ARCH 497 – Simultaneous Occupation
how 3d digital environments and video game technologies are defining a new, deeply relevant arena for architectural expression.
Long before taking any digital coursework, today’s students were likely introduced to the occupation and manipulation of digital space through video games. Fast forward to today and the technologies students and professionals are using to conceive and implement architecture are the same technologies being used to create incredibly sophisticated interactive environments. Once we begin to recognize and take advantage of the connections between the physical and digital realms a new mode of spatial occupation will emerge, elevating the influence of technology, beyond representation, towards occupation. Our growing reliance upon information + communication technologies and the general cultural acceptance of digital occupation (commerce, banking, socializing, etc) proves that we are ready.
Paralleling our cultures increasing ability to interface with complex collections of data, the physical point of interface between the body and the space of the video game (typically the joystick) has grown from limited directionality and singular on/off buttons to controllers with three or more, full range directional controls and over a dozen pressure sensitive buttons. These advancements enable amazingly complex interactions with a digital world whose scope and detail is growing by leaps and bounds, making it far more compelling, engaging and useful.
More recently, the connection of video games to the internet has enabled the emergence of large communities developed within systems referred to as persistent games. These persistent video games exemplify the parallel nature of digital and physical space. Perhaps most significantly, these digital environments have developed their own economies which just like any other country have organized and valued exchange with our own. The significance of this interaction between the economic unit of the game and our national monetary systems has reached deeply influential proportions as economic issues weave deep into the fabric of our daily lives. The line between these two worlds becomes fuzzier with every log-on.
Acknowledging critical theories’ discussions of the nature of hyper-reality and the differences or simultaneities of the map + the territory, we hope to emphasize the potential inherent in an architectural investigation which has been liberated through its ability to adopt an alternative physics or scientific territory within which to operate, a territory where gravity does not have to honor 9.8 m/s² if it exists at all. As such, this class will foster a pataphysical attitude towards the development of this new architecture. Intense conceptual freedom and scientific rigor will empower architects to define entirely new, complex relationships of space, information + identity. Additionally, the impact of these technologies operates in both directions as will be demonstrated through examples of augmented reality, interpersonal relationships and real world communication tools.
Project 1: Students will construct, using the Steam engine, a digital environment that explores an interactive spatial condition defined by a selected set of verbs or tropes.
Project 2: Students will construct a transient architectural condition for the residents of Second Life. This digital structure will be designed to be dynamically deployable and easily distributable.
Project 3: Asks the students to select either of the initial two projects to develop further. For the final project, students will revise their previous work based on feedback from faculty and guests. Prepare their projects for public dissemination and create a two page synposis, documenting the project.
Class Schedule
| week | topic | technical | assignment | |
| wk1 | class meta info | Intro | acquire materials | |
| wk2 | survey of interactive technologies | digital i/o | as1: LED sequencer | |
| wk3 | play/interactivity | analog input | as2: sensing light | |
| wk4 | precedent presentations | Transistors + relays | as3: light show | |
| wk5 | precedent presentations | IC’s + sensors | as4: proximity events | |
| wk6 | precedent presentations | motors | as5: controlling motion | |
| wk7 | defibrillator code | serial communication with flash | as6: controlling the screen | |
| wk8 | computer vision | computer vision with flash | complete as6 + final project statement | |
| wk9 | spring break no class | |||
| wk10 | hellenic museum visit | multiplexing w/ ohp device | FP as1: mockup 1 | |
| wk11 | individual/team review | open | ||
| Wk12 | individual/team review | open | FP as2: mockup 2 | |
| Wk13 | individual/team review | open | ||
| wk14 | individual/team review | open | FP as3: working prototype | |
| wk15 | individual/team review | open | FP as4: debugging, refining | |
| wk16 | individual/team review | open | FP as5: complete project and report | |
| wk17 | setup for open house |
