information playground: manifesto
DESCRIPTION
Undergraduate thesis research and proposal2013-14TRANSCRIPT
In
Pla
forma
tion
y
gr ound
Natalie Chuh
Bachelor Thesis 2014
Advisor: Doug Jackson
5
Manifesto
The following pages contain personal intentions, opinions,
objectives and motives in regards to architecture.
76
Contemporary culture’s relationship to information differs
significantly from that of a few decades ago. The emergence
of a new information-dependent culture has created a society
that now places a higher value on knowledge. Within this new
knowledge culture, the exchange of information is developing
into a more public and social activity. The traditional top-
down, authoritative methods of information sharing (i.e.
newspapers, broadcast television) are now supplemented with
new bottom-up, amateur methods (i.e. Wikipedia, Facebook,
blogs). Peer-to-peer information exchange is increasingly
more prevalent in today’s society, thereby creating a network
connecting people based on proximity and social interest
groups. This network encourages participation and cultivates
social interaction through the sharing of information
between individuals and groups. The information exchange
seeps into daily activities, making it integral to our everyday
lives. The “social-ness” of the network creates an enjoyable
environment for the exchange and discovery of information.
This peer-to-peer information exchange is created effortlessly
through the development of new user-friendly software,
easily accessible networks of communication, and portable
digital devices. With technology, users act as both consumers
and producers of information. But these exchanges are
most fully expressed and experienced only in the virtual
realm. Especially now, as our culture holds knowledge as a
prominent source of wealth, it is increasingly beneficial to
create physical spaces that support the new informational,
social exchange that contemporary culture desires. Current
Abstract spaces devoted to information, such as libraries, do not
sufficiently address the new knowledge culture, nor support
new technology and media. For the successful expression
of society’s new relationship to information, it is necessary
to create a physical place that complements the existing
structures of virtual information exchange. This thesis
demonstrates new techniques in which architecture can
create physical spaces for users to produce, consume, and share
information in a fun, creative, and social way.
Manifesto
98
(Below):
School of Athens, laptop,
tv, radio, newspaper;
(Page Right):
Portrait of Baruch Spinoza,
headphones, iPhone
Abstract Manifesto
Antique paintings depicting
traditional forms of
education are altered to
show the role new media
plays.
1110
Prosumers’ Remix
The development of digital technology hints to the thought
that old forms of delivering information will soon be obsolete.
This transition of media we are experiencing, from books
to e-journals, CDs to mp3s, and radio to television is not as
“deadly” as it seems. A new medium does not kill the old
medium; it merely shift s the former content or audience. New
media allow for improved methods of delivering information
as we now see old and new media blending together. It is
merely the same information, music, and news delivered
and consumed in new forms, those of which are still being
discovered. The cultural signifi cance in these forms does not
lie in the technology itself, but rather in how these new media
infl uence our interaction and relationship to the information
around us. Technology is not the sole driver of this shift , but
rather its overlap with culture, society, and politics allow
audiences to more easily interact within a network.
The emergence of these technologies aff ect the way we
consume, produce, and perceive information, whether we
recognize it or not. We can now process information in
ways that were not previously possible, via smartphones,
laptops, and tablets. These new technologies allow for
a wider exchange of information. In contrast with the
usual top-down method that feeds information in a one-to-
many relationship, there are now countless more ways to
receive information. Instead of a purely fl at approach, an
increasingly prominent peer-to-peer exchange induces a
more interactive and interdependent network. We are no
longer receiving information from one high, expert source,
Manifesto
One-to-many, top-down, vertical relationship
+ Non-authoritative exchange
Many-to-many, bottom-up, horizontal relationship
Authoritative exchange
Expert/authoritative:
newspaper, broadcast
television, books, journals
Amateur/non-authoritative:
Wikipedia, blogs, Facebook,
Twitter, forums
1312 Prosumers’ Remix
but rather from lesser and more ubiquitous sources, such
as our peers. Traditional authoritative sources, such as
books and radio, are experiencing competition from more
informal media, such as blogs and web forums. The variety
of non-authoritative sources, like Wikipedia, provide valuable
information generated by a multitude of users to create one
collective compilation. Common bottom-up sources, like
blogs, are created by individuals but are widely available to
the public. News reporters on CNN and CBS now have Twitter
accounts to share opinions and connect to their audience
more informally. These different user-created systems are
everywhere and easily distributed. Facebook, for example,
has become a common news source for thousands of users.
Instead of reading the newspaper for current events, people
log-on to Facebook and find the latest updates in politics and
pop culture, in addition to the superfluous comments, links to
other articles, Memes, and Tweets.
These new non-authoritative platforms have made the
transfer and creation of information more accessible to
everyone. It is now easy to produce as much information as we
consume. “Old consumers” were relatively passive, isolated,
silent and invisible, while “new consumers” are more active,
socially connected, and public. Consuming knowledge is
now a shared process in which we build our knowledge basis
through social interactions, either physically or virtually.
Consumers are now “prosumers,” acting as both consumers
and producers of information.
Fan-fiction, online forums, and blogs are a few examples of
how users are expanding their relationship to information.
These new forms of information create the opportunity for
“citizen journalism” and amateur production. Fan-fiction
websites, platforms where fans are able to re-vivify the lives
of characters, are at times the starting point for more famous
works.* Numerous online communities have emerged around
books and TV shows (Harry Potter and Star Trek) in which
the audience continues the lives of characters in different
places or time periods. The increasing ease of producing
information in the network provides a platform for a wider
audience. These amateur productions are part of a much
larger history of writing, film, and video production.** Music
and home videos are also easily remix-able and distributable
on websites like YouTube. Alongside amateur production,
audiences also help professionals in design processes with
user feedback. Websites are created specifically for this
purpose of “participatory design.” “Ordinary users, who
are ordinarily left out of the design process, can bring their
expertise using products to the conversation, and help ensure
more usable products.”2
Ordinary people are creating a wealth of links within the
information network through the production of “citizen
journalism” and amateur authorship of film, music, and
games. As the network becomes increasingly more prominent
in our lives, it drastically affects the ways in which we relate
to information, as well as the ways in which we connect with
each other.
Bestseller “50 Shades of
Grey” started as Twilight
fan-fiction, originally titled
“Masters of the Universe.” 1 The author wrote it as
a continuation of the
characters in Twilight,
including pictures of the
actors of Twilight with her
story.
*
Steven Spielberg and
George Lucas were
themselves amateur
filmmakers, creating low-
budget horror movies as
teenagers.2
**
Manifesto
1. Kellogg, Carolyn. “The Origins of ‘50 Shades of Grey’ Go Missing.” Los Angeles Times. N.p., 30 May 2012. Web.2. Jenkins, Henry. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York UP, 2006. Print.
1514
Collective Intelligence
With digital media and technology, information is highly
accessible. The phrase “Google it” has become universal in
giving someone direction to find an answer instantly. We are
closer to information and more importantly, we are closer
to each other. Facebook, Twitter, and multitudes of other
platforms allow us to share photos, post news, and distribute
information with incredible ease. This poses the question of
what significance technology has on the social interaction we
have with each other and how we share information.
As posting, texting, and tweeting become ever more
prominent in our social lives, we are creating an increasingly
important social network. This network allows for the
distribution and collection of personal information through
blogs and social communities. As the collection of content
grows, so does the production of information, creating a
constant cycle of consuming, producing, and remixing.
Media scholar Henry Jenkins describes the difference
between shared knowledge and collective intelligence:
shared knowledge is the information held by an entire group,
while collective intelligence is the summation of information
held by individuals.1 He describes this collective intelligence
as an expansion of individual knowledge when people “pool”
together, an action made incredibly simple with new social
networks. No one individual can know everything, but when
collaborating together, groups develop new information that
would not have been produced otherwise. Wikipedia is one
example. It is an online encyclopedia composed of the data
accrued by ordinary people, creating one unified compilation
Manifesto
of information. Jenkins researches a group of online members
called “spoilers,” who pool together in efforts to uncover
who gets kicked off the island in the TV Series “Survivor”
before the results are released to the public.1 Jenkins implies
that individually, it would have been inconceivable for an
individual to acquire that information, but collectively, the
pooling of different expertise within the group allowed for its
feasibility. This merging of knowledge between individuals
depicts the current blending of information exchange and
the new ways in which we connect with each other.
These new “pools” of information are formed within the
development of new knowledge communities: fan-fiction
sites, forums, and gaming groups make up only a portion
of the community. These communities are interest-based,
meaning members can shift from one group to another or
participate in multiple groups at once. They are “held together
through the mutual production and reciprocal exchange of
knowledge.”3 The contemporary social network emphasizes
the visible collectivity between individuals and places
significance on the notion that the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts. As Mark Wigley states in his essay “The
Architectural Brain,” “the exchange of information is now
more about the “extended patterns of interconnections […]
rather than the things being connected.”3
1. Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York UP, 2006. Print.2. Jenkins, Henry. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York UP, 2006. Print.3. Wigley, Mark. “The Architectural Brain.” Princeton Architectural Press (2007): 30-53. Web.
1716 Manifesto
Socialization and Enjoyment of
Information
The digitization of media and information has created a
prominent social network widely seen in the virtual realm.
“Knowledge itself is seen as socially constructed.”1 The social
used to be an ideal subscribed to through life-long dedication,
or something provided through religion. Now, with digital
technology, “the social is a feature.” 2 We expect to be
constantly connected with our network – whether through
Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. As our virtual network
proliferates, our physical surroundings seem to disappear;
we continue to gather in coff ee shops and cafes, but have
stopped interacting with each other as we previously have.
Cell phones, laptops, and iPads distract us from interacting
with direct surroundings, and without these physical spaces,
we would rarely interact with each other at all. We are
consistently connected to our social network and prefer to
relate to it over an unfamiliar physical network, even if it is
only a virtual one.
Our attachment can be explained through the enjoyment
we experience in being connected to a network that gives
feedback and favors participation. We are able to share
information and receive responses within our virtual
community, whether it is mundane day-to-day activities, or
our views on world politics – the connectedness is what draws
us and keeps us tied to social media. It gives us a sense of
belonging and persistent connectivity to something.
Where should we go for dinner, honey?
Let’s see what Yelp says!
Getting directions...
What’s on the menu?
Checking in...
Wait! Instagram it!
The “Informationalization”
of life integrates
information into social
contexts.
1918
Although new technology creates a world that discourages
face-to-face communication, it is still important to take
advantage of the new media. “The value of any bit of
information increases through social interaction.” 3 As
previously stated, our relationship to information is
changing as we collect it from numerous different sources
and collaborate in innovative ways. It is important to take
advantage of these changes and the new opportunities for
interaction it brings. Cultural theorist Pierre Levy states that
“lacking such interaction, we will ultimately produce nothing
more than a meaningless technology and a dead culture.” 4
Levy addresses the significance of social links in
contemporary society. Although digital media changes how
we behave in public spaces, it does not change our desire
as social beings. Social and more importantly, physical
interactions are necessary in order to foster healthy and
strong environments. Mizuko Ito, a cultural anthropologist,
argues for the importance in “establish[ing] an ambient visual
experience of bodies near proximity, which is physically
necessary in this wireless age.” 5 This calls for the opportunity
for physical spaces to cultivate social interactions that cannot
be experienced virtually. Levy describes objects and physical
spaces as the next targets for integration into the current
culture’s network, bringing an even more enjoyable, tangible
aspect to our existing virtual network of information.
Socialization and Enjoyment of Information Manifesto
1. Brawne, Michael. Library Builders. London: Academy Editions, 1997. Print.2. Lovink, Geert. Networks without a Cause: A Critique of Social Media. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.3. Jenkins, Henry. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York UP, 2006. Print.4. Levy, Pierre. Collective Intelligence: Mankind’s Emerging World in Cyberspace. New York: Plenum Trade, 1997. Print.5. Varnelis, Kazys. Networked Publics. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2008. Print.
A Physical Place
The social information network and the new ways in which
we interact with each other are effects of current media. It
describes our persistent desire for collectivity. These digital
media not only change the way we interact with each other,
but also how we interact in a greater sphere of society. Laptops
and home computers allow for almost everything to be done
from the comfort of the living room. A majority of retailers
have websites, which allow for quick and easy methods for
shoppers to see the newest arrivals, browse what’s in stock
and read customer reviews. Some retailers even reserve
special items to be sold exclusively online. Grocery stores
offer home-delivery of fresh produce and foods. Museums
now allow audiences to visit and view art online through
virtual tours and step-by-step views of each room, snapshots
of each painting and sculpture. Some have even taken “road
trips” online with GoogleMaps Street View. National Public
Radio tells the story about two friends, in different parts of the
country, who decide to take a virtual road trip together across
the United States, using only the arrow key as the steering
wheel, while live-streaming the entire trip on the internet.1
With digital technology, traveling the country can apparently
be done without leaving home. This poses the question of why
anything outside the virtual realm is significant.
As the virtual network grows and becomes more prominent
in everyday life, it is ever more important to uphold physical
spaces. Architecture can realize the desire for a physical,
social space and complement the already existing virtual space
involved with information culture.
2120
“Since the infinite space of the internet may be accessed
from the private realm of the home computer, [architecture]
provides containment, and the characterization of its identity
through scale and form has become critical.”2
Physical spaces would bring this new information exchange
to the presence of the public sphere, instead of the currently
segregated places within our own personal homes. Physical
spaces can potentially further the exchange of information
in more productive ways. It is important for architecture
to provide physical spaces for the public, raising it to a
level equal to its significance in contemporary culture.
Architecture can elevate the new non-authoritative forms of
information, providing a more monumental and dramatic
presence in relation to traditional media.
1. “Taking the Great American Road Trip, Google-Style.” Weekend Edition Sunday. National Public Radio. 16 Aug. 2009. Television. Transcript.2. Prizeman, Oriel. “Typology Quarterly: Libraries.” The Architectural Review 11 Nov. 2011. Print.
ManifestoA Physical Place
The Library
The current architectural typology traditionally dedicated to
the collection of information is the library. It is an institution
built up of time and knowledge, playing an essential role
in reflecting community and culture. The library has an
important prominence in the city context and expresses the
traditions held by its time period and culture. It has always
been an authoritative and reliable source for information. It
has primarily acted as a storage place for texts, the central
gathering place for universities, a communal gathering for
citizens, and a social space for collaboration. New media
will either give birth to a new typology or evolve the library
into a place that fosters the desires of contemporary culture.
Especially now, in a time when knowledge and information
are the main sources of wealth1, the library has greater
potential to act as an architectural symbol of the collective
holdings and exchange of knowledge. But its significance is
not solely dependent on the formats of information it holds –
namely books.
Although printed texts have, up until a few decades ago, been
the main sources of knowledge in libraries, recent libraries
collect new media information in the format of CDs, DVDs,
e-books, and so forth. The book was the traditional medium
through which culture, information, and stories were shared.
Now, the most common form of information exchange occurs
through the online network, where anyone is free to post and
share. This does not necessarily imply the death of libraries,
or rather architectural spaces dedicated to information.
Libraries are not dependent on books, but rather their value
22
is in the information they hold. The need and desire for a
physical space will never dissipate with the disappearance of
books. While the adaptation of new media formats in libraries
is productive, it does not sufficiently match the rising height
of importance that technology has allowed us to communicate
and gather information. If the library is to continue as an
architectural symbol, it should continue to be culturally
significant, regardless of the format of information it takes.
In order for architecture to stay relevant in contemporary
culture’s new relationship to information, it must create
spaces in which new social relationships are encouraged.
The question is whether architecture can manifest the
combination of old and new means of communication as a
single, physical space. How can architecture heighten the
new social aspect of information, and create physical spaces
that support both the production and consumption of it?
For the past two decades, there have been many attempts to
resolve these architectural issues by means of programmatic
and spatial changes.
The Library
2524
Precedents and Case Studies
These include a small portion of projects that have influenced
interpretations of space and the public library.
2726
Tokyo, Japan
Sou Fujimoto
Musashino Art University Museum & Library
The massing of the two-story library at Musashino Art
University is composed entirely from shelves, which hold all
the books. Circulation routes spiral around both the ground
and first floor between apertures cut out of the shelving.
Precedents and Case Studies
2928
Lorem Ipsum
Social/cultural center, Reinosa, Spain
Fala Architects
Lorem Ipsum is a sequence of blank canvases. The edges are
open on all sides to establish a sense of flow through to the
interior. The building itself contains 49 equal-sized rooms
with various activities juxtaposed next to one another. It
is activated by the people, hoping to fulfill their many and
different needs.
Precedents and Case Studies
3130
Marketplace
The prospect of a future library can be embodied as a
marketplace. Marketplaces are traditionally places used for
the exchanges of goods and services. A library could take
this same form, with the exchange of information in place of
goods, creating an “intelligent marketplace”, as Paul Lukez
calls it.1 The traditional forms of the marketplace could
encourage a more fluent exchange of information between
users. In Paul Lukez’s proposal for a prototype, he designs a
marketplace based on the Greek agora, with digital elements,
such as electronic screens on walls, which serve as the
backbone of the typology.
1. Brawne, Michael. Library Builders. London: Academy Editions, 1997. Print.
Precedents and Case Studies
3332
Program
Acting as a prototype for a new “library,” the project is designed
as a gathering place for three universities in a large urban
setting. The design takes into consideration the everyday
lives of students, their studies, and the social context.
3534
Central Library for Universities:
School of the Art Institute of
Chicago
Art History
Art Education
Interior Architecture
Fashion Design
Object Design
Arts: Visual, Critical Studies
Architecture
Columbia College
Fine Arts
Media Arts
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Education
Art and Design
Performing Arts
Audio Arts and Acoustics
Journalism
+
The current program
is designed for three
universities without a
main campus. This library
is intended to act as a
“university union” for all
three schools. It will also
host rooms, such as studios
and galleries, that cater to
specifi c areas of study.
Dance
Library
Interdisciplinary
Textile, clothing collection
Film, multimedia
Music
Prints and drawings
Host studios
Museum
Roosevelt University
Education
Business
Performing Arts
Pharmacy
Arts and Sciences
+
Program
3736
Program
Reading rooms:
rooms set aside for reading
“Themed” areas:
spaces set aside for specific interest groups -- allows
users to select specific atmospheres and generate
information within
Stacks:
compactly spaced bookshelves used to house large
collection of books
Walls:
act as housing for books, as well as objects,
information, and nooks for social interaction
Departmental Collections:
special collections specific to areas of study; ie.
textile, materials, drawing, painting, etc.
Public areas:
Entry lobby, auditorium, cafeteria
Operation:
Administration, offices, library processes
Traditional library
New prototypical library
online processes/catalog
too
Program
Themed areas
180,000 sq ft
Stacks / Walls
25,000 sq ft
Public
15,000 sq ft
Operation
42,000 sq ft
3938
Site
As a prototypical “library,” the site is located in an urban
setting in the vicinity of prominent universities.
4140
SITE
Columbia
downtownchicago loop
SAIC
Roosevelt
Site
4342
Roosevelt
Columbia
Ora
nge
Line
Red
Line
SITE
Stat
e St
East Harrison
Gra
nt P
ark
Site
4544
site footprint30,000 sq. ft.commercial / residential Jones College Preparatory School
Site
elevated tracks(orange line)
4746
Architectural Explorations
The following are design studies and investigations of space
as a pre-cursor to the library.
4948 Explorations
Spatial Investigations
The following studies were implemented to discover which
types of spaces allow for a wide variety of interaction between
users. The basis for this is seen in the interactions in virtual
networks: web forums, Facebook, etc. Strangers are far
more likely to make contact on the internet because they are
usually brought together by a specific common interest. This
developed into the first spatial strategy: Zoning.
To encourage the same
types of social interaction
we experience online and in
our social network, groups
or “zones” are created.
These specified zones cater
to a certain audience --
some bizarre (ie. room full
of fur) and some relatively
normal (ie. coffee shop).
These zones act as catalysts
to encourage social
interaction between users,
in hopes to create a sort of
information exchange.
Zoning
1
5150
Traditional movement
through a building is
provided by hallways
and corridors. But the
elimination of these
intermediaries creates a
non-heirarchical movement
through spaces, as one can
move from space to space.
This removal of heirarchy
encourages creative
paths, experiences, and
discoveries.
Exploratory Circulation
2
ExplorationsSpatial Investigations
Heirarchical circulation:
sequence is set
Non-heirarchical circulation:
sequence is emergent
Exploratory circulation:
movement from space to space without intermediaries
Movement online is free-flowing as
user clicks from link to link, constantly
surrounded by new information, images,
and opportunities. Movement in physical
spaces are not as free-flowing. There are
almost always interstitial spaces before
reaching a destination, creating a dis-
joint between spaces.
The second strategy is creating an
Exploratory Circulation. This allows
users to move from space to space without
intermediaries. It is easier to meander
and discover space, information, as well
as re-mix areas to users’ desires.