The Perfect Self(ie)

In the new FXPodium white paper, Aditya Ghosh traces the notions of the production of public space in order to decipher the cultural impact of social media, in particular the selfie, on the built environment.

Visitors at the Louvre. Photo by Gustavo Rodriguez.

With a soft click and a few presses of the finger to a piece of flat glass, a selfie is shared.

The selfie is visual documentation of "I was here"—images of art, architecture, and scenes relegated to background elements, with the photographer's face as foreground—and it is changing architecture.

White paper author Aditya Ghosh at "Cloud Gate," Chicago. Selfie by Aditya Ghosh.

Social media has changed the expectations of individual experience of the public realm and in the built environment, giving greater prominence to the visual framing of space on a camera screen for the purpose of digital sharing. In turn, program and spatial requirements are evolving to accommodate and even promote the selfie.

FXCollaborative Managing Partner Guy Geier at the Statue of Liberty. Selfie by Guy Geier.

The new Statue of Liberty Museum. Courtesy of FXCollaborative.

"The Perfect Self(ie)" traces the inter-relationship between, and the evolution of, architectural photography, the photographic gaze, and notions of the production of public space in order to decipher the cultural impact of social media on the built environment. As the phenomenon of the selfie trends positive, its influence and impact on our conception of space is undeniable. How then must architecture respond?

FXCollaborative staff at a selfie wall. Courtesy of FXCollaborative.

FXPodium develops white paper content that reflects the firm's core values of design excellence, technical innovation, and sustainability.

The Perfect Self(ie): Turning Your Back on Design

Aditya Ghosh, LEED AP BD+C, FXCollaborative; Edited by Eric Galipo, AICP, LEED AP BD+C

bit.ly/FXSelfie