Deniable Captivity:
An Awareness of Physiology in Architecture Ashley DelliPaoli
The City of the Hemispheres: 1971
In The City of the Hemispheres, vegetative inhabitants forever remain motionless in their individual, transparent sarcophagi. In this realm, the advancements of machines care for the inhabitants’ bodies so well as to which “death does not exist.” While this may seem intoxicatingly innovative, the only positive to this “cautionary tale” are the hemispheres attached to each body; allowing them to experience all sensory happenings through their minds.
“unlimited life”
“commanding the hemisphere”
The capitalist metropolis, while it may be discreet at times, holds a firm sovereignty over its participants. To say the least, there is a somber future in capitalism. The 70’s laid the foundation of some of the biggest advances in technology like email, mobile phones, walkmans, and digital cameras. Superstudio’s 12 Cautionary Tales for Christmas gave hidden warnings to this powerfully technologic future by portraying various scenarios of inhabitants living under a form of sovereignty; many times, this display of power over inhabitants is masked by technology.
“death does not exist”
Benjamin H. Bratton’s The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty
Benajmin H. Bratton uses the term “perception” as a means for governance to justify enforcement. The term “enforcement” paired with “governance” seemingly equates to less freedoms. Given this, perception in this digital infrastructure is simply another form of control over its users. The one positive correlation between perception in the City of the Hemispheres and AR is that perception is “the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.”
Many technologies are able to perform perceptive experiences by “interweaving� - a term for Bratton in which infrastructure is tied at the continental, urban and perceptual scales through computing and other interfaces.
2020
Today, our “hemispheres� correlate to nearly all of our personal technologies like laptops and cellphones, but more so virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in that they provide an individual their own percieved realities. Virtual reality, while an innovative concept, presents an easy route to the alienation of the user from their surroundings. VR creates entirely new realities for its users by presenting a different, digital dimension. This changes the users perception of the real and artifice, separating one from the other. Augmented reality, contrastly, blurs the line between physical and fictional realities. AR enhances the world around the user by using a portal to the real world with an additional factor. These digital realities reinforce a governing power over its users, changing the perception of the environment to fit each personal preference of which will be called...
deniable captivity
I am studying how to use new technologies, such as AR, in a way that enhances the collective experience in the public realm because of the role innovative technology plays in the dissociation and alienation between individuals today. This will be through sensory and physiological interactions in order to bring more of an awareness to the power technology holds over us and begin to acknowledge our true realities.
art
marketing
travel
becoming aware
controls put the individual at risk of: -
Disassociation from physical reality Alienation from the collective Disunity between user and environment Diregard for technological functions
Deniable captivity is the state of which an individual is unaware of the power technology holds over them; if they are aware, it’s refuted because of the positive correlations betwixt the two. While these moments are denoted as positive, they’re pragmatically short term and artificial. The control technologies (like augmented reality) have intensifies alienation between individual and collective realities. This brings to question, in a world that is inevitably growing with these technologies, how do we bring an
awareness to the individual of
this power through architectural spaces? And how
do we begin shifting a consistently individual
reality towards a collective?
VENUES of a collective exploration Exploring what can be a collective reality regards technology, human cognition and the physiological experience with the user’s environment. The intention is to collaborate unique individual experiences to form a unified one. where all senses can be engaged “[I]nput entered via sensory memory, subject to processing in short term memory and proceeded to storage in long term memory.” - Jules Collingwood
the disenchanting “public” Using concepts similar to William Whyte’s “triangulation” (tactful obect arrangement that nudges people into physical vicinities), transform public spaces to more socially and physically interactive realms.
natural disconnect Even having a decent view of natural landscapes; water, mountains, ocean. Green spaces are a restorative element to human health, physically and mentally.
dead zones: monotonous facades It’s been proven that blank, uniform frontages have a negative effect on the human emotion because they lack conviviality. Complexifying a facade can benefit the physiology of passerby.
color as agent of intended emotion Because a person can be affected by colors both personally and universally, a venue which is meant to produce a certain experience can use coloful influences that can sway the vast majority of people.
why brooklyn? The looming presence of “dead zones,� such as vacant lots or alleys, decrease the likelihood of engagement with architecture in the city and collective society. Despite setbacks, Brooklyn is home to a multitude of creative venues that can push the interaction between growing technology and its users in an imaginative setting.
The End of Brooklyn David Mandl Gowanus
As new zoning is in effect, locals voice their opinions on the lacking connectivity to the last of its natural environment the canal.
Butler Street
Douglass Street
Douglass Str
Bond Street
Sackett Street
Nevins Street
Degraw Street Gowanus Canal
Degraw Street
Sackett Street
Union Street
President St
President Street
Industrial & Manufacturing
Multifamily Walk-Up
1 & 2 Family
Commercial & Office
Mixed Residential & Comm
reet
treet
merical
In a sea of industry that’s full of potential, how do you begin to engage the community via technology?
Multifamily Elevator
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“ground”
the solid landscape of the earth; a prepared surface; an area of land designed for a specific purpose
interaction
invitation
accesssibility
alienation
The inhabitants of the city have finally escaped the grasp of cellphones. The escape is a small one, taking up only one block’s dead end; the sidewalks blend with the misused street to welcome only the passerby. The block is inviting as it’s one of the few locations in the area that aren’t riddled with large, metal garage doors and long, monotonous brick walls that shun the everyday pedestrian. The block is brighter than the others, the passerby finds an array of long mirrors lining the boundaries of the block. The closer they get, the more the mirrors turn away; that is until the passerby turns off their phone. The mirrors begin to slowly shift again towards two other passersby already further down the block near the water. They collect down at some seating, where the mirrors guide them and begin to hear the ambient sounds of birds chirping, water running and wind rustling through the trees. Each passerby relaxes, as they look into the mirrors, they begin to see a vivid landscape, one they’ve only seen in pictures from drones and airplanes. The sky, that they don’t see as often, is picturesque and full of color, not like what they see on the streets of the city during their normal routines. The buildings in the skyline glow but never outshine the abundant green that fills the rest of the horizon. The mirrors are windows looking into an ideal reality. This is a moment that can only be captured by the mind. They admire the views and exchange conversation. The passersby know the mirrors distort their true perception of the city; when they leave, they’ll face the hard city again but with a heightened sociality and a new perspective on their surroundings.
city of the escape windows
Mirror on rotary axis; to de from cell phone frequencies. Op views reached when device is t
etract ptimal turned off.
Speakers with visual sensors attached; with the presence of more bodies, ambient music is volumized becoming more audible.