Notes Towards User-Object Objectivity by Sandra K.Kolacz

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.

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

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 ...

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

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.

...

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]