming that there are definitive rules to the architectural profession, and that these engagements can be extrapolated across a vast network of time – in architecture, ‘progress is not considered necessary’2 - one might begin to construct the ‘architectural moment’ as a series of physical constants that should ultimately manifest themselves as a pronounced structure – and contained Zbigniew Kolacz, Casual Conversation, (10/10/2013); similar sentiments expressed in Towards a New Architecture (1923), Le Corbusier, page 1 2 Le Corbusier, Towards A New Architecture (1923). Page 109 1
within such a material, the embodiment and epitome of the architectural moment, to be applied passively to all structures simultaneously. For Foster, the Architectural Moment is apparent in his Millennium Bridge, ‘…in the transition points to the ground at either end – Foster’s notion of the “architectural moments” of the structure’ 3 which form a type of ‘urban furniture’. 4 These sentiments may acknowledge the intrinsic and indented state of architecture as object, but the notion incites argument when pedestrians scale the ramps not to exist on the bridge; rather, to access that which the bridge has made possible in its presence. Likewise, the Millennium Dome had once entertained inflated notions of encapsulating an entire era, the ‘New Millennium Experience… intended to use the millennium celebration to project the future of a new sector of the city. 5 How exactly this was to be done, was left to the impetus that the celebration would hypothetically provide. Indeed, the ideas encompassing the ‘Architectural Moment’ might invoke supposed synonyms – ‘interactive’ and ‘dependent’. I should stress that architecture is not predominantly ‘interactive’. At the beginning of the term I endeavored to ask a selection of students to record in a booklet when they had experienced the illusive ‘Architectural Moment’; reading their entries has clarified two things: a) As expected, the range of concepts involved span the realms of anything and everything – from dreams about the apocalypse witnessed by an imposing clown aboard a spaceship orbiting planet Earth, to a deeply personal ‘connection’ and realization of one’s desire to pursue the architectural profession; b) As a result of point a, it is certain that no universal approach exists that might unify the ideas behind their entries and that indeed, none of their descriptions had genuinely experienced an interactive architecture and therefore genuine connection, if a connection is to be understood as interactive and not rooted in emotional bearing. The fundamental point that I suggest is the unique relationship between ‘interactive’ and ‘reactive’ and their ability to exist in diverse states. A ‘reaction’ can be observed when mixing chemical compounds together to establish a new chemical. Between the processes involved – pouring the chemicals into a conical flask and observing the reaction – there is no interaction involved. Whilst we may assume the role of a catalyst in similar scenarios, the outcome maintains that it will turn pink or blue regardless of how frantically we shake the flask – we exist out of the system and cannot alter preprogrammed instructions, only anticipate a conclusion and behave accordingly. Usman Haque argues, ‘A brick wall crumbles over years under the impact of rain. Is the wall "interacting" with the environment? …it is merely "reacting" – because the wall does not have an effect on the environment that it is responding to (other than, arguably, in an inconsequential way at the level of molecules).’ 6 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, the sequel book to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy provides an insight to what a truly interactive architecture might be like: “The Architectural “Yeah," said Zaphod, stepping into it, “what else do you do besides talk?" “I go up," said the elevator, “or down." “Good," said Zaphod, “We're going up." “Or down," the elevator reminded him. “Yeah, OK, up please." There was a moment of silence. Bechir Kenzari, Architecture And Violence (2011), Second essay by Annette Fierro, page 74 Bechir Kenzari, Architecture And Violence (2011), Second essay by Annette Fierro, page 74 5 Bechir Kenzari, Architecture And Violence (2011), Second essay by Annette Fierro, page 70 6 Usman Haque, <http://www.haque.co.uk/papers/ArchInterSys.pdf> (2006), page 1 3 4
“Down's very nice," suggested the elevator hopefully. “Oh yeah?" “Super." “Good," said Zaphod, “Now will you take us up?" “May I ask you," inquired the elevator in its sweetest, most reasonable voice, if you've considered all the possibilities that down might offer you?" … “Like what other possibilities?" he asked wearily. “Well," the voice trickled on like honey on biscuits, “there's the basement, the microfiles, the heating system ... er ..." It paused. “Nothing particularly exciting," it admitted, “but they are alternatives." “Holy Zarquon," muttered Zaphod, “did I ask for an existentialist elevator?" he beat his fists against the wall. “What's the matter with the thing?" he spat.7 I imagine conducting such a conversation to be a nightmare. Too often terms synonymous with ‘interactive’ are plastered onto a design description; seldom does a community stop to contemplate why we might want the objects we design to be ‘interactive’, and what the repercussions of a truly interactive object may be, how it would affect the quality of daily life around the city. “The Architectural Moment” The personal moment when one encounters an architecture or concept even loosely argued as being of an architectural disposition is the ‘backstage’ of this operation and its subjectivity shakes, arguably, all claims at logically capturing and communicating an architectural moment. "We commonly do experience architecture as communication, even while recognizing its functionality’ Yet how that meaning is inscribed, how that communication works, and how it can be interpreted by historians remains unclear. 8 Thus far the Architectural Moment has been presented as an interactive structure that might alter a behaviour when subjected to human factors and inputs. In her article for the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Stella V. Cunliffe writes, ‘unique to the statistician is the ability to quantify interaction’ 9 though simultaneously recalls a disagreement with an architect, who ‘argued that no statistician could ever comprehend the intricacies of his discipline.’ 10 One might suggest, perhaps, that an architectural ego may not want to have his work reduced to a system despite - in true irony - expressing projects through such mannerisms; however, we should also explore the possibility of the impossibility of quantifying architecture based on behavioural systems. The human component, which is the human inhabitant or user, is an equal and integrated part of the system. For this reason, architecture is always concerned with human interaction with constructed systems. 11 Statisticians may offer information that summarises how gatherings move through a space but at no time would a statistician undertake the task of trying to plot an emotional attachment Subject A felt towards Column B – except, of course, through dreary surveys asking you to quantify your experience and evaluate it on a scale of one to ten. As the satirist Louis Hellman observed, "Defining architecture in terms of language is inherently limited." A structuralist analysis found it hard to take account of the "space, time, form, atmosphere, texture, colour, and so on" that also comprise the built environment. 12
“The Architectural Moment” Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), chapter 5, pages 33-34 William Whyte, How Do Buildings Mean? Some Issues of Interpretation in the History of Architecture (2006), page 154 9 Stella V. Cunliffe, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A, Vol. 139, No. 1 (1976), page 11 10 Stella V. Cunliffe, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A, Vol. 139, No. 1 (1976), page 12 11 Joanne Jakovich and Kirsty Beilharz, Interaction as a Medium in Architectural Design (2007), page 368 12 William Whyte, How Do Buildings Mean? Some Issues of Interpretation in the History of Architecture (2006), page 166 7 8
A dialogue of architecture scrutinised against monumentality prevails when assessing the apparent success of architectural works. Generally, structures appear to operate under categories of either time as the major contributing factor outlining a ‘monumentality’, scale addressing a shock component or how relevant the item is deemed to be in epitomising an era. Other times, still, the architectural moment could be observed in a movement that, most likely, discredits all of the former but one – the characterisation of a time when a group reacted against what previously epitomized their time, the outcome of which might form a new symbol of their generation. To what extent did the intentions of the architect shape the experiences of the user? Could it ever be said that this was a process of communication, or that buildings contained essential meanings as a part of their fabric? 13 It is obvious that the issue with this type of architectural moment is in identifying at what moment the building became a moment, and what an elevated status might mean in practicality, if anything at all. ‘Modernists generally tended, for example, to advocate the demolition of major Nazi buildings, particularly those in the monumental Nazi style latter dubbed Betonfaschismus (concrete fascism).’ 14 It should also be noted that the relationship between time and architecture roots deeply in the human factor and how people perceive buildings over the course of time based on periodic alterations. ‘Hagia Sophia, once an embodiment of Byzantine Orthodoxy, became an expression of Ottoman Islam, and is now a symbol of Turkish national pride.’ 15 “The Architectural
”
Likely the most readily associated concept behind ‘moment’ is one of time itself; a moment is a ‘an indefinitely short period of time; instant:’ or ‘the present time or any other particular time (usually preceded by the): He is busy at the moment.’ 16 the term ‘moment’ is therefore defined not by a numeric value or standard but is ultimately subject to the judgment of an individual. It is only relatively ‘present’ and alludes to a time before and simultaneously, a time after now. Clarity is only found in the mutual understanding of many as existing in a fleeting state, decidedly definite, sooner rather than later. I therefore must question whether architectural outcomes could encompass such a moment; due to the distinct lack of a timeline it renders buildings indistinguishable when posing questions regarding time – on a universal scale, a structure may only exist for a moment when we recognise how brief a moment humanity itself has occupied thus far. In reality, almost anything could be argued to exist within the realm of the timed ‘moment’; ‘futuristic’, however, claims to have obtained a future time and broken from the present and moment in doing so, is beyond comprehension when you trace its undying roots in everything considered a ‘moment’, ‘a specific instant or point in time: at that moment the doorbell rang’ 17 - what specific moment in the future would these structures address? Documenting the investigation into the illusive ‘architectural moment’ has revealed the many possible interpretations of the term, how an opinion has morphed through research and marked the components necessary to create what might be called the epitome of an architectural moment, informed by the multidimensional ‘moment’ and the manner in which it could relate to architectural projects. From being a purely objective, visible and physical action towards a wall, to suggestions of the wall being consciously aware of your existence and interacting with you, to having a wall interact with you whilst you perform a physical action towards a wall and for some emotion to be felt during this encounter.
The Architectural Moment. William Whyte, How Do Buildings Mean? Some Issues of Interpretation in the History of Architecture (2006), page 168 Gavriel D. Rosenfeld; Edward Dimendberg; Martin Jay; Anton Kaes Review by: Daniel J. Sherman Architecture, Monuments, and the Legacy of the Third Reich The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 74, No. 2 (June 2002), page 450 15 Robert N. Nelson, Hagia Sophia: Holy Wisdom, Modern Monument (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press (2004) 16 Definition of moment, <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moment> [accessed 12/12/2013] 17 Definition of moment, <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moment> [accessed 12/12/2013] 13 14
RULES AND ASSUMPTIONS
--Let me begin by stressing that the Architectural Moment must be an object so that interaction may be possible. The instance one acknowledges a building component consciously and interacts with it in a physical, observable manner is the minute the moment becomes architectural. Building component is stressed as a necessary distinction. Often, Architecture has been described as representative of a brick, the brick existing as a symbol for architectural potential, or the ingredient prescribed to bridging the illusive gap between design and construction. Interacting with any elements used within the design may also be regarded as an architectural moment. The subject participating in the architectural moment is required to respond emotionally, as well as physically, to the interactive component that has the capacity to intelligently read, assess and counter any action inputted by said subject. As part of the interactive process, the element is to express itself verbally. The object must exist in a definitive form, restrained by the ‘golden proportion’. "The more an art-form's embodiment is tied to real physical material ordered in terms of mechanical relations, the less scope it has for being unambiguously 'about' something.’ 18 The Architectural Moment is to be held in high regard as an authentic embodiment of the century. It may not claim, or struggle to achieve immortality or connect with a predicted future period. The Architectural Moment is to remain a moment, and through its very nature anticipate expiry. The object expires when the emotional connection has been severed; then, it is replaced by a new Architectural Moment that impersonates the era.
If you could distill the information, perhaps the Architectural Moment could assume the form of a revered talking brick of golden proportions that is able to sustain conversation and touch a person physically, is capable of time travel and is reborn on a whim. Well, that was unexpected. In an effort to create universal meaning and interpretation for all architecture and their intrinsic ‘Architectural Moments’, exactly the opposite may have occurred; ‘Efforts to construct a meaning-proof architecture have always been de facto unsuccessful. ... An architecture designed to be meaningless-or, more precisely, an architecture interpreted as intended to be meaningless-would mean the desire to be meaningless, and thus could not actually be meaningless.’ 19
Paul Crowther, Art and Embodiment: From Aesthetics to Self-Consciousness (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), page 12 19 Juan-Pablo Bonta, Architecture and Its Interpretation (1979), page 22 18
The Architectural Moment. BIBLIOGRAPHY
--Robert R. Blake, Clifton C. Rhead, Bryant Wedge and Jane Srygley Mouton; Sociometry, Housing Architecture and Social Interaction, , Vol. 19, No. 2 (Jun., 1956) Joanne Jakovich and Kirsty Beilharz, Interaction as a Medium in Architectural Design, Leonardo, Vol. 40, No. 4 (2007) A. W. N. Pugin, Contrasts and the True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture (Reading, Eng.: Spire Books, 2003) William Whyte, How Do Buildings Mean? Some Issues of Interpretation in the History of Architecture, History and Theory, Vol. 45, No. 2 (May, 2006) Paul Crowther, Art and Embodiment: From Aesthetics to Self-Consciousness (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993) Robert N. Nelson, Hagia Sophia: Holy Wisdom, Modern Monument (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2004) Juan Pablo Bonta, Architecture and Its Interpretation: A Study of Expressive Systems in Architecture (London: Lund Humphries, 1979) Peter Zumthor, Peter Zumthor, 'A Way of Looking at Things', in Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture, third edition <http://www.filozofia.bme.hu/materials/kerekgyarto/szakmernoki/ido,%20emlekezet,%20epiteszet/tova bbi%20szovegek/Zumth,%20Thinking.pdf> [accessed: 10/12/2013] ร kos Moravรกnszky, My Blue Heaven: The Architecture of Atmospheres, AA Files, No. 61 (2010) Joanne Jakovich and Kirsty Beilharz, Interaction as a Medium in Architectural Design, Leonardo, Vol. 40, No. 4 (2007) Stella V. Cunliffe, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General), Vol. 139, No. 1 (1976) Neal Kumar Katyal, Architecture as Crime Control, The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 111, No. 5 (Mar, 2002) Dictionary definition, <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moment> [accessed 12/12/2013] Gavriel D. Rosenfeld; Edward Dimendberg; Martin Jay; Anton Kaes Review by: Daniel J. Sherman Architecture, Monuments, and the Legacy of the Third Reich The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 74, No. 2 (June 2002), Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980) Bechir Kenzari, Architecture And Violence (2011), Second essay by Annette Fierro Usman Haque, <http://www.haque.co.uk/papers/ArchInterSys.pdf> (2006) Le Corbusier, Towards A New Architecture (1923)
IMAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY: Image of graffiti on wall, smiling face <http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-4147774/stock-photo-graffitismiling-face-on-thetextured-brick-wall> [accessed: 13/12/2013]