Decoding Kashgar

Gamification of digital heritage through decoding brick architecture in Kashgar

By Aydin, Serdar

A proposal presented to The Chinese University of Hong Kong in partial fulfilment of the candidacy requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture

Supervisor: Prof Schnabel, Marc Aurel

Hong Kong December 2014

Š Aydin, Serdar 2014

CONTENT CONTENT

1

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

3

Figures Tables

3 4

1. INTRODUCTION

7

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

9

3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

11

4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

13

5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

14

6. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

15

Context Subject Profile

15 16

7. DEFINITION OF VARIABLES

17

5 Images & 5 Books

18

8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

19

Mapping Design Research Design Process Model Feedback Grammar of the Game: Dynamics IT is A Game as Culture Diagram of the Methodology

19 22 27 28 29 30

9. LITERATURE REVIEW

31

RESEARCH THROUGH DESIGN Case Study I: Inventing the Future by Examining the Past Case Study II: Magic Interactions?

KASHGAR Case Study: Digitally Conserving the Build Heritage in Kashgar DIGITAL HERITAGE Case Study I: The Chocolate Kitchens at Hampton Court Palace Case Study II: LUXLAB Worksop GAMIFICATION Game elements Case Studies: Foldit and Phylo GAME DESIGN Games as Cybernetic Systems Games as the Play of Pleasure Games as Cultural Rhetoric Case Study: Monument Valley SHAPE GRAMMARS Set grammars and parametric shape grammars Case Study: Urban grammars and the Marrakesh example

31 33 33 34 36 38 40 41 42 43 46 48 48 49 49 51 54 55 57

10. CONCLUSION

58

11. REFERENCES

59

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURES Figure 1: Diagram that shows the scale of the demolition in the old-town Kashgar. ............ 9 Figure 2: City of Kashgar and its position in China. .............................................................. 15 Figure 3: Kashgar, "Old-City". ............................................................................................... 15 Figure 4: "Gaotai" (高台) neighbourhood. The word means high platform is named "Kuoziqiyabeixi" (pottery at the high cliff) in Uyghur. Its traces date back over 2,000 years ago ("Old City" - yellow dotted line / "Gaotai" - yellow line). .............................................. 16 Figure 5: 5 Images & 5 Books. .............................................................................................. 18 Figure 6: Map of Design Research........................................................................................ 20 Figure 7: 3D Topography of Design Research . .................................................................... 20 Figure 8: Fogg’s Behaviour Model. ....................................................................................... 21 Figure 9: Positioning Gamification on the map. ................................................................... 22 Figure 10: Bi-furcation of the design process model. .......................................................... 24 Figure 11: Coding Scheme. ................................................................................................... 26 Figure 12: Two kids turn one of them into their football playground (igmirien@Instagram). ............................................................................................................................................. 29 Figure 13: Conceptual Framework for Game Designers (Salen and Zimmerman, 2004, 102). ............................................................................................................................................. 29 Figure 14: The Diagram of the Research through Design Methodolgy. ............................... 30 Figure 15: (Left) Cosmonauts’ glove from 1960’s; (Right) The Glove prototype. ................ 33 Figure 16: Fast Roulette interface: the line graph shows players’ credit trend during the interactive experience. ........................................................................................................ 34 Figure 17: Kashgar alleyway (igmirien@Instagram)............................................................. 35 Figure 18: A scene from The Kite Runner movie (by Phil Bray/Paramount Vantage). ......... 35 Figure 19: Three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning and photogrammetric techniques applied to surveying inhabited spaces in Kashgar. .............................................................. 37 Figure 20: Screenshots of the information system developed: navigation interface. ......... 38 Figure 21: Pingyao, August 2014. ......................................................................................... 38 Figure 22: The dome of the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii, Istanbul) projected via the MediaDome shown in the LUXLAB Workshop, 2013. .......................................................... 42 Figure 23: MDA Framework (Hunicke et al, 2004). .............................................................. 44 Figure 24: FBM. .................................................................................................................... 46

Figure 25: Sample of a game component, ‘completion bar’. ............................................... 46 Figure 26: Foldit Interface. ................................................................................................... 47 Figure 27: Phylo Interface. ................................................................................................... 47 Figure 28: Feedback systems in games (LeBlanc, 1999). ..................................................... 49 Figure 29: Monument Valley game play. ............................................................................. 51 Figure 30: Making of Monument Valley in Unity3D. ............................................................ 52 Figure 31: Ida’s ‘impossible’ movement. ............................................................................. 52 Figure 32: Making of ‘impossible’ connections. ................................................................... 52 Figure 33: Complexity of connections between nodes. ....................................................... 53 Figure 34: Testing different interactions. ............................................................................. 53 Figure 35: Five sub-levels based on a single view-point. ..................................................... 54 Figure 36: Shape grammar interpreters. .............................................................................. 56 Figure 37: Shape grammar derivation of the neighbourhood in Marrakesh (Duarte, Rocha, and Soarez 2007).................................................................................................................. 57 TABLES Table 1: Design process model............................................................................................. 23 Table 2: Observer perspectives in the design research process. ......................................... 31 Table 3: The self-determination continuum. ....................................................................... 45 Table 4: Sutton-Smith’s Seven Rhetorics. ............................................................................ 50 Table 5: Shape grammar interpreters and the software they are based on. ....................... 56

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

1. INTRODUCTION In order to decode an urban pattern in a historical city, Kashgar, this PhD research project combines working prototypes, theories and methods from different disciplines in a ‘research through design’ approach.

In linguistics, to decode means to understand the meaning of a word, especially in a foreign language, without being able to encode it but use correctly in a sentence of your own (Dictionary 2014). In the context of semiotics, 'decoding' involves not simply basic recognition and comprehension of what a text 'says' but also the interpretation and evaluation of its meaning with reference to relevant codes. The British sociologist Stuart Hall defines the moment of decoding as 'the moment of reception [or] consumption... by... the reader/hearer/viewer' which is regarded by most theorists as 'closer to a form of "construction"' than to 'the passivity... suggested by the term "reception"' (Chandler 2002).

The proposed PhD project converts messages coded in Kashgar’s brick architecture into an intelligible language that would allow a particular community—young generation—to engage in digital heritage production. In other words, it seeks an active community engagement in recording, reconstructing and revitalising heritage knowledge and information. It follows the RTD (research through design) approach, thus aiming at knowledge production through real world improvements. Therefore its anticipated major contribution is on design as a knowledge-creating discipline, i.e. on “designerly mode of knowledge production” (Jonas 2012). On the one side, historical brick architecture is decoded via shape grammar analysis. On the other, the projection via game design techniques provides data and feedback for synthesis. In doing so, research development is guided through design and vice versa.

ANALYSIS-PROJECTION-SYTHESIS is a design process model proposed by Jonas (1996). The model is taken for granted since this PhD has no primary intention to innovate a novel one. ANALYSIS is conducted through shape grammars which is a modelling instrument based on rule sets. This design research project does not stake a claim that shape grammars are able to decode every aspect of Kashgar architecture all at once. Instead it employs this phenomenon to test different scenarios while using its power to generate variations. Then PROJECTION phase starts based on a gamified platform. Shape grammar rule sets derived from the analysis part are used for the purpose of content generation in the game. Supposing that it is a simple maze building game, every player then becomes a part of the research without noticing the latent objectives. Therefore a human-centric method is proposed via prototypes designed to find out how young generation could better interact with architectural heritage information in a digital environment and particularly how they THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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could contribute to making of digital heritage. Realisation of prototypes will generate a collage of various Kashgar scenarios that endures its distinctive value being digitised by a design research project. This project suggests further development with SYTHESIS part that enables this design research extends its borders to a larger audience.

Gamification is a framework to create such a fun environment for the engagement that these prototypes seek.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT Kashgar is “the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia“ (Michell et al. 2008).However urbanization and development, which is aggressively effective anywhere in China, have been threatening the authenticity of the old-town as well as a distinct culture (Fig 1) (Aydin, Lo, and Schnabel 2014).

Figure 1: Diagram that shows the scale of the demolition in the old-town Kashgar.

Due to large-scale urban projects, many of the mud-brick houses in Kashgar have recently been replaced with their concrete replicas. Let alone the disappearing architecture, the maze-like urban pattern that was shaped by narrow alleys is damaged with a new urban tissue with wider streets (Summers 2014). One may, at least, argue that Kashgar’s cultural heritage property received recognition by preserving the style of architecture and keeping intact a small portion of the old-city. Nevertheless, like most culture heritage development plans in China, this strategy targets the lucrative tourism potential. What is mostly concerned in these plans is the interest of Han Nationality who represents nearly ninety-two per cent of the population in China (Kvan et al. 2006). Heritage plans in Kashgar should be primarily identified with by the indigenous people, namely Uighurs. Heritage studies are recognized as more of a credit to the nation, ending up with museums where national proud and prestige are sought – in this case Chinese national identity. Within these conditions, it is hardly an easy task to contribute to the preservation of the distinct Kashgar heritage. As a result, a unique heritage is being artificialized, commercialized and urbanized at present.

Yet, this research dissolves the complexity by grasping only one ‘essence’, i.e. the architectural aspect of the maze-like narrow alleys. In doing so, a new methodology seeking community engagement at a global level is developed so that essential knowledge acquisition can be fostered via a solution to which the indigenous identity can be ascribed.

On the other hand, there is a growing influence of technology on our lives. By the time, you have been reading this sentence, nearly 2 million messages was created and shared via

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WhatsApp (Pennystocks 2014). Of the available data in the world, more than 90% has been accumulated in the last two years, with the social media use being the most prolific data source (Hudson-Smith 2014). These figures were unimaginable only three years ago and despite its fascinating speed, the consequences of lacking sufficient effort to take the straightforwardness of social media devices as an opportunity to make use of these data lead to information overload. Simply designed, a gamified platform can be a key to open up willingness for massive contribution. It is such a game-like environment that the participant would not have any idea on what is happening exactly but she/he knows what is going on actually. That is to say, gamification is a key to activate dynamics for a meaningful purpose and with fun, in particular.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS In an interview, titled as ‘Forget Artaud’, with Sylvere Lotringer, Jean Baudrillard says that the French playwright and poet Antonin Artaud’s work “belongs to a secret place, a reserved domain and talking about that, exposing that to the light would amount to making one’s secret visible.” Explaining the way he followed in delivering his interpretation of Artaud’s work, Baudrillard stresses the futility in attempting to place Artaud in which he does not belong to (Baudrillard and Lotringer 2005). Similarly, ‘decoding’ Kashgar does not mean to contaminate the object’s reality by simulating it in a ‘hyperreal’ environment.

In other words, it strives neither for high-resolution image quality in the name of authenticity nor emphasizing protagonist-antagonist relations between abundant possibilities. In fact replacing mud-brick houses with concrete replicas, like what is happening now, is also one of such possibilities, claiming a degree of abstraction for Kashgar heritage. In contrast to building its concrete replicas or instantly accessible digital images to which the idiosyncrasies of Kashgar are irreducible, this project needs not to identify with Kashgar. Otherwise, it would be a delusion of believing that visualization of such a distinctive heritage is possible. Instead the enhancement and enrichment of heritage experience in this context is erected through revitalizing its one asset, architecture. Other dimensions disappear to leave room for interpretation to proceed to its own new ‘culture’ of the hustle and bustle that once characterized Kashgar. This is not an arbitrary decision but rather a determination firstly on going beyond its nostalgia deprived of meaning and depth, and secondly on avoiding misdirected use of the new technology. Then the question is as is put by Stephen Greenblatt (Osborne 2004): “What function of the imagination can erect absolute difference at the point of deepest resemblance?”

In search of this function, my research intends to offer an answer to the questions: i. How does digital means create a new hustle-and-bustle based on the social dimension of the maze-like urban character of Kashgar’s brick architecture? ii. How different are the spatial organisation hitherto generated by Kashgar people and that of a modern understanding of younger generation? Therefore how applicable is the Kashgar architecture to others’ understanding of spatial organisation? iii. How do game environments help a younger generation (=community) contribute to digital heritage of an ancient town?

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iv. How do different cultures empathy with each other through contemporary digital mediums? v. How accurate a shape grammar method to deliver an architectural knowledge and generate new variations? vi. Given that majority of the old city has been demolished, how can a novel digital heritage modelling technique – shape grammars – reinvigorate an already demolished entity?

On the background, these questions can be further cascaded down but it is highly anticipated to face new questions due to the duality of the research through design approach. Prototyping follows a design process similar to evolutionary growths. This means new questions likely to arise on the course of constant feedback between research and design. Jonas explains this as an active dynamic model, i.e. stabilised in communication (2007). Details are provided in the Methodology chapter.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES With regards to digital heritage, the core component of this project is to enable interaction with the objects in question, which are the narrow alleys of Kashgar. The community is invited to contribute to the production of digital heritage making. Since the conditions mentioned in the Problem Statement do not allow a culture heritage plan dedicated to Kashgar people, a broader level of community engagement is sought via new media technologies. Therefore the community engagement in this project transcends the local borders, facilitating the synthesis of old and new cultures. Subsuming the fundamentals of an old architecture entirely in a game, the methodology is focused on the contemporary demand for personalization and social sharing. And the social motive of this game is revitalizing Kashgar.

One of the objectives of this PhD is contributing to the development of design as a knowledge creating discipline. Through design, its aim is to support a grassroots social innovation while applying a model which is more accessible, effective and replicable.

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5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This is a unique and very timely research opportunity. Since Kashar’s old city centre will be destroyed over the next years, the research allows capturing the extraordinary cultural expressions that profoundly influenced both by Arabic and Chinese Architectures.

This design research however, does not only record the existing cultural heritage, but also translates it into contemporary interpretation by game design elements together with shape grammars. This allows both testing contemporary incentives of engagement – gamification design – and new dimensions that an important asset of an architectural heritage could bring into play – digital heritage of Kashgar research.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

6. SCOPE OF THE STUD Y CONTEXT Kashgar is a historical city in the Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region, the westernmost part of China, through which the products of the Silk Road was once carried for centuries, with a unique architectural heritage (Starr 2013).

Figure 2: City of Kashgar and its position in China.

It is an ending as well as a beginning between the Central Asia and China where the penetration of the North-Indian and Middle-Eastern impacts is inevitable due to Kashgar’s location. Majority of people living in Kashgar are Uighurs, Turkic ethnic group, identifying themselves with the city as the capital of their culture (Michell et al. 2008).

Figure 3: Kashgar, "Old-City".

This study will analyse the historical urban pattern in Kashgar. The authenticity of the old-town has undergone serious changes from its origin due to the new concrete structures replacing old mud-brick houses. The city has been losing its narrow alleys, thus character, that were once a joy to find a way through their complicated visual synchrony. There emerges the objective of this PhD project together with its scope. What is significant in applying shape grammars is testing to see how much they can reinvigorate the whole character of an entity at city scale with limited sources for analysis. The current THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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preservation plan does not allow a small section of the old-town to be demolished. This makes up to fifteen per cent of the whole site. This part is called Gaotai (高台) neighbourhood in Kashgar. This small neighbourhood is another problem of the preservation plan which identifies it to be an open museum. However, it becomes a constraint as well as the scope of this project (Fig. 4).

Figure 4: "Gaotai" (高台) neighbourhood. The word means high platform is named "Kuoziqiyabeixi" (pottery at the high cliff) in Uyghur. Its traces date back over 2,000 years ago ("Old City" - yellow dotted line / "Gaotai" yellow line).

SUBJECT PROFILE Younger generation is focused on in this study to test prototypes.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

7. DEFINITION OF VARIABLES The below definitions may help gain insight to understand some of the concepts that are involved in this PhD study.

Design Research: A systematic search for and acquisition of knowledge related to general human ecology considered from a “designerly way of thinking” (i.e., projectoriented) perspective (Findelli 2008).

Research through Design (RtD): RtD takes the design process, currently also labelled as „design thinking“, as the guiding paradigm for the research process. Scientific contributions are included as necessary. RtD means the epistemological consideration of the researcher's / observer's involvement in the observed. This is a situation of 2nd order cybernetics (Jonas 2010).

Kashgar: Westernmost city in China, the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia (Michell et al, 2008, 79).

Digital Heritage: Digital heritage is made up of computer-based materials of enduring value that should be kept for future generations. Digital heritage emanates from different communities, industries, sectors and regions. Not all digital materials are of enduring value, but those that require active preservation approaches if continuity of digital heritage is to be maintained. (UNESCO, 2014).

Shape Grammars: Drawing shapes and calculating by seeing… while moving symbols around with rules (Stiny, 2006).

Gamification: Use of game design elements in non-game contexts (Kapp 2012, Zichermann and Linder 2013, Werbach and Hunter 2012, Deterding et al. 2011). The term primarily appeared as a marketing strategy following loyalty programmes. This has limited it to notorious pointsification that refers to the sole use of points, badges and leaderboards.

In this project, gamification becomes a pull-force (see in Mapping Design Research, Chapter 8: Research Methodology) for a design-research methodology.

Play: As J.B. Gilmore notes “Certainly everyone knows what play is not even if everyone can’t agree on just what play is.”… Play is free movement within a more rigid structure … making use of existing structures to invent new forms of expression (Salen and Zimmerman 2004).

Game: Rigid structures designed to provide sense of play or play experience.

Game Design: Game design is the process by which a game designer creates a game, to be encountered by a player, from which meaningful play emerges ().

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5 IMAGES & 5 BOOKS Following five images represent what I think explains this project.

Figure 5: 5 Images & 5 Books.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Today digital media applications are highly prevalent in heritage studies for capturing, processing and disseminating information. Digital technology for cultural heritage enables conveying, creating and sharing information amongst a wider public that is involved actively and dynamically in the processes of creating, interpreting, sharing and appropriating heritage knowledge (Mason 2013).

Many scholars, administrators and practitioners from different fields – architecture, archaeology, planning, GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) and others – make contributions to research in digital heritage. Their focus is mostly on either ‘process’ or ‘product’ but rarely ‘users’ (Rahaman and Tan 2011). However, the accomplishment of successful results is most consistently associated with the integration of these works – being more often than not cross-disciplinary – to user experience. Human-centric approaches should be adapted. The designer’s empathy to create knowledge through practice can deal with the complexity of intersecting domains as well as the ambiguity of user-engagement. By taking a design research approach, this project aims to provide new insights gained through design practice to provide a better understanding of complex and future-oriented issues in digital heritage.

MAPPING DESIGN RESEARCH Design research is a discipline integrating scientific research and practice reflective to different contexts. There are different attempts to define or map design research, its methodology and epistemology. They greatly vary from each other because of the difference in the understanding of ‘proper’ research and ‘reflective’ design, and both together (Jonas 2012). Sanders (2006) proposed a sketchy map of the discipline and called it ‘Topography of Design Research’. Its cognitive collage of the design research space described by zones and bubbles has two dimensions with two sides along each. The map is used by design-researchers to find their way on the course of their research development (Sanders 2008) (Fig. 6).

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Figure 6: Map of Design Research.

The bubbles and zones are explained in more detail in the Research through Design in the Literature Review chapter. This research starts its journey from the origin of this map, being pulled by its four sides. In the course its development, the research takes a path toward intended location on the map. Its methodological position and objectives are important factors to figure out where the research belongs to. But a move toward intended or planned (via methodology) position requires a third dimension on this map (Fig. 7).

Action line Positive Trigger

Origin

Action line Negative Trigger

Figure 7: 3D Topography of Design Research .

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

The third dimension refers to the trigger for a location change. Fogg's Behaviour Model (FBM) displays the motivation-ability relationship for a behaviour change (Fig. 8).

According to Fogg (2009), who directs research and design at the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University, a target behaviour occurs at the simultaneous convergence of the three elements – Motivation, Ability, and Trigger. Trigger is placed on the map of design research as its third dimension. It determines any position change that this design research intends. Due to the contemporary culture of research (scientific) that challenges design researchers, understanding behaviour change models also helps.

Figure 8: Fogg’s Behaviour Model.

Glanville (1999) explains that (scientific) research is a hidden branch of design. The process of a design research is therefore seen similar to cybernetics because of the evolutionary nature of design. The path of this design research is isomorphous to cybernetic logic of creating the objects of the world (Jonas 2012, Fischer 2013). The destination goal that describes the methodology here is a participatory model through which users can actively co-create based on a design-led approach. It becomes easy to identify the research.

It is close to ‘generative tools’ bubble on the map of design research. However, there are still distinctions to make. Although the goal seems to be like a ‘generative design research’, the impact of expert mindset is still alive. That is why, adding a new bubble onto the map is necessary (Fig. 9).

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Gamification

Figure 9: Positioning Gamification on the map.

Based on this strategy, the new bubble can be called ‘gamification’ that is the framework in this work. Gamification bubble is triggered to move from origin to its new location. And the trigger is determined by the objectives of the bubble which is set as “human-centeredness” and “design-driven” (Hugentobler, Jonas, and Rahe 2004). At the end of this project gamification bubble may end up with a different positioning due to the plurality of its methodology which is to discover the beauty of grey between ‘mere’ design and ‘proper’ research as put by Wolfgang Jonas (2012).

The gamified platform allows community engagement while discovering the grammar of Kashgar architecture. The platform is a simple architecture game that is driven by rules of shapes and combinations. These rules come from the fieldwork in Gaotai neighbourhood in Kashgar.

The designer of the content provides the rules of the game while the community engagement solves possible variations. Instead of employing algorithms and claiming selected ‘Kashgar’ reproductions, each individual creates her/his self-heritage as well as assists a research that is focused on deciphering the architecture of Kashgar. In doing so, the game also turns into a tool that delivers knowledge about Kashgar heritage by supporting the data necessary for the research, thus knowledge production.

DESIGN PROCESS MODEL

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

The research methodology follows a process model that integrates research and design.

Following a philosophical inquiry into “domains of knowing” (Nelson and Stolterman 2003) – the true, the ideal and the real – Jonas (1996) has proposed the process model of ANALYSIS – PROJECTION – SYNTHESIS. He and his colleagues have then combined it with circular design process models (research – analysis – synthesis – realisation) akin to Kolb’s “learning cycles” (Hugentobler, Jonas, and Rahe 2004). Their ‘hypercyclic’ generic design process model, as schemed on Table 1, can be associated with cybernetics which has developed overlapping interests with design research (Jonas 2007). Cybernetic learning models can be seen as a feedback cycle of acting and reflecting. Similarly this PhD project takes design as a circularly casual conversation that is driven by phases of scientific logic.

Table 1: Design process model Steps of the iterative micro process of learning / designing

ANALYSIS

Domains of design inquiry, steps / components of the iterative macro process of designing

"the true" how it is today

PROJECTION "the ideal" how it could be

SYNTHESIS "the real" how it is tomorrow

COMMUNICATION "the driver"

research

analysis

synthesis

realization

How to get data on the situation as it IS?

How to make sense of this data?

How to understand the situation as a whole?

How to present the situation as IS?

data on what IS

knowledge on what IS

worldviews

consent on the situation

How to get data on future changes?

How to interpret these data?

How to get consistent images of possible futures?

How to present the future scenarios?

futurerelated data

information about futures

scenarios

consent on problems / goals

How to get data on the situation as it SHALL BE?

How to evaluate these data?

How to design solutions of the problem?

How to present the solutions?

problem data

problem, list of requirements

design solutions

decisions about "go / no go"

How to establish the process and move it forward? How to enable positive team dynamics? How to find balance between action/reflection? How to build hot teams? How to enable equal participation? focused and efficient teamwork

Following the above scheme, a design research process does not have to cover all the compartments (couplings). Within this framework, the distinction between design and research (scientific) becomes fuzzy. The more limited a project is to single boxes, the closer it gets to scientific research (Jonas 2003). As a design researcher navigating through the THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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map of design research (Sanders 2006), I can use this model to delineate the design process of the proposed methodology as to how many boxes it is intended to cover (Fig. 10).

Another thing to highlight is that COMMUNICATION “the driver� interweaves the top and the bottom lines of the design process model. It represents gamification which encompasses the objectives of this PhD. At this point intersects the design process model and the map of design research which is given a new bubble, gamification, suggested as a novel design research concept.

Figure 10: Bi-furcation of the design process model.

There are twelve compartments in this process model. The last part is deliberately left blank because it refers to future work and further development. The two red rectangles indicate the next stage and the intended result. The process model does not indicate a time dimension. If we want to include time in this chart, it would not be linear graphic but a complicated visualisation. Nonetheless, to a certain extent it shows the fact that I am at the beginning of the project as being proposed here.

The first part, ANALYSIS, represents the research objectives, namely digital heritage of Kashgar, whereas the PROJECTION means the testing of prototypes of design. These two sections are continuously onto each other’s development via the iterative micro process of designing. The model may lead to failure as well. Then that would be also a valuable finding to argue, maybe, inconsistencies of the model. However, it is the process model that has been chosen for it fits with the objectives of this project.

ANALYSIS/research is planned to be completed with a fieldtrip to Kashgar in order to capture and catalogue the existing heritage. Apart from photographs that may have nostalgic value years later, the data consists of a point cloud of the Gaotai section as a result of scanning conducted by means of the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) technology. Drawing on the ubiquity of the Kashgar architecture, this part of the research focuses on data harnessed from this typology and on its analysis from the existing architecture as well as its use as design driver for the next stage, projection.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

A GoPro camera is mounted on the drone that flies while real photos are constantly delivered to the system with geographical information. The data is transferred to digital environment in Autodesk Recap – reality capture and 3D scanning software. The software is free provided that the purpose is academic. The 3D point cloud data is then exported to Autodesk Revit for initial analysis and extracting the useful parts of the data. The analysis based on shape grammar logic follows in the next phase. As a result, rules are developed.

That is where ANALYSIS/analysis phase happens.

The next phase in the cycle is the ANALYSIS/synthesis, as illustrated in the Fig. 10, which combines game design elements with relation to shape grammar rules developed in the previous stage. Although they seem to follow a determined path, the relation between phases is fuzzy, i.e. the design researcher constantly shuttles in-between and moves back and forth.

The MDA (Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics) framework is offered as a practical tool for game designers (Hunicke, LeBlanc, and Zubek 2004). Mechanics are rules and codes that structure a game at a basic level, e.g. shuffling in card games. Werbach describes mechanics as verbs, dynamics as the grammar in his infamous online course, gamification (2014). He adds components to the MDA framework and calls them the nouns of games within the same analogy. I hereby include them in the Coding Scheme between mechanics and dynamics. Aesthetics and Experience are related to each other but on the Coding Scheme, the former is closer to the designer’s perspective, whereas the latter to the user/player.

With regards to AESTHETICS/realization, the implementation of prototypes is inferred before commencing user participation in real terms. Unity3D Game Engine (free version available) is very powerful and many game developers find it easy to communicate with game narratives (unity3d.com). It has an in-built scripting environment based on JavaScript which, in turn, allows the application to run on Web platforms. This is what this PhD is looking for of the further development of the project from SYNTHESIS stage as is left blank on the Coding Scheme. It is anticipated that the design part covers most of the possible findings that is needed by the research. SYTHESIS requires other focuses that are not significant in this research. For instance, market research and analysis, high number of users that exceeds the scope of this research and higher level of aesthetic quality may constitute SYTHESIS. Due to that, it is not focused in this PhD, yet being a part of it in general and aiming for it with further development.

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Figure 11: Coding Scheme.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

FEEDBACK The feedback system is attached to making prototypes. They provide both qualitative and quantitative data for the research via feedback. During ANALYSIS/analysis, shape grammar rules are reduced to the level of understanding relevant to undergraduate students’ knowledge. Their task is to manipulate and discover rules on modelling tools such as Rhinoceros. Andre Li, whose work is dedicated to shape grammars, shares an interpreter for further exploration on his personal website (Li, 2014). His shape grammar interpreter consists of an initial shape, a marker(s) and a transformation rule(s). The interpreter is compatible with Rhino and there is a tutorial explaining how to generate initial shapes and transformation rules. This step, say the first-level feedback mechanism, is open to be conducted manually.

In order to see the result, it is suggested that the output of ANALYSIS/synthesis is implemented in the ModRule that is being developed by my PhD colleague. The ModRule is a design mediator between different stakeholders who gather to design their houses. The system helps Lo research which is focused on the mass-housing context with an emphasis on bottom-up design and decision-making approaches, e.g. Open Design, and Open Building (Lo et al. 2014). Another method is to make your own second-level feedback mechanism based on a simple generation in Unity3D. This means the process steps into realization a bit earlier than planned, thus simultaneous to the design process.

The third-level feedback mechanism consists of two sub-levels spanning between ANALYSIS and PROJECTION. Firstly, the interface is linked back to the ANALYSIS/synthesis where game components are defined based on the dynamics. Semistructured interviews and conversations held with end-users help conduct a fuzzy evaluation of the interface and general play experience. Secondly, an expert panel, including me, evaluates the game results in terms of spatial organisation, either Kashgar like or novel. This is designing a better points system that would direct the player contribute to the generation of possible Kashgar scenarios. Analysis methods based on space syntax can be utilised to measure the relativity. According the feedback analysis, levels, loops and, in particular, game dynamics are modified (game mechanics are less likely to change at this stage because they are designed to keep consistency with the shape grammar analysis).

As a consequence of the feedback mechanism, it is aimed to arrive in two different readings of the decoding of Kashgar. One is originating the research while the other takes advantage of being driven by design. The evaluation, on the one side, leads to Kashgar-like findings that the research part seeks and, on the other, to discrete scenarios that do not match the criteria for being involved in the collage of Kashgar. These discrete findings can THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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be called failures in terms of what the Kashgar research focuses. Yet, they open up a new dimension for the development of design side that pushes the limits of the research side toward unforeseen realms to enter.

GRAMMAR OF THE GAME: DYNAMICS A special paragraph ought to be dedicated to the dynamics of the game. It is argued that they can be understood intuitively. Their scope is not as large as levels but greater than loops that are inherent to every game. Simply put, if you are in a condition, you are in the loop. In the movie, Inception, Joseph Gordon-Levitt explains loops for Ellen Page, architect of the-dreams-of-the-dreams-of… sequence: “In a dream, you can cheat architecture into impossible shapes that lets you create closed loops, like the Penrose Steps ... a closed loop like that will help you disguise the boundaries of the dream you create...” (Nolan 2010) A game dynamic can be described as a “pattern of loops” that develops game mechanics and game components into a “large sequence of play” (Abraham 2014). To the best of our knowledge, there is no established framework for the incorporation of game dynamics such as narrative context, progression, constraints, control and choice. They are commonly seen as “you know when you feel” quality of designing games, hidden within loops (Kelly 2014).

For the sake of simplicity and defined objectives, the game can be around just one dynamic. Based on the game aesthetics – narrative, challenge and discovery – that responds to the objectives of this design research, our method is focused on designing a single well-executed and player-driven dynamic. Secondary dynamics (common in strategy games) can be applied and tested via prototypes to find out results in different contexts.

However the game is all about creating a maze-like structure, similar to the characteristics of “World of Goo” which is notorious for addiction (worldofgoo.com).

The needed flexibility for designing dynamics is supplied by the feedback mechanism.

Here I would like to highlight the third-level feedback system. As mentioned above, the third-level feedback is run after ANALYSIS/synthesis. At this stage, mechanics have already been developed and controlled by the second-level feedback. The dynamics connects the results of these two feedback cycles. For example, if interviews give an evaluation that requires changes in the interface, the designer is sent back to the secondlevel feedback where game dynamics combine game mechanics and components. If the expert panel offers modifications in levels, then the target must be the dynamics. That is to say, it does not necessarily address the mechanics and the components of the game.

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IT IS A GAME AS CULTURE Following the design process model (Fig. 12) above, PROJECTION (the ideal) is all about making a new culture based on the idea ‘games as culture’. If we look at the Old Town’s narrow alleyways, they are part of a maze game.

Figure 12: Two kids turn one of them into their football playground (igmirien@Instagram).

As products of human culture, games fulfil a range of needs, desires, pleasures and uses. As products of design culture, games reflect a host of technological, material, formal and economic concerns (Salen and Zimmerman 2004). PROJECTION/research starts with new questions arisen from future-related data that is relevant to video-game culture which may be also thought deriving from internet culture. Therefore prototypes are tested in a sense that would allow scenarios based on the possibilities that come from Kashgar brick architecture. Here a collective intelligence is searched to make that new culture arise. Yet, this is feasible again by analysing and synthesising the dynamics that are now based on an outer circle (Fig. 13)

RULES PLAY CULTURE Figure 13: Conceptual Framework for Game Designers (Salen and Zimmerman, 2004, 102).

Though closely related to earlier phases of the methodology, further development is necessary to detail the PROJECTION/research-analysis-synthesis-realization, focusing on THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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the idea of game design as culture. This is because of the nature of PROJECTION phase. It is pertinent to the design side, and associated feedback, rather than pre-mapped methodology, with the concept of ‘games as culture’ in mind. Therefore a new culture of ‘hustle and bustle’ is decoded. It is such a culture that is similarly characterised in the Old Town.

DIAGRAM OF THE METHODOLOGY This kind of mechanism resembles to evolutionary learning model of the second-order cybernetics. Here we can finalise the methodology with its diagram that briefly delineates all these relationship based on its research through design approach (Fig. 14).

Figure 14: The Diagram of the Research through Design Methodolgy.

The diagram shows that this PhD project is a research through design. The research part is focusing on the decoding of Kashgar by means of shape grammars. Likewise, the decoding of Kashgar is realised through the ‘gamification of architecture’ that is the result of the game as well as its purpose. Therefore two sides’ progresses are based on mutual benefit. The top part contributes to the ‘Design Science’ – emphasising the discipline of designing with shape grammars based on the analysis of Kashgar. The emphasis of the bottom part, akin to the ‘Rhetorical Inquiry’, is the creativity of the designer whose goal is social change through a new argument. When we combine these two with a ‘research through design’ (RtD) approach, we arrive at the ‘Design Inquiry’ as a strategy of design research (Buchanan 2007). Like an hour-clock starting with a wide section on top (Digital Heritage), getting narrower in the middle where an RtD approach is applied to the methodology, and finally it is turned upside-down with references to the Architecture domain.

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9. LITERATURE REVIEW RESEARCH THROUGH DES IGN ‘Research through Design’ (RtD) is closely relevant to design research activities in architecture. It is important to point out the distinction between different approaches. Their classification, made by Frayling (1993), is based on the ‘preposition’ that sits between research and design. They are ‘research for design’, ‘research about design’ and ‘research through design’. Jonas presents an explanation of their evaluation in great detail in Design Research Now (2012). He overlaps these three with the first and second-order cybernetic approach of reflecting observation modes that Glanville characterised with regards to the relationship with the general system (1997) (Table 2).

Table 2: Observer perspectives in the design research process.

Observer Position Looking

Outside the design system

Inside the design system

First-order cybernetics

Second-order cybernetics

research for design

research through design

research based upon certain assumptions regarding the structure / nature of design processes, aiming at their improvements

research guided by the design process, aiming at transferable knowledge and innovation

 Design as: - cognitive process - semitotic process - communicative process

 Design as: - projective process - human-centred process - innovation process - political / social process Emphasis on the sythetic aspects of the research / learning cycle

Outwards

Emphasis on the analytic aspects of the research research about design

INACCESSIBLE

research by means of disciplinary scientific methods, applied to explore various aspects of design

research as design?

 Design as subject of disciplinary research: - historical - philosophical - psychological

 Design as the INACCESSIBLE medium of knowledge production

probably the essential mental and social ‘mechanism’ of generating new ideas, the location of abductive reasoning

Inwards

He makes an attempt to add a new approach, ‘research as design’. Yet, it is described as INACCESSIBLE on the table. So it is clear that the position of the observer in a research

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through design is from inside toward outside of the system. The observer’s responsibility is again outlined by Glanville (1997): “The observer is a steersman. He can choose a goal and must also separate himself from the system he is taken to be embedded in by the observer who is outside the system looking inwards. In assuming the goal and the system are stable, he must attribute to them goals. He gives purpose to the behaviour (movement) of the system towards the goal: in this, in having separated himself, he is fulfilling the same role as the observer outside, looking inwards. Thus observation transcends boundaries.”

There are many other contributions that look for an organised way of looking at design research methodology and epistemology (Schön 1983, Cross 1984, Owen 1998, Fischer 2013). However, the messiness of all these approaches and strategies is embraced by these words of Langrish (Jonas 2012): “There is nothing unusual about a rag bag of different kinds of questions with different methods for trying to answer them. Chemistry, for example, is four quite different subjects which historically came together and each of them has many subdivisions (It’s only a historical accident that stopped electricity from being part of chemistry.)

Physical chemists look down on organic chemists as 'cooks'. Organic bods think the physical bods have no feel for chemistry - they are just adding machines and so on.

So don't worry about it - just enjoy doing whatever you do.”

Langrish evaluates design research as an evolutionary process like human activities.

Therefore, his advice should be read as ‘you should persevere with your research through design approach because it is dealing with the process of (re)construction for the purpose of (re)action.’ This is insisting on a dynamic action that leads to knowledge production without swamping the work with different cultures from either art or science (Jonas 2007).

The project-oriented perspective is wisely expressed via a catchy phrase: ‘designerly ways of knowing’ (Cross 2006). And ‘human-centredness’ plays a central role in it. The “Research Through Design Conference” is organised as a platform to disseminate practicebased design research. The conference invites research designers to bring their artefacts as ‘intellectual tools’ so that role of making can be integrated to the discussion (Praxis&Poetics 2013). If we examine the proceedings of the inaugural conference of 2013, ‘human-centredness’ is prominent in works that deal with constant feedback processes.

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CASE STUDY I: INVENTING THE FUTURE BY EXAMINING THE PAST Munslow’s practice-based research questions how archaic techniques may add value, when combined with new materials, to the design of multi-functional ‘soft’ products or apparel (2013). Increasing feasibility of space tourism and interplanetary travel sparks this investigation. The relationship between the intellectual need for technology and the emotional need for trust in materials, familiarity, heritage and authenticity is analysed. The glove is selected for prototyping.

The performance of the new materials as a result of space research is combined with other factors, such as familiarity, that play an important role in usability. The research part starts with understanding of apparel design for cosmonauts on the basis of a cosmonaut glove from 1960’s. Testing a prototype, which is produced using a pattern based on early techniques found in pieces held in the Kyoto Costume Museum (Fig. 15), provides insight in understanding the relationship between function and aesthetics and emotion. In so doing, the research connects the maker and the wearer and questions overlooked emotional aspects of design.

Figure 15: (Left) Cosmonauts’ glove from 1960’s; (Right) The Glove prototype.

The project is conducted through an RtD approach that is to test prototypes based on user experience. What interests me is the way how it is placed between new technologies and traditional methods of glove production.

CASE STUDY II: MAGIC INTERACTIONS? Presented in the same conference (Praxis&Poetics 2013), this work is about the irresistible illusions of gambling (Vitali 2013, MagicInteractions? 2014). The objective is to enhance awareness about the mechanism of gambling that produce addicting play. An experimental design project is oriented toward to goal of figuring out how digital design cope with this irresistible interaction while questioning how gamblers perceive the play experience and what makes games of chance so appreciated and compelling.

Designed to lead gamblers into errors, games of chance hide chance. Intensive immersion is developed by means of game features and play context such as game THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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mechanics, graphic features, sounds and rhythms of actions. The project prototypes three micro gambling environments—Fast Roulette, Invisible Roulette and Slot Machine— through interactive game design elements. Each prototype is developed with Unity3D to provide meaningful gambling experience to fix players’ cognition during play and enhance their awareness about tricks (Fig. 16).

Figure 16: Fast Roulette interface: the line graph shows players’ credit trend during the interactive experience.

Based on a simulation of one thousand draws, the interactive Fast Roulette game shows the money the gambler would lose on the long run. Averting the emotions, this helps realise how much the gambler would have to bet for a win. The game focuses on the cognitive error of suspension of judgement. The lack of the player’s awareness about money expenditure is interpreted through the line graph that displays real time credit balance.

Therefore prototype highlights that the ‘house always wins’ (Vitali, Pillan, and Righi Riva 2014).

The two other prototypes focus on other factors like sound and lights. And this method can be applied to any other games of chance. To increase awareness for tricks of the real games, this projects shows how digital games can be used based on same game mechanics.

KASHGAR “One of the reasons I love Kashgar Old Town is its striking resemblance to Morocco’s Old Medinas—the old part of a town or city—like the Medina of Marrakech or Fez. (It is) a walled city with a maze of narrow cobbled alleys where no cars’ cacophony to be heard or skyscrapers to be seen. Go for a stroll and you’d see kids having fun in groups, passers-by smile at you or nod their head as a welcome sign and neighbours gossiping at their front door. I visited this Old City more than once to closely observe how its residents flow with their meandering life. It’s just awesome!” (igmirien@Instagram 2014)

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Figure 17: Kashgar alleyway (igmirien@Instagram).

Kashgar’s maze of alleys is turned into a film set with the movie The Kite Runner (Fig. 18). Based on the novel of the same name, it tells the story about a friendship between two Afghan kids from Kabul. Due to security reasons, the movie was shot in Kashgar to ‘fool the eye into thinking that one is seeing Kabul’. The Kashgar decision was plausible because its then authenticity charmed the production team (French 2006).

Figure 18: A scene from The Kite Runner movie (by Phil Bray/Paramount Vantage).

Kashgar’s relationship with literature is not limited to The Kite Runner (novel). The Divan-i Lughat al-Turk—Compendium of the Languages of the Turks—the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages was written by Mahmud al-Kashgari, 11th century Uyghur scholar. His mausoleum is a tourist destination in Kashgar. Other historical works, The Kutadgu Bilig—The Wisdom that Brings Happiness— written by Yusuf Khass Hajib and The Divan-i Hikmet by Ahmet Yesevi are two of the oldest samples of Turkish literature after Islam, completed in the 11th and the 12th centuries respectively. These literature samples date back to the foundation of the Old-Town of Kashgar as we know it THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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today. Starr (2013) stresses this slice of history with an intriguing book tittle, “Lost Enlightenment” which is about the Central Asia’s Golden Age between the 9th and 12th centuries.

Having been stressed above that they are part of an intellectual outburst in the Central Asia around a thousand year ago, the houses in the Old-Town invariably have a courtyard regardless of the householder’s social or financial statue. Accessed via narrow lanes, the courtyard typology whereby vertical and horizontal allocation of different functions is organized displays variation based on affordability. As a religious condition, which is prevalent in other Islamic historical cities, the balance between privacy and sister/brotherhood defines visual and spatial permeability in the old town via courtyards and lanes. As a consequence the old city is a product of interwoven arrangements, whereas strong social relationship is fundamental for its agglomeration that grows from the mosque as a de facto standard. Another of most important factors in the growth of architectural composition is water. Water spaces are associated with flora-rich courtyards that correspond to the environmental conditions of Kashgar’s arid climate (Florenzano, Courel, and De Domenico 2010). Encoded with these essentials, Kashgar’s urban pattern has a distinct architectural style that is to be addressed by means of shape grammars in this research.

A research of dynamic monitoring by remote sensing is conducted by Tang and Zhou (2013). It displays a set of satellite images of Kashgar's old-town to notice changes in the urban pattern. However it only covers the period between 2002 and 2009, not demonstrating the impacts of the demolition made by the regeneration project commenced in 2010.

CASE STUDY: DIGITALLY CONSERVING THE BUILD HERITAGE IN KASHGAR In order to record the endangered built heritage in Kashgar, a digital platform was developed earlier (Florenzano, Courel, and De Domenico 2010). The platform is a result of a number of analyses. The urban structure of Kashgar is found to be dependent on climatic conditions and use of water due to the area’s arid environment. It is one of their conclusions that the network of streets and lanes also is adapted to water sources. This project is limited to explanations of functional justifications that irrefutably play an important role in the shaping of the vernacular architecture. Nevertheless, a social level is a crucial factor in the creation of morphology and typology found in the Old-Town. According to a DNA analysis, since the early Bronze Age, an admixture from populations originating from both the West and the East had occupied the Tarim Basin, the area in which Kashgar is located (Li et al. 2010). It can be understood that the region has been inhabited by different kinds of people due to its geographical position. Probably all these peoples tried to adopt their built

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environment to climatic conditions. This could then end up with a unique architecture style that spans from the Bronze Age up to the present day. Therefore this PhD project is in pursuit of finding out this social level that characterises the Old Town in Kashgar as a cultural asset of Uyghur people.

However, this case study is rigorous in terms of documenting quantitative knowledge based on intricate relationships between different elements. Based on photography and laser scanning, it generates an interactive map of the town. The map serves like a navigation tool that features all buildings in its database (Fig. 19-20).

Figure 19: Three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning and photogrammetric techniques applied to surveying inhabited spaces in Kashgar.

The data is classified into three groups: general information about individual buildings, documentary resources and information about the typology. In the interface, the sequence of interactive information visualisation follows a hierarchical flow: navigation in the city plan, building selection, general information about the selected building, typological description of the building and image resources.

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Navigation in the plan

Image resources Building selection

Typological description

General information

Figure 20: Screenshots of the information system developed: navigation interface.

The findings of this work provide valuable insight to understand the urban structure of the Old-Town in Kashgar. This PhD research aims to add the social dimension, in a way narrative, that is to be embedded in the game mechanics.

DIGITAL HERITAGE To understand what waits for Kashgar (as a result of the urban renewal project that has demolished more than half of the Old-Town’s mud houses by now), it may provide insight to examine the current practices of heritage preservation strategies followed in China and their social impacts. In order to see some of these impacts, Pingyao is visited.

Figure 21: Pingyao, August 2014.

Pingyao is accepted to be one of the best preserved old-towns in China. The first thing that visitors experience is the freshness of new developments starting from the new railway

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station with around 10km distance to the historical site. This kind of infrastructure works inarguably increase accessibility. Further the harshness of the freshness snuggles into the walled-city. Tourist businesses that have replaced local businesses display a sign of being targeted as a tourist resource. The ‘overcommercialisation’ of the city becomes so obvious when tourists cue in line to pay for visiting each religious building. The reconstruction of the houses is meanwhile in progress in the walled-city. Empty blocks prove a research finding that most local residents have not taken the advantage of these changes (Shepherd and Yu 2013). The plans for Pingyao led to the removal of nearly half of the local residents; the displacement of local business that once met the daily needs of the residents; and subsequent elimination of everyday life (Wang 2012). This is called ‘hollowing phenomenon’ in China. It describes the departure of original residents and the arrival of business people from outside. As a result of heritage marketing, the quality of local life as well as its uniqueness and authenticity is affected.

In Kashgar, the circumstances are more dramatics and complicated as the local government generates revenue through urban development plans motivated by commercial projects. Let alone the removal of local business, the tangible heritage is lost in the name of economic development. Within these conditions, how to capture, process and disseminate the cultural heritage in Kashgar becomes a formidable challenge for a digital heritage work.

Internationally, heritage preservation is focused on the diffusion of knowledge and the education of the public. Digital tools are used for the documentation, representation, communication and interpretation of cultural heritage. The interpretation of historic data in order to easily communicate needs to meet the degree of authenticity (Affleck and Thomas 2005). But authenticity is a relative term as described by Lowenthal (1999): “…authenticity inheres in processes of change, mutabilities of time and history, continuities enlivened as much by alteration as by persistence. But even as we acknowledge these new ideals, we should continue to respect the old stabilities that inspired our precursors. In the course of tracing these and other changes, we may be tempted to debunk previous criteria of authenticity. But our successors will see us as no less naive and credulous than we see those who came before us. Each generation views authenticity in a new guise, reflecting its new needs for truth, new standards of evidence, and new faiths in the uses of heritage.”

Kashgar’s revitalization has already been a controversial issue because of the demand for urban development. This has caused current conversation plans prepared by local and central authorities end up with lucrative tourism models. Therefore Kashgar needs grow into a different level of authenticity since the current situation does not allow for a flexible

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and evolving interpretation of Kashgar’s heritage allowing local people to identify themselves with. Next we can examine two case studies in terms of authenticity and meaning. The first project is about re-creating the Chocolate Room at Hampton Court Palace in England and using projection mapping techniques for visitor experience. And the latter is about using hemispherical projection screens in an inflated dome for the purpose of displaying the domes of mosques in Istanbul. Therefore authenticity, meaning and digital media use are raised into question as a consequence.

CASE STUDY I: THE CHOCOLATE KITCHENS AT HAMPTON COURT PALACE This study interprets the abandoned Chocolate Kitchen and Chocolate Room at Hampton Court Palace in London, England (Peirce and Putnam 2014). Since the physical conditions found in the two rooms are different, the interpretation strategy applied to them is ambivalent. The former, the Chocolate Kitchen, is a well-preserved and the authors want to preserve the untouched nature of the space. However, the Chocolate Room, which once accommodated the royal Chocolate Maker, had been altered. Therefore the final approach used to preserve the heritage is two-folded.

Digital technology is used for interpreting the Chocolate Kitchen without damaging the physical conditions. Projection mapping to simulate digital diagrams on the walls demonstrates the first approach. Through digital interpretative techniques, intervention into the space is limited in order to allow visitors an authentic experience.

The Chocolate Room, on the other hand, is re-created to enable visitors to experience the past through immersion and escapism. Re-creation process includes furnitures, cups for chocolate, cup holders and so on. The financial reasons lead to deviations in material.

Instead of re-making anew, furniture, cupboard, chairs and table (old) are purchased for the same reasons. Yet archaic techniques are used to create replicas of cups based on the accuracy in form. But following questions are genuinely raised by the authors: Is our academic rigour nothing more than complex trickery? Is our beautiful room of replicas providing a genuine or indeed authentic experience of the chocolate room at Hampton Court Palace, or is it merely a cornucopia of fakes? Would a more “truthful” approach have been to leave the dilapidated storeroom as we found it? (Peirce and Putnam 2014).

They also provided the details of the process of re-creation with a view that “it only becomes fakery when we lie to our audience.” The survey conducted to understand the quality of visitor experience displays two outcomes. One of the responses suggest that “people come to places like this for a romanticised view of the past, and if that’s what you want, you want a bit of a fairy tale and you don’t really want to know how it’s been put together.” While this view is in favour of the re-creation approach, the other is quoted that “there is a lot of effort put into using authentic techniques which is really nice and makes

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me feel more interested in it, but none of that was in the information I saw” (Peirce and Putnam 2014).

As a result, this project answers the academic question of how far to conserve and restore in both ways. Digital technology is utilised in the protecting the authenticity of the Chocolate Kitchen through an ephemeral projection, whereas re-creation techniques motivates the interpretation of the Chocolate Room. The circumstances may lead one to reasoning of re-creation methods, such as that nobody lives any more in the palace and there is no social level to justify the validity of claiming authenticity. However, a historical city like Kashgar has different dimensions to consider. Besides nostalgic or romanticising experience, these are inclusive of social impacts derived from the intervention scale. Even if nostalgia is involved in the interpretation strategy, the question remains as to what extent? and for whom?

CASE STUDY II: LUXLAB WORKSOP Second case study is focused on the use of digital media and its applications in cultural heritage. I participated in the LUXLAB Workshop (2013), which was organized by the ALiVE (Applied Laboratory for Interactive Visualization and Embodiment).

In the workshop, participants were given a chance to examine a digital media application, being part of the Look Up project, which virtualizes the domes in Istanbul by means of a hemispherical projection screen (Fig 22) (Lintermann, Shaw, and Kenderdine 2005-2010). Reflecting the dome of the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Camii) on the inner surface of an inflated planetarium would be adequate to make perfect sense for a Turkish architect thanks to the pleasure of being attached to the context in relation to nationality, religion or at least the subject’s knowledge about the architecture. The reproduced version of the dome of the Blue Mosque seems to be craving for identifying with the real one. And the viewer is seduced to have the same emotion just as adult movies. The situation is a ‘hyperreality’ that, by acting out, deconstructs the objects that deconstruct us in turn (Baudrillard and Lotringer 2005). There emerges controversy since the main objective of digital heritage is ‘enduring value’ (UNESCO 2014). This is not a criticism towards the media art of the application. However, Look Up may well be taken as an example of misdirected use of the new media technology deprived of meaning with regards to digital heritage objectives.

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Figure 22: The dome of the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii, Istanbul) projected via the MediaDome shown in the LUXLAB Workshop, 2013.

Due to technology—and content—transfers between different fields are frequent. As a result, emergent technologies have been transforming both virtual reality and architecture fields. Subsequently this has an impact on the convergence of these two fields in regard to digital heritage. However, the addition of other indispensable dimensions, such as history and culture, also generates some degrees of complication. This PhD responds to this situation by mapping out methodology through gamification techniques. In doing so, it blends seamless past-present-future relations by evolving from real tangible assets. The narrow alleyways of the Old-Town is documented and represented with shape grammars in a game environment that interprets the essence of this cultural heritage in order to communicate to the public.

GAMIFICATION Although the term may sound novel, gamification exists for centuries as a concept. One may argue that it is as old as Egyptian pyramids for which game elements were used in their completion. Slaves, then labour, were grouped into teams of their hometowns to compete against each other. The more effective and faster was the winner of the ‘game’ which was incentivised with many different goods (Userlike.com 2014). More recently, loyalty games established a novel form expanding their realm into other areas. Following that, gamification is describing the interactions of participants using game specific metaphors such as rules, awards, strategies, or narratives. Yet, by and large, gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.

GAMIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE THROUGH DECODING BRICK ARCHITECTURE IN KASHGAR

First of all, gamification is not turning everything into a game. The purpose of gamification is not to pull us out of reality but rather finding what is not boring in an activity that usually requires collaboration and engagement. Secondly, this is neither to say that they are 'serious games' which are used as training and learning environments such as in military and education. The focus of simulations in serious games is on testing the abilities of learners and on improving their skill sets in a virtual environment similar to real conditions. Thirdly, game theory which is often mistaken as a part of gamification area is to mathematically analyse decision-making 'strategies' or individual 'choices', whereas gamification may be helpful to improve collaboration for 'a choice' and encourage involvement in 'a strategy' (Kapp 2012). Hence gamification relates to the use of gamethinking and -mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users in problem solving tasks and to improve the perceived ease of use of information systems and databases.

For example, points, badges and leader-boards (PBLs) are irrepressibly penetrating into every aspects of our daily lives in tandem with the growing use of social media. PBLs are one of the most common game elements however, they are not sufficient with regards to what games and game design can provoke. We can gamify a situation by thinking like a game designer, which is different than being a game designer. With gamification, we break down games into elements that are explained below.

GAME ELEMENTS The enjoyable part of games should be fundamental to anything to which gamification elements are planned to be integrated. gamification. Without fun, it is hard to gain voluntary action that the idea of gamification is targeted to catch. The largest LAN (Local Area Network) party with around 11,000 participants was recorded at DreamHack in Sweden in 2007 (www.guinnessworldrecords.com; www.dreamhack.se). What is intriguing about it is that the focus is on "everything you can do with computers" combining fun activities with learning and sharing, such as gaming, communication, programming, designing, music composing, etc. Admittedly, games play a major role in societies being shaped by the 21st century culture of gadgets and devices. Use of online games is constantly in increase as a business and marketing strategy to motivate people in engagement and sharing (Zichermann and Linder 2013). Huizinga's description names the boundaries of engagement in play and play environments as the Magic Circle in which once you enter, "it is sacrosanct for the time being", i.e. the game rules matter most not the real world (Huizinga 1955).

In order to invite the player into the ‘Magic Circle’, game elements should be designed properly to prompt engagement together with aesthetics that contributes to the whole experience which we look for. Game elements are analysed differently but we use here the THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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MDA Framework which stands for Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics (Hunicke, LeBlanc, and Zubek 2004). A good gamification is to ‘instrumentalise’ these elements most effectively but it does not necessarily require using all of them. Mechanics are the technical components that, based on the logic and algorithms, construct the game and its environment, whereas Dynamics is about the reactions and interactions of the mechanics and the player. And finally, Aesthetics describes emotional responses such as discovery, fantasy, competition or narrative (Fig 23). The designer follows M-D-A consecutively in order to construct the game which is experienced in the opposite order by the player.

Implementing MDA requires to investigate each element in piece as well as in interaction with one another. Yet in gamification, both attitudes should be paid attention to apply game elements in non-game contexts in an appropriate degree of challenge.

Figure 23: MDA Framework (Hunicke et al, 2004).

Since gamification became a popular term in early 2000s, points, badges and leaderboards have been commonly used game elements to invite the player into the ‘Magic Circle’. For example, Nike uses this technique to encourage people to use their online platform, Nike+, and buy more shoes. Nike+ platform turns jogging into a data-driven social sport which urges customers to believe in that the more points they get, the healthier they will be. Employing a meaningful intrinsic reward system which is about staying healthy provides a win-win situation where the activity is voluntary. Gamification explains intrinsic reward structures by means of self-determination theory that “maintains that an understanding of human motivation requires a consideration of innate psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness (Ryan and Deci 2000).” The self-determination continuum explains the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation (Table 3).

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Table 3: The self-determination continuum.

Nonself-determined

Self-determined

Amotivation

Intrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic Motivation

NonRegulations

External Regulation

Introjected Regulation

Identified Regulation

Integrated Regulation

Intrinsic Regulation

Impersonal

External

Somewhat external

Somewhat internal

Internal

Internal

No intention

Compliance

Egoinvolvement

Valuing an activity

Congruence

Incompetence

External rewards or punishments

Lack of control

Aprroval from others

Endorsement of goals

Interest Enjoyment Sythesis with self

Inherent satisfaction

Game elements, such as badges and points, do not inherently become external or internal motivators. Instead the context makes the distinction, e.g. feelings gained from mastering a challenge that may be used to indirectly increase self-confidentiality. As defined above, autonomy, competence and relatedness are the elements of selfdetermination theory. Autonomy is corresponds to the feeling of doing something meaningful, while competence means mastery from achieving a seemingly difficult task.

Relatedness is anchored to social connection and demanding interaction within families, teams and friend groups (Werbach and Hunter 2012). Through social connection, designing for such a collective intelligence has the same goal as many other complex systems such as ant colonies which nestle individual actions of many agents in order to harness the best or most relevant outcome (Porter 2008).

No matter how meaningful the goal is, there can still be different factors that require a behavioural change. Behaviours are simply the outcome of human-centric interactions.

Fogg's Behaviour Model (FBM) displays the motivation-ability relationship for a behaviour change (Fig. 24) (Fogg 2009).

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Figure 24: FBM.

There is a third thing, triggers, that describes whether a behaviour change is succeeded or failed. There are many game triggers that can be borrowed from game design elements.

For example, completion bars that social media sites exploit have become very successful to increase the usability of these platforms. Apart from displaying the stage that one is on, they teach the user how to complete the bar as well. If you are a newbie in Facebook, or any other platforms, but have no idea how it works, you do not get worried and lose motivation because the site is designed to teach you how to complete your profile so that you continue to interact (Fig. 25).

Figure 25: Sample of a game component, ‘completion bar’.

CASE STUDIES: FOLDIT AND PHYLO Two earlier scientific projects use gamification techniques to predict possible protein combinations (http://fold.it/portal/) and DNA sequences (http://phylo.cs.mcgill.ca/).

Enabling for a meaningful contribution, Foldit targets to identify new proteins that could help prevent and treat important diseases by crowdsourcing the research through a puzzle game.

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Figure 26: Foldit Interface.

Aiming at discovering DNA sequences, Phylo is a research in molecular biology to identify new genes. In this puzzle, the players are asked to make multiple sequence alignment so that the research team could decipher the data driven from a heuristic algorithm to be used for the research in genetic disorders like cancer. By making use of collective intelligence, both research benefit from game design since it is computationally expensive to achieve an optimal solution. In spite of a cumbersome process, the two studies integrate a novel approach that is based on the potentials of data collection and management via willingness and fun activities. In other words, it is literally a win-win game connecting instantly available data with scientific studies.

Figure 27: Phylo Interface.

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GAME DESIGN In the previous section, gamification and basic game elements are discussed.

Gamification is simply the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, thus it is more influential than technical. This section provides deeper insight to understand game design.

In their book for game designers, Rules of Play, Salen and Zimmerman (2004) draw a framework reflected on the content. It employs three primary schemas: ‘Rules’, ‘Play’ and ‘Culture’. Briefly, their focus is:   

Rules: organisation of the designed system Play: human experience of that system Culture: larger contexts engaged with and inhabited by the system

The framework provides insight into not only game design but design in general. These schemas and my design research project tend to overlap as well. Firstly, the Research through Design (RtD) approach follows a system that is explained in Games as Cybernetic Systems, subchapter of ‘Rules’. Secondly, gamification through which the data from design and research parts are bridged has similarities with what is discussed in Games as the Play of Pleasure, subchapter of ‘Play’. Last but not least, the objective of this PhD project, which is to influence a new culture of ‘hustle-and-bustle’, is related to the text in Games as Cultural Rhetoric, subchapter of ‘Culture’.

GAMES AS CYBERNETIC SYSTEMS In this chapter, the book exemplifies cybernetic feedback systems based on the firstorder cybernetics. Cybernetic systems encourage consistent change over time abide by the rules dynamically. A cybernetic system consists of three elements: a sensor, a comparator and an activator. The sensor provides, based on a measured aspect, feedback to the comparator to justify. Next the comparator guides the activator’s behaviour that creates a change in the system. This kind of feedback cycle that chains output, feedback and adjustment is the basis of cybernetics. A classic cybernetic feedback system can positive or negative. Positive feedback systems lead to exponential growth and more and more extreme behaviours while negative feedback systems search for equilibrium. But most games employ multiple feedback systems. LeBlanc draws a feedback cycle for games:

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Figure 28: Feedback systems in games (LeBlanc, 1999).

In the context of our research, starting from the end, the game mechanical bias is the game played by the user. The game state represents the current condition of the game starting from the initiation of the design research process. The scoring function measures changes in the game state. And the controller compare these measurements based on the typology of the alleyways. Then the comparator, the controller, decides whether the player can continue or change the behaviour.

Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) can also be adopted as an alternative. The system anticipates behaviour, read it and make adjustment. Some games change the degree of difficulty, for example, based on the ability of the player. If the player cannot accomplish a task, the challenge may be adjusted to a lower level automatically. This may be useful if the game is a single-player model. For multiplayer games this may cause mistrust in the justification system. But it is still a good strategy for invisible modification of game play.

Within cybernetic feedback systems (first-order cybernetics), the observer, as explained above (Table 2), is excluded from the system. To overcome this kind of objectivity, secondorder cybernetics took the observer into account as an element of the system. As a conclusion, the feedback system of our game can be designated by a framework akin to second-order cybernetics.

GAMES AS THE PLAY OF PLEASURE To increase user engagement, gamification techniques are applied to non-game contexts for the same purpose, fun and pleasure, without spending a fortune. Since gamification is addressed in the earlier section, some space can be left for the third schema.

GAMES AS CULTURAL RHETORIC According to news, nearly a billion people worldwide are set to watch the latest World Cup final between Germany and Argentina (www.express.co.uk). Football is transcendent of borders and the Magic Circle. It has power to impact presidential elections or to be a

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cultural meaning within the society. In the US, football (soccer) is more like a family pastime than a professional sport . American mums want their children to play football instead of basketball. So games involve cultural rhetorics which are grouped into seven elements by Sutton-Smith (2001) (Table 4) (Salen and Zimmerman 2004).

Table 4: Sutton-Smith’s Seven Rhetorics.

Play as Progress

Play is a way of turning children into adults. Play is valuable because it

All forms of children’s play and animal play

Contemporary origin

educates and develops the cognitive capacities of human or animal youth.

Play as Fate

Human lives and play are controlled by fate in the form of destiny, gods, atoms, neurons, or luck, but not by free will.

Gambling and games of chance

Ancient origin

Play as Power

Play is a form of conflict and a way to fortify

Sports, athletics and contests

Ancient origin

status of those who control the play or are its heroes.

Play as Identity

Play is a means of confirming, maintaining, or advancing the identity of a community of players

Traditional and community celebrations and festivals

Ancient origin

Play as the Imaginary

The essence of play is imagination, flexibility and creativity. Play is synonymous with innovation.

Playful improvisation in art, literature and other forms of culture

Contemporary origin

Play as Rhetoric of the Self

Play exists to evolve the self, by providing intrinsic experiences of pleasure, relaxation and escape either through play itself or through the aesthetic satisfaction of play performances.

Solitary play activities like hobbies and highrisk play like rock climbing

Contemporary origin

Play as Frivolity

Play is oppositional, parodic and sometimes revolutionary; this rhetoric is opposed to a “work ethic” view of play as a useless activity.

The activities of the idle or the foolish and the historical multicultural roles of the Trickster and the Fool

Ancient origin

The above table displays current ideologies and values present within culture. Games represent rhetoric(s) within cultures that they exist. What is more, designing games means designing culture. The key component of wining condition may represent these values, either intrinsically or consciously through game rules, materials and experiences of play. In our case, this may refer to the Play as Power by embodying its rhetoric within a consciously playful manner. The game rules may be ironically built on the idea of demolition. This reflects an existing cultural rhetoric. The Play as Identity can certainly be

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a cultural rhetoric in the proposed game that targets young generation. Other ideologies proposed for the game are educative and innovative sides of play experience within the Play as Progress and Play as the Imaginary. The game can also propose a transformative cultural rhetoric that is not identified in the table, such as the Play as Volunteering.

Advantages and disadvantages for including rhetoric can lead the designing of games in order to represent a cultural value or ideology (Salen and Zimmerman 2004). At this point, the social dimension converges with the computerised game levels.

CASE STUDY: MONUMENT VALLEY The reason for choosing Monument Valley as a case study lies underneath technical details employed during its development and worldwide outstanding success. It is built in Unity3D game design engine which is proposed for this project as the main platform (unity3d.com). For geometry modelling, different software can be employed though. This game is played by twisting and dragging a maze-like game set. Fig. 29 shows possible stages in the course of the path-finding which is the core mechanic of the game. The isometric world of the game reflects an influence from M.C. Escher’s outstanding art piece, Ascending and Descending (1960).

Figure 29: Monument Valley game play.

To succeed in finding the way through the gates positioned mystically will allow you to pass onto the next level (ten in total) or one of the sub-levels (five for each level). Its game mechanics is based on path-finding in a complicated maze. Between nodes, the paths have connections which are impossible in real world. The player’s tabs direct the game’s main character, Ida. There are other characters wandering around to sometimes block the way and sometimes to give an idea to the player to perceive the geometry and connection or just for the sake of visuality. We can look at the game through three aspects: navigation, interactivity and level design.

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Figure 30: Making of Monument Valley in Unity3D.

Firstly, the game’s navigation system is based on the organisation of the geometry.

There are connections that are only possible on an isometric scene. As seen in Fig. 31, the character moves toward the black dot that has been tabbed by the player. On the right hand side, the game-view shows how the character moves to the described destination. But on the left hand side, we see how it happens in the game engine, which is not visible to the end-user.

Figure 31: Ida’s ‘impossible’ movement.

Unity3D makes this kind of impossible connections happen through the nodes (the blue spheres) and connection indicators (green cubes) (Fig. 32). So the game play is developed around the navigation system. Although it makes no sense in a 3D world space, navigable areas are often connected from a certain camera view.

Figure 32: Making of ‘impossible’ connections.

The game includes many connections depending on the game dynamics that describe many loop systems around. Within the system, the structure is reconfigured as well. This means that the complexity of geometry configurations is high. And all these motions have

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to synchronise with character movements in real-time. To cope with the complexity, an automatic connection-finding is developed in Unity3D. Through a navigation mark-up, route-planning and locomotion systems, the developers who work on level design, are enabled to make design decisions easily and quickly (Pashley 2014).

Figure 33: Complexity of connections between nodes.

Secondly, interactivity design is strongly motivated by prototyping and observing players’ behaviours on play such as how they tab or how fit the game is for the thickness of their fingers. The game provides a sense of no-gravity environment. As explained, this does not mean unlimited. The question for which the dynamics of the game looks for an answer is how the she (Ida) can plan her way in this complexity which is tested over and over during the development process. The final decisions are made through the interaction design phase on the accessibility of nodes which is modified and reconfigured by reading players’ minds.

Figure 34: Testing different interactions.

Lastly, the game dynamics are turned into levels, with each being unique and having a separate theme. In the version documented here, there are ten levels and five sub-levels for each based on a single scene (Fig. 35). What makes the game so popular is the feeling that its visual quality leaves in the player and the quality of the level design. The whole game THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

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takes approximately ninety minutes to finish. One may argue that this shows which cultural rhetoric invisibly exists in the game. If there is one, I would argue that it is close to be the Play as Rhetoric of the Self.

Figure 35: Five sub-levels based on a single view-point.

Having received good feedback from the public, Monument Valley developers praise Unity3D, its user-friendliness and capability for fast prototyping. There are other factors that make Unity3D a good game design tool, such as post-production of visuals. But this belongs to a different discussion. What could also be highlighted is the compatibility of scripting environment in Unity3D which is based on JavaScript. This means that the code written in the scripting editor of Unity3D runs on web applications. Considering that the scope of this PhD project which is to get as much interest as possible from the younger generation, a web compatible tool like Unity3D is useful. In particular this would enable the game run on mobile devices. Next, we look at shape grammars that are important for the structure of our Kashgar-specific digital heritage game.

SHAPE GRAMMARS Shape grammars were introduced by Stiny and Gips (1971) as a generative design logic as well as a descriptive tool. An interesting variation of shape grammars is that of fractal generative systems. Based on a scheme, formulated by the German mathematician Von Koch, a fractal process consists of an initial shape (the base) and one or more generators.

From a practical point of view, the generator is a production rule: each and every line segment of the base is replaced by the shape of the generator (Terzidis 2006).

Shape grammars have been developed over the course of the last four decades, primarily within architectural and urban design (Halatsch, Kunze, and Schmitt 2008, Parish et al. 2001, Beirao and Duarte 2005). These works are limited to computational power and heavy algorithms in order to deal with creativity. Despite rigorous works in shape grammars, the architectural practice has regarded its creative power with contempt due to immature practical tools.

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A successful application of shape grammars is the one (Gözübüyük, Çağdaş, and Ediz 2006) where shape generative algorithm based on fractals for the early stages of design is used to get information from an existing building and topography. This work is classified as geometric-mathematical method which uses the scheme of counting squares to calculate the fractal dimension and which use computer calculations for fractal simulation (Sedrez and Pereira 2012).

Using the CityEngine system to generate an urban design, Parish and Muller (2001) cascade the information about geographical sociostatistical image maps. This is then followed by L-System road creation. The way they followed is thorough and contextual.

The result comes from contextual analysis and goes to solving urban complexity. There are other attempts to use shape grammars in urban design, such as the work of Teeling (1996) combining algorithms with shape grammars.

Silva and Coelho (2010) brings together shape grammars and content generation in game design. The challenges in content generation can be summed as follow; easy creation, large-scale production, realistic modelling and low cost. Except realistic modelling which is about resemblance to reality, three concerns are what the framework of this research addresses. And shape grammars have direct influence on the content generation, whereas the scale and cost are resolved by gamification techniques.

SET GRAMMARS AND PARAMETRIC SHAPE GRAMMARS There is an elaborate list of shape grammar implementations laid out by Chau (Gips 1999, Chau et al. 2004). The shortened version of this list that includes mainly three types will be focused on here (Table 5). But there is something worth mentioning in this list that the tools used to generate shape grammars range from AutoCAD/AutoLISP to C++. For the architects and urban designers, there is no point straining too much to code a grammar in these programming interfaces whose language suit better relatively to programmers.

Instead, it is suggested in this paper to use Processing that is also a programming language for visual arts (www.processing.org). Having compared to AutoLISP by the author, it is concluded that Processing which is simple yet powerful is comparatively more userfriendly, promising to conform better to the domain of urban design.

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Table 5: Shape grammar interpreters and the software they are based on.

Name

Reference

Tool

2D/3D

1

Simple interpreter

Gips 1975

SAIL

2D

2

Genesis (CMU)

Heisserman 1991

C/CLP

3D

3

Shape grammar interpreter

Krishnamurti 1982

4

Genesis (Boeing)

Heisserman 1994

C++/CLP

2D/3D

5

GEdit

Tapia 1996

LISP [c]/Mac

2D

6

Shape grammar editor

Shelden 1996

AutoLISP

2D

7

Implementation of basic grammar

Duarte and Simondetti 1997

AutoLISP

2D/3D

8

3D architecture form synthesis

Wang 1998

Java/Open Inventor

3D

9

Coffee maker grammar

Agarwal and Cagan 1998

Java

2D/3D

2D

The computer implementations of shape grammars can be simply divided into three groups based on the representation of shapes. These groups could be listed as visual representation, symbolic representation and set grammars in which shapes are treated like indivisible atoms and represented as tagged data (Duarte, Rocha, and Soarez 2007). First group recognises two-dimensional space while the second is the implementation in threedimensional space. The third group of set grammars is restricted types of shape grammars in which there are no emergent shapes and shape recognition (Wang and Duarte 2002).

Therefore, set grammars could be sorted into a new category out of shape grammars.

Set grammars are technically discrete elements constituting the vocabulary while basic shape grammars comprise lines and points to create the vocabulary elements (Cagdas 1996). The discreteness of set grammars allows parametric variables oriented more easily, avoiding problems such as automatic shape recognition (Duarte, Rocha, and Soarez 2007).

Figure 36: Shape grammar interpreters.

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CASE STUDY: URBAN GRAMMARS AND THE MARRAKESH EXAMPLE In the rigorous work of Marrakesh (Duarte, Rocha, and Soarez 2007), shape grammars are required to analyse an existing historical neighbourhoods that is called Marrakesh Medina. Pointing out the character of the urban slice described by shape grammar rules, a new development of an urban extension site is generated.

Initially the bounding perimeter of the site is described (Fig. 37). The edges of the perimeter are drawn provided that they are not shorter or longer than a given value. When we see how the boundary lines are produced from points it is not hard to imagine a turtle in L-systems which symbolises the point moved by the user’s commands.

Called derbs in the paper, the roads emerge from the entrance points randomly settled on the edges (Fig. 37). Then, the vectors depend on the rules of the grammar are manipulated to drag these entrance points furtherly drawing the roads. Other elements of the vectors are named as extenders, that are leading, and articulators, that are described by the given conditions of the grammar. These conditions consist of attribute variables such as angle and length. Subsequently put along the inner roads, lots’ edges are organised and optimised to avoid overlapping problem. Understanding lots and the way of placement in this work help explore parametric urban shape grammars.

Figure 37: Shape grammar derivation of the neighbourhood in Marrakesh (Duarte, Rocha, and Soarez 2007).

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10. CONCLUSION Due to technology – and content – knowledge transfers between different fields are frequent. As a result, emergent technologies have been transforming both virtual reality and architecture fields. Subsequently this has an impact on the convergence of these two fields in regard to digital heritage. However, the addition of other indispensable dimensions, such as history and culture, also generated some degrees of complication. We respond to this situation by mapping out methodology through gamification techniques. In doing so, we blend seamless past-present-future relations by evolving from a real tangible assets, then transforming them through a transformation from 'inside', meaning from local stakeholders, and finally re-enact a further evolved local culture.

Kashgar may grow into a different authenticity. The current situation does not allow for a flexible and evolving interpretation of Kashgar’s heritage. Therefore, this project’s goal is to go beyond a heritage visualization limited to a prescribed interpretation and definition.

By prompting a social motive, collective intelligence and participation the project builds upon geometrical data that are generated by stakeholders via game methodologies.

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