2011年8月4日 星期四

The New Real: 擴增城市

當今的網路發展持續下去,我們能夠預見一個未來。那個未來裡,人跟網路是永遠連結著的,透過遠比現在更快、更穩定、更普及的方式連結著。有人說是靠著腦內種植晶片,有的說是靠著突破性的生物技術,總而言之,人類打從一出生,就連結著網際網路,一直到去世。網際網路有個新名字,叫做CI-集體智能。每個人與CI的連結,徹底改變了人類的貿易、政治、以及社會結構。在那個未來裡,人們生活的世界是真實環境與擴增實境的混合,是物理性環境跟資訊交流的重疊。在這樣的世界裡,建築的價值…你說他喪失了也好,你說他昇華了也好…

[CI]

Collective Intelligence-集體智能。像Wikipedia一樣,每個與網路連結的人貢獻自己的智慧,再經過所有人的不斷修改,CI是個不斷自我優化的集合體,是權力下放的真正民主,他既取代了教育,也取代了政府,取代了市場經濟,又同時是每個人的基本權利,如同活著的權利。而每個人對CI上傳與下載資訊的「量」和「速度」,是新世界的貨幣基準。

[一個建築]
什麼叫建築?不再有人這麼稱呼他了,他跟水系統、道路系統、能源系統、還有資訊傳遞系統一樣,人們統稱為基礎建設,是乘載一切人類活動的基底當中的一項。有其必要,但是你看不到-至少你永遠看不到他赤裸裸的樣子。建築成了背景-用來投射所有材質、顏色、景象、資訊和欲望的背景。和下水道的預鑄水泥管一樣,也和鋪滿道路的柏油材料一樣,建築剩下一種材料,一種可以被大量、快速製造又快速組裝的材料,甚至可以自行移動延展,極簡而必要的存在-成為你行走的地面、遮風避雨的屋頂、迫使你轉向的牆面。他變得很單調,但是很有效率,好比你不會抱怨全世界的柏油路都長一個樣,而會讚嘆路面上五顏六色的跑車,成就著五花八門的生活一樣。建築,僅僅是用來投射資訊和欲望的背景。

[一個城市]
擴增實境充斥的城市-姑且稱為擴增城市,和傳統城市一樣,有核心也有邊緣。如果你了解華爾街各家公司盡可能的靠近data center 是為了爭取比別人快那零點零零幾秒的市場資訊,那麼你也可以了解在這個擴增城市裡,富有,是指離得CI Center越近的核心,貧窮,是離得越遠的邊緣區域。CI的核心區域,是個資訊爆炸的地段,每一分每一秒都在發生不同的事,市容也在每分每秒改變,所有的活動、交易、娛樂都在這個地方。曾經聽說過有人在這邊因為意外而「斷了線」,斷了與CI的連結,目睹了裸露的城市-白茫茫的一片,沒有「建築」,只有飛來飛去、快速移動著的平板,上頭的人,也是赤裸裸的白…。他們說,當這些人目睹到了城市裸體,都立刻喪失了心智…。而又因為CI Center僅僅是人們聚集密度最高的區域,這個擴增城市可以游移,在衝撞舊世界或衝撞另一個擴增城市的邊緣上,發生侵蝕…

[侵蝕]
稱得上古蹟的老房子,終究承受不了時間的侵蝕,人們勉強把他凍結在時空裡而慢慢忘記了靜止的意義,成了新世界的絆腳石;稱不上老房子的半調子,終究抗拒不了資訊的侵蝕,有的被拆了牆,用新材料填裝,被批妝上層層的訊息脂粉,他們稱之為「進化」。

[城市之間]
新世界有好多個擴增城市,他們在舊城市的邊緣誕生。誰說破壞容易建設難?要在空曠一片的地方建立全新的CI城市,遠比改造舊城市來的容易太多了。某些舊城市被刻意凍結以便研究或參觀,有些被遺棄,有些則是被那些「自我放逐」、甘願放棄「資訊」這個基本人權的「逃離者」們視為最後的淨土,他們把氣味、觸感、顏色等等永遠一成不便的東西都當成了寶…。站在CI核心向遠處望,在目眩神迷的城市景色末端,看到了好幾個世紀前的時代符號-巴黎鐵塔,那是被CI列定為歷史保留區的地方。另一頭,一位逃離者站在舊世界的鐵塔上向這邊望,望著白茫茫的一片,望著這個什麼都不是的地方…。





[GSD project] The New Real - The World of Augmented Reality

The New Real - The World of Augmented Reality

Harvard GSD 2011 : 3421 New Geographies: Imagining a City-World Beyond Cosmopolis
Instructor: A. Hashim Sarkis
Project members: Nicholas Croft, Aneesha Dharwadker, Mariusz Klemens, Yu-Ta Lin, Elizabeth MacWillie, William Quattlebaum, Trude Renwick, Mary Grace Verges, Clementina Vinals.
Thesis revised: Nicholas Croft

Architecture is either a background for augmented reality or a preserved, pre-augmentation, artifact; the current fabric of the built world exists, but within emergent regions driven by Collective Intelligence (CI), architecture transforms into a tectonically uniform version of itself.  It is in these regions that design acquires meaning through non-material imagery.

Augmented regions are fluid in nature—perpetually redefining themselves and their boundaries as a result of a complex collective-CI feedback loop—yet at any given moment, clearly defined boundaries demarcate the influence of the augmented world on the physical one.Collective Intelligence, as an advanced stage in the evolution of the Internet, controls the technologies of augmented reality, facilitates algorithmic forms of governance based on collective input, and aids in the increasingly efficient cycling of data.

Certain aspects of the world become virtual, while others remain physical. The transportation of people and goods occurs in real space, while events like voting, banking, shopping, and so forth, are anchored in the virtual realm. The processes through which humans go to acquire goods and services no longer require individual spatial displacement. The world undergoes physical spatial compression, but a virtual expansion occurs through user experiences. Through the digital augmentation of space, inhabitants can experience infinite depth.

The individual’s interaction with the world occurs through a personal interface, which allows the user to make choices about the visual composition of his or her environment. Connection to augmented reality is a choice, not an obligation – but it determines the ability of the user to access information and gain knowledge. As a result, physical proximity to CI centers allows for a faster exchange of information. Public spaces become “servers,” where individuals can collectively plug in to the increasing mass of data. The economy is thus run on memory – both the memory of the individual, and his or her ownership of digital space. Bytes become currency, and are incorporated into the public sphere, giving more power to classes without access to physical wealth. Corporations collaborate with the CI to govern the physical realm, providing generic hardware for servers, bandwidth, interfaces, and architecture. The differentiation of these objects occurs virtually, based solely on the choices of the user. 


Infrastructure
Interreigionality




New Geographies
Mega-Form
Main Images

2011年6月10日 星期五

Architectural-based Think Tank + Branding (4): thoughts on the Culture

The Culture of an Interdisciplinary, Architectural-Based Design Tank
What are the principles to maintain a firm’s creativity and energy? What kind of environment and structure is needed? Here are some key points of two different innovative firms:
IDEO (interdisciplinary design, USA)
Brain Store (idea factory, Switzerland)
-       Idea-friendly
-       No Boss’ boss
-       Work with “friends”
-       Characterize each member for further placement
-       Brainstorming as routine

Source: Janet Wiscombe, “The Innovation Factory”, Workforce Management Online, Jan. 2007
-       Idea Machine - produce ideas industrially
-       Insiders + Outsiders
-       Idea management > generating
-       Idea-friendly


Source: Nadja Schnetzler, “The Idea Machine”, 2005


I think the ways approaching design are fundamentally the same, and being interdisciplinary is not a trend, it is the nature (and a mission) of design profession. I would like to compare my thoughts on an architectural firm to the two above and try to conclude the essences of design firms that should be applied as well to architectural profession. I think what a typical architecture firm lacks of is an inspiring working environment, a creative and flexible labor structure, and an efficient way of producing ideas. And these elements are even crucial to a detached design group.

Structure
The design tank should consist of several sectors: Architecture/Planning, Interior Design, Product Design, Commercial Design, and Market teams. Each member in the firm has the chance to be the Project Manager according to his/her capability or profession and the project type. Also, outsiders- including interns, partners, and clients, will be part of the team during the stages of concept development. The firm is adaptive to continuous changing of labor flows and its recruitment will refresh and energize the firm itself constantly. 
Environment
The office environment is crucial to the firm. As same as its labor structure, its space remains open and flexible for its continuous changes of arrangement. Also, recreational elements and plants are considered as important as any other furniture. All furniture are mobile, and should be able to be moved easily since an individual may be part of several projects at a time, he/she would constantly move the working place between groups. There would be no fixed partition but flexible ones that could be easily and interestingly set up for meetings or other activities.   



2011年5月14日 星期六

GSD Taiwan


(Resource: Harvard GSD 2011 Brochure)
過去十年,GSD總共有72位來自台灣的校友,平均每年7.2個,其實很多。這兩年台灣學生少很多,然後大陸學生暴增,韓國略比之前少一點點。當然只拿GSD一所學校來看根本不夠當做什麼指標,也沒有說一定要出國念書,就算出國念書也沒有一定要來美國。只是看到這個再想想現在的狀況,有點點小感慨小寂寞,台灣其實很強,比我當初以為的強,也要繼續強下去。
我還記得小時候學地理,老師指著一些課本上的圖片說:其實台灣沒有這麼大,所以開始腦袋烙印著"台灣很小",於是在每次畫地圖的時後失去尺度感,慢慢的把自己的土地越畫越小,遠比她真正的大小還小。這是一種自卑吧,然後在內心的自卑和面對外人的自我強調之間反覆衝撞,就像在國際情勢上的政治地位一樣。

學過建築,並不代表就能在地圖上正確畫出台灣的尺度。我到現在還是有時候太大有時候太小。

總之台灣加油。總是離家了才會想家,透過別人的眼睛才看到自己的優點,台灣還有好多強項講不完,大家不要被唱衰自己的媒體教壞,被政客操弄,被那些妄自菲薄的人干擾。勇敢走自己的路,台灣的輪廓才會更明顯。我愛台灣,月底見!

2011年4月13日 星期三

2011年4月4日 星期一

一年小記

- 下次回到GSD 要好好善用LRC (Language Resource Center) 不然英文這麼爛要怎麼辦  有想法表達不出 有知識吸收不了  寫文章詞不達意....
- 對於將來有很多想像 但更體會到只說沒做 什麼都沒意義。乾脆少逞口舌之快 等做了 做出了個程度 驗證&修正過後再來提出分享  也比較有建設性
- 可惜下學年不在  不過回來的時候要繼續想辦法拉Geoffrey West來Harvard給個演講,來給個mind-blowing lecture!
- 一年其實可以做滿多事  整個世界給你飛 這次沒有藉口了
- 如果知識=力量  那他違反能量守恆  因為我想把我這一年學到的盡量分享出去 然後造成集體能量提升
- 畢業了 工作一陣子 能量下降 又來到學校 感覺又能量充足  現在這種感覺才是現實吧  不管在哪 應該都要保持這種狀態
- 學越多越覺得很多不懂  所以虛懷若谷的人才值得尊敬
- 剛來的時候偶而覺得有點overated  但現在開始感覺有些東西在發酵了  有些很深的影響開始根深蒂固 切記謙虛  任何事情
- 這次沒修到  下次要去MIT修課  積極一點  認識一些怪胎
- 罩子放亮點 一年前踏進來  我問我自己準備好了沒  一年後 再踏進來的時候我要問:GSD, 你準備好了沒!!

2011年3月30日 星期三

Architectural-based Think Tank + Branding (3)

Strategic Planning Approaches for Design Firms –
The Necessity and Feasibility of Detaching Design Sectors from Traditional Architecture Firms


Roy-Lin MAUD 2012
GSD 7440 Leading the Design Firm
Instructors: Brian Kenet and Richard Jennings



Design is not invention, though it needs certain degree of creativity. Design is the profession based on the knowledge of certain field, triggered by the needs, practiced boldly but carefully to create the better products. Architecture is of course one of the design profession in the larger design realm, but it is perhaps one of the only few that still being practiced in an outdated way. The way an architectural project is constructed and delivered became more complicated and needs even more collaborations or clear labor divisions to meet diverse market needs, just like any other types of design profession. What if we can separate design sector from inside of a single firm and detach it from the mission of construction document production, which costs most of the time and labor of a traditional firm?


The burden for a design sector
One of the most significant characteristic of architectural design is the long lifetime of each project. From the development of SD, DD, to CD and even construction oversight, the firm/architect need continuous participation. Especially during the stage of CD (construction document), the firm has to devote most of the labor and time to the project. During this period, smaller firms usually fall into the situation of purely robotic production, the passion and creativity of design slow down and die. And this is the longest period of every project. If we look at the division of big firms, design sector and construction documents production are usually separated in order to meet efficiency (they have people really good and experienced in CD). But for smaller firms, which consist 96% of all members, the designers are also responsible of CD and this cause somewhat misplace of the labor and lack of efficiency.  If we consider a design firm only responsible for SD and DD, and leave the works of CD to other group specialized and only for such production, and restructure what used to be done vertically within a firm horizontally with other corporations or architect firms, the design firm would have more space and be more free and productive.


Marketing and Branding
In my opinion, architecture becomes more similar to industrial and commercial products which tend to have shorter lifetime in order to meet the market needs of diversity, flexibility, and alternative. Under this notion, we need to rethink the position of architecture and also the way of designing it. We should consider buildings as scale-up industrial products which work functionally, beautifully, and most importantly, to carry a consistent identity, which is in other word: branding – the added value beyond the product itself. The identity of the author, meaning the architecture design firms, helps the firm to build public impression and also differentiation among its competitors in the market. Or, from the aspect of client, the architecture product can help building their identity, which can support their business strategies. To achieve a successful architectural branding, the design firm also needs the ability of marketing. By having the skill of real estate marketing and making strategies in short-term, mid-term, and long-term, the firm can create maximum benefit and continuous fame both for the clients and the firm itself through every project.


Interdisciplinary Design 
In order to make successful brand, the design firm also need other design skills such as graphic design, advertising, interior design and industrial design for installations and furniture. These what used to be outsourced to other small design firms now could be integrated into the new type of architectural design firm since it’s been detached from CD and other workload and have more space and time for other design professions. The Interdisciplinary ability is the key of creating a strong brand and being more competitive in the market. The product of the firm should be more than a single building but includes the market strategies, advertising, and interior items as a holistic design package. Besides, the interdisciplinary ability allows the firm to take commissions other than architecture when the building market goes down, in other words, to be more flexible in the larger design market.


Collaboration and network
Once the design sector becomes independent, it needs to create horizontal collaboration network. Within this network are the architects, who is legally responsible for the construction project; the CD professions, which could be a specialized professional team or the CD sectors inside of other architecture firms. Since the new type of design firm does the very front-end works, it automatically becomes the window between architects and clients. The clients only contact the design firm and the firm is responsible for finding its own collaborators. For the clients, it would be much easier to face a single and simple window which understand his/her needs and could provide strong market and branding strategies. As for the architects or other architecture firms in the collaborative network, the design firm could guarantee the amount of commissions through its marketing skill so that the architect and collaborative firms don’t need to worry about the 6-months out of business and marketing clients on their own. Also, the design firm only charges about 35% (average portion of fees for stage SD&DD) fee of the total of each project which means the architect and the other firm can still earn the most from each project. In order to compensate this, the design firm needs to be really good at marketing clients and the shorter lifetime of each project (reduced the parts after CD stage) can support this strategy by allowing more projects happen at the same time.
Under this collaborative structure, each member may be part of other networks as well. As a result, the relationship between design firm and it partners may be unstable and fragile. The challenge of this collaboration is that the design firm needs to develop its strong and reliable network that consists of many different characters, which is not easy and needs constantly regulation and maintenance.


References:
1. Nadja Schnetzler, The Idea Machine, 2005
2. AIA, Educating the Client, 2006