Archtctr 2.0; an e-motive Architecture Study plan.

 

Name: Remko Siemerink

 

Student number: 1009257

 

Architecture or Urbanism: Architecture

 

Address: Zwart Janstraat 97a, 3035 AN, Rotterdam.

 

Email: r.siemerink@student.tudelft.nl

 

Phone: +31641860563  

 

 

Study Plan

 

 

1a        Working title of the project.

            Archtctr 2.0

 

1b        One line description of the nature of the project.

Exploring innovative applications of technologies developing an ‘open platform’ for augmented mixed media creations in the grey area between physical and make belief environments.

 

1c        ‘Disciplines’ involved in the project.

Spatial design, Environmental design, Game design, Telecommunication, Modern philosophy, Aesthetics, New media, Cinematography, Information design, Interface design, Game theory, Parametric design, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, Psychology and Architecture.

 

1d        Short description of the aims, questions and results of the thesis project.

In the recent months a new breed of websites or –services has emerged, generally coined Web 2.0. Wikipedia (which is one of the best examples and one of the big forefathers of Web 2.0 itself) the definition of Web 2.0 is as follows:

 

A phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004,[1] refers to a perceived or proposed second generation of Internet-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. O'Reilly Media, in collaboration with MediaLive International, used the phrase as a title for a series of conferences, and since 2004 the phrase has been adopted by technical and marketing communities.

 

[…]

 

While interested parties continue to debate the definition of a Web 2.0 application, a Web 2.0 web-site may exhibit some basic characteristics. These might include:

·   "Network as platform" — delivering (and allowing users to use) applications entirely through a browser.[5] See also Web operating system.

·   Users owning the data on the site and exercising control over that data.[6][5]

·   An architecture of participation and democracy that encourages users to add value to the application as they use it.[5][1]

·   A rich, interactive, user-friendly interface based on Ajax[5][1] or similar frameworks.

·   Some social-networking aspects.[6][5]

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0 )

 

But it’s not just these web-based phenomena that reveal the narrowing gap between the physical and the virtual. It can be seen everywhere around us; in (mobile) (communication) devices, in board- and computer-games, in fashion, toys, in (dance) clubs and other entertainment-related buildings, so even in architecture in general!

 

These developments have a paradoxical tendency; on the one side we see that telecommunication and networking is bringing us closer together and creates a ‘smaller’ and more ‘uniform’  world (Globalism, Global culture), whereas at the same time we see that more and more small groups / subcultures emerge, with their own values, opinions, styles and rules.

 

In this project some of the properties of Web 2.0 and (related) contemporary social and technological developments will be investigated to be adopted in real social life. One should think of, for example, a virtual three-dimensional world seamlessly mixed with the real, physical world.

 

An entirely voluntary, experimental fun- and creativity-based service is just one of the possibilities to start with, but more serious and largely adopted applications are also imaginable, which could ultimately result in an open platform or protocol (like HTTP, GSM and GPS), in which secured, closed services and communities can exist.

 

The research of the possibilities within this area have just started. This project brings another approach from the discipline of architecture.

 

 

1e        Goals, in terms of practical social, cultural or economic benefit.

By creation of an open platform for mixed reality productions or -worlds, all kinds of services and communities could emerge, which possibly have social, cultural or educational or general entertainment benefits. Furthermore a largely adapted system of social networks could have great benefits in the fields of statistics and politics.

 

2a+b    Brief description of the major phases of the project and the theoretical or technical instruments to be used or developed at each stage.

 

          I.          Research and literature study, resulting in more specific and reformulated aims. Everything reported on a website / weblog (http://archtctr2.0.viernulvier.nl), also resulting in a printable PDF-report.

       II.          Diverge; collecting and developing possible ideas, designs, inventions, products, etc.

     III.          Converging; Structuring and evaluation of the above and choosing successful or promising ideas.

     IV.          Development of selected designs / scenario’s.

        V.          Development and production of a suitable presentation format.

     VI.          Final presentation.

 

2c        Current literature & media list (to be revised and selected from).

 

&        Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another
by Philip Ball , Farrar, Straus and Giroux (May 16, 2006)

&        The Wisdom of Crowds
by James Surowiecki , Anchor; Reprint edition (August 16, 2005)

&        Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age
by Duncan J. Watts , W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (February 2004)

&        Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means
by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi , Plume; Reissue edition (April 29, 2003)

&        Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software
by Steven Johnson , Scribner; Reprint edition (August 27, 2002)

&        Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order
by Steven Strogatz , Hyperion; 1st edition (March 5, 2003)

&        Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution
by Howard Rheingold , Basic Books; Reprint edition (October 14, 2003)

&        Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell , Little, Brown and Company (January 11, 2005)

&       Game Zone: Playgrounds between Virtual Scenarios and Reality
by Albetro Iacovoni, Birkhäuser – Publishers for Architecture, 2004.

&       Game Set And Match II
by Kas Oosterhuis, Lukas Feireiss (Educational Studies Pr, September 30, 2006)

&        Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals
by Katie Salen, Eric Zimmerman
, The MIT Press (October 1, 2003)

&        The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology
by Katie Salen (Editor), Eric Zimmerman (Editor) , The MIT Press (December 1, 2005)

&        Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds
by Jesper Juul  , The MIT Press (December 2, 2005)

&        A Theory of Fun for Game Design
by Raph Koster, Will Wright (Foreword) , Paraglyph Press; 1 edition (November 6, 2004)

&        A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia
by Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, Brian Massumi , University of Minnesota Press (December 1987)

&        Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World
by Kevin Kelly , Perseus Books Group; Reprint edition (May 1995)

&        The Technium
by Kevin Kelly, Unpublished yet, work in progress at: http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/

&        A New Kind of Science
by Stephen Wolfram , Wolfram Media (May 14, 2002)

&        Being Digital
by Nicholas Negroponte , Vintage (January 3, 1996)

&        Freedom Evolves
by Daniel C. Dennett , Penguin (Non-Classics); Reprint edition (January 27, 2004)

&        The Language of New Media
by Lev Manovich , The MIT Press; Reprint edition (March 7, 2002)

&        The Organizational Complex: Architecture, Media, and Corporate Space
by Reinhold Martin , The MIT Press; New Ed edition (October 1, 2005)

&        A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson , Broadway; Reprint edition (September 14, 2004)

&        Metapolis Dictionary of Advanced Architecture: City, Technology and Society in the Information Age
by Manuel Gausa, Vicente Guallart, Willy Muller, Federico Soriano, Fernando Porras, Jose Morales, Willy Müller, Actar (September 2003)

&        Constant's New Babylon
by Mark Wigley , Uitgeverij 010 Publishers,Netherlands (June 15, 1999)

&        Film Architektur
by Donald Albrecht, Anton Kaes, Anthony. Vidler, Dietrich. Neumann , Prestel (June 1, 1996)

&        Manifesto for a Cinematic Architecture
by Pascal Schon, AA Publications (May 1, 2006)

&        City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn
by William J. Mitchell, The MIT Press; New Ed edition (August 1, 1996)

&        The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
by Thomas L. Friedman , Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Expanded and Updated edition (April 18, 2006)

&        The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less (Paperback)
by Barry Schwartz , Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (January 18, 2005)

ž     Wired Magazine
(Issue 14.09, September 2006; Issue 13.10, October 2005; Issue 10.09, September 2002;
Issue 9.05, May 2001; Issue 8.05, May 2000; Issue 12.04, April 2004, …)

ž     TIME Magazine (Dec. 25, 2006 issue)

ü       Google Earth – http://earth.google.com

ü       Wikipedia articles – http://www.wikipedia.com/

·      Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964)

·      Tron (Steven Lisberger, 1982)

·      Brainstorm (Douglas Trumbull, 1983)

·      Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983)

·      Johnny Mnemonic (Robert Longo, 1995)

·      Cube (Vincenzo Natali, 1997), Cube 2; Hypercube (Andrzej Sekula, 2004), Cube Zero (Ernie Barbarash, 2004).

·      ExistenZ (David Cronenberg, 1999)

¾     The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror VI (Matt Groening, October 29th, 1995)

Ä      Secondlife – http://www.secondlife.com/  

Ä      The Sims – http://thesims.ea.com/

Ä      World of Warcrafthttp://www.worldofwarcraft.com/

Ä      Unreal Tournament - http://www.callofduty.com/

Ä      Nintendo WII - http://wii.com/

 

 

3          Criteria to be judged upon.

q        Level of innovation.

q        Quality of research.

q        Quality of the design developed.

q        Quality of the presentation (media).

 

 

4          Design and research products.

q        Website / Weblog for textual report, log-keeping and presentation.

q        2d (digital) hand drawing.

q        Maya and SketchUp (3d sketches).

q        Final thesis report and final presentation in Virtools, Google Earth and / or SecondLife with verbal presentation.

 

 

5          Time-plan.

 

 

Kalenderweek

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Onderwijsweek

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Afstudeerweek

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Feb.

 

 

 

Mar.

 

 

 

 

Apr.

 

 

 

May

 

 

 

June

 

 

 

 

July

maandag

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dinsdag

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woensdag

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donderdag

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25

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vrijdag

19

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Fase

I.  Research, Literature & Media

II.  Diverging

III. Converging

IV. Development

V. Make presentation

VI. Final

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

q      

19-1-2007

11.00-15.00

Discuss Study plans

 

q      

9-2-2007

11.00-15.00

Sign contracts

 

q      

23-2-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

9-3-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

23-3-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

13-4-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

24-4-2007

 

Final application for Go/No-Go

 

q      

27-4-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

11-5-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

25-5-2007

09.00-18.00

Go/No-go

 

q      

5-6-2007

 

Final application Final presentation

 

q      

8-6-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

22-6-2007

11.00-15.00

Meeting

 

q      

6-7-2007

09.00-18.00

Public Final presentation