Digital architecture

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An example of a building created using architecture software High quality 3d rendering service. Praxis Studio.jpg
An example of a building created using architecture software

Digital architecture refers to aspects of architecture that feature digital technologies or considers digital platforms as online spaces. The emerging field of digital architectures therefore applies to both classic architecture as well as the emerging study of social media technologies.

Contents

Within classic architectural studies, the terminology is used to apply to digital skins that can be streamed images and have their appearance altered. A headquarters building design for Boston television and radio station WGBH by Polshek Partnership has been discussed as an example of digital architecture and includes a digital skin. [1]

Within social media research, digital architecture refers to the technical protocols that enable, constrain, and shape user behavior in a virtual space. [2] Features of social media platforms such as how they facilitate user connections, enable functionality, and generate data are considered key properties that distinguish one digital architecture from another.

Overview

Architecture created digitally might not involve the use of actual materials (brick, stone, glass, steel, wood). [3] It relies on "sets of numbers stored in electromagnetic format" used to create representations and simulations that correspond to material performance and to map out built artifacts. [3] It thus can involve digital twinning for planned construction or for maintenance management. Digital architecture does not just represent "ideated space"; it also creates places for human interaction that do not resemble physical architectural spaces. [3] Examples of these places in the "Internet Universe" and cyberspace include websites, multi-user dungeons, MOOs, and web chatrooms. [3]

Digital architecture allows complex calculations that delimit architects and allow a diverse range of complex forms to be created with great ease using computer algorithms. [4] The new genre of "scripted, iterative, and indexical architecture" produces a proliferation of formal outcomes, leaving the designer the role of selection and increasing the possibilities in architectural design. [4] This has "re-initiated a debate regarding curvilinearity, expressionism and role of technology in society" leading to new forms of non-standard architecture by architects such as Zaha Hadid, Kas Oosterhuis and UN Studio. [4] A conference held in London in 2009 named "Digital Architecture London" introduced the latest development in digital design practice.

The Far Eastern International Digital Design Award (The Feidad Award) has been in existence since 2000 and honours "innovative design created with the aid of digital media." In 2005 a jury with members including a representative from Quantum Film, Greg Lynn from Greg Lynn FORM, Jacob van Rijs of MVRDV, Gerhard Schmitt, Birger Sevaldson (Ocean North), chose among submissions "exploring digital concepts such as computing, information, electronic media, hyper-, virtual-, and cyberspace in order to help define and discuss future space and architecture in the digital age." [5]

Social media

The concept of digital architectures has a long history in Internet scholarship. Prior to social media, scholars focused on how the structure of an online space – such as a forum, website, or blog – shaped the formation of publics and political discourses. [6] [7] With the rapid rise of social media, scholars have turned their attention to how the architectural design of social media platforms affects the behavior of influential users, such as political campaigns. [8] This line of research differs from the affordances approach, [9] which focuses on the relationships between users and technology, rather than the digital architecture of the platform.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyberspace</span> Concept describing a widespread, interconnected digital technology

Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security professionals, governments, military and industry leaders and entrepreneurs to describe the domain of the global technology environment, commonly defined as standing for the global network of interdependent information technology infrastructures, telecommunications networks and computer processing systems. Others consider cyberspace to be just a notional environment in which communication over computer networks occurs. The word became popular in the 1990s when the use of the Internet, networking, and digital communication were all growing dramatically; the term cyberspace was able to represent the many new ideas and phenomena that were emerging. As a social experience, individuals can interact, exchange ideas, share information, provide social support, conduct business, direct actions, create artistic media, play games, engage in political discussion, and so on, using this global network. Cyberspace users are sometimes referred to as cybernauts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer-aided design</span> Constructing a product by means of computer

Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing. Designs made through CAD software help protect products and inventions when used in patent applications. CAD output is often in the form of electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. The terms computer-aided drafting (CAD) and computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) are also used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chat room</span> Any form of synchronous conferencing

The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from real-time online chat and online interaction with strangers to fully immersive graphical social environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augmented reality</span> View of the real world with computer-generated supplementary features

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. As such, it is one of the key technologies in the reality-virtuality continuum.

A virtual community is a social work of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communities are online communities operating under social networking services.

Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) is the study of how people utilize technology collaboratively, often towards a shared goal. CSCW addresses how computer systems can support collaborative activity and coordination. More specifically, the field of CSCW seeks to analyze and draw connections between currently understood human psychological and social behaviors and available collaborative tools, or groupware. Often the goal of CSCW is to help promote and utilize technology in a collaborative way, and help create new tools to succeed in that goal. These parallels allow CSCW research to inform future design patterns or assist in the development of entirely new tools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet culture</span> Culture that has emerged from the use of computer networks

Internet culture is a quasi-underground culture developed and maintained among frequent and active users of the Internet who primarily communicate with one another online as members of online communities; that is, a culture whose influence is "mediated by computer screens" and information communication technology, specifically the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer-mediated reality</span> Ability to manipulate ones perception of reality through the use of a computer

Computer-mediated reality refers to the ability to add to, subtract information from, or otherwise manipulate one's perception of reality through the use of a wearable computer or hand-held device such as a smartphone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Donath</span> American computer scientist

Judith Stefania Donath is a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center, and the founder of the Sociable Media Group at the MIT Media Lab. She has written papers on various aspects of the Internet and its social impact, such as Internet society and community, interfaces, virtual identity issues, and other forms of collaboration that have become manifest with the advent of connected computing.

Internet identity (IID), also online identity, online personality, online persona or internet persona, is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites. It may also be an actively constructed presentation of oneself. Although some people choose to use their real names online, some Internet users prefer to be anonymous, identifying themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying amounts of personally identifiable information. An online identity may even be determined by a user's relationship to a certain social group they are a part of online. Some can be deceptive about their identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital rhetoric</span> Forms of communication via digital mediums

Digital rhetoric can be generally defined as communication that exists in the digital sphere. As such, digital rhetoric can be expressed in many different forms, including text, images, videos, and software. Due to the increasingly mediated nature of our contemporary society, there are no longer clear distinctions between digital and non-digital environments. This has expanded the scope of digital rhetoric to account for the increased fluidity with which humans interact with technology.

The terms design computing and other relevant terms including design and computation and computational design refer to the study and practice of design activities through the application and development of novel ideas and techniques in computing. One of the early groups to coin this term was the Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition at the University of Sydney in Australia, which for nearly fifty years pioneered the research, teaching, and consulting of design and computational technologies. This group organised the academic conference series "Artificial Intelligence in Design (AID)" published by Springer during that period. AID was later renamed "Design Computing and Cognition (DCC)" and is currently a leading biannual conference in the field. Other notable groups in this area are the Design and Computation group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's School of Architecture + Planning and the Computational Design group at Georgia Tech.

A virtual artifact (VA) is an immaterial object that exists in the human mind or in a digital environment, for example the Internet, intranet, virtual reality, cyberspace, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of the Internet</span> Analysis of Internet communities through sociology

The sociology of the Internet involves the application of sociological or social psychological theory and method to the Internet as a source of information and communication. The overlapping field of digital sociology focuses on understanding the use of digital media as part of everyday life, and how these various technologies contribute to patterns of human behavior, social relationships, and concepts of the self. Sociologists are concerned with the social implications of the technology; new social networks, virtual communities and ways of interaction that have arisen, as well as issues related to cyber crime.

Digital morphogenesis is a type of generative art in which complex shape development, or morphogenesis, is enabled by computation. This concept is applicable in many areas of design, art, architecture, and modeling. The concept was originally developed in the field of biology, later in geology, geomorphology, and architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neri Oxman</span> Israeli-American designer and academic

Neri Oxman is an Israeli-American designer and former professor known for art that combines design, biology, computing, and materials engineering. She coined the phrase "material ecology" to define her work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rivka Oxman</span> Israeli architect

Rivka Oxman is an Israeli architect, researcher, and professor at the Technion Institute in Haifa. Her research interests are related to design and computation, including digital architecture and methods, and exploring their contribution to the emergence of new paradigms of architectural design and practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer-generated imagery</span> Application of computer graphics to create or contribute to images

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in art, printed media, simulators, videos and video games. These images are either static or dynamic. CGI both refers to 2D computer graphics and 3D computer graphics with the purpose of designing characters, virtual worlds, or scenes and special effects. The application of CGI for creating/improving animations is called computer animation, or CGI animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital fashion</span> Visual representation of clothing with digital software

Digital Fashion is the visual representation of clothing built using computer technologies and 3D software. This industry is on the rise due to ethical awareness and uses of digital fashion technology such as artificial intelligence to create products with complex social and technical software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital sublime</span> Philosophical concept

The digital sublime is the mythologization of the impact of computers and cyberspace on human experiences of time, space and power. It's also known as cyber sublime or algorithmic sublime. It is a philosophical conception of emotions that captivate the collective conscience with the emergence of these new technologies and the promises and predictions that emerge from them. These emotions are the awe, the astonishment, the rationality-subsuming glory, and the generally intense spiritual experience.

References

  1. WGBH to wrap new headquarters in digital skin
  2. Bossetta, Michael (2018). "The Digital Architectures of Social Media: Comparing Political Campaigning on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat in the 2016 U.S. Election". Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 95 (2): 471–496. arXiv: 1904.07333 . doi: 10.1177/1077699018763307 .
  3. 1 2 3 4 Daniela Bertol, David Foell Designing digital space page 57
  4. 1 2 3 A. Ali, C. A. Brebbia Digital architecture and construction Abstract by S. Hatzellis, University of Technology, Sydney Australia page 51, 54
  5. Yu-Tung Liu The Philosophy of Digital Architecture: The FEIDAD Award Architettura
  6. Jones, Quentin; Rafaeli, Sheizaf (2010). "Time to Split, Virtually: 'Discourse Architecture' and 'Community Building' Create Vibrant Virtual Publics". Electronic Markets. 10 (4): 242–282. doi:10.1080/101967800750050326.
  7. Sack, Warren (2005). "Discourse Architecture and Very Large-scale Conversation". In Robert Latham; Saskia Sassen (eds.). Digital Frontiers: IT and New Architectures in the Global Realm. pp. 233–253. doi:10.1515/9781400831616.242. ISBN   978-1-4008-3161-6.
  8. Bossetta, Michael (2018). "The Digital Architectures of Social Media: Comparing Political Campaigning on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat in the 2016 U.S. Election". Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 95 (2): 471–496. arXiv: 1904.07333 . doi: 10.1177/1077699018763307 .
  9. Bucher, Taina; Helmond, Bucher (2017). "The Affordances of Social Media". In Jean Burgess; Alice Marwick; Thomas Poell (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of Social Media. pp. 233–253.

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