> > The Center for Virtual Architecture at the University at Buffalo, the > Institute for Distributed Creativity, and The Architectural League of > New York present: > > ARCHITECTURE AND SITUATED TECHNOLOGIES > October 19-21, 2006 > @ The Urban Center & Eyebeam > New York City > > http://www.situatedtechnologies.net > > A 3-day symposium bringing together researchers and practitioners > from art, architecture, technology and sociology to explore the > emerging role of "situated" technologies in the design and > inhabitation of the contemporary metapolis. > > Organized by Omar Khan, Trebor Scholz, and Mark Shepard > > Participants: Jonah Brucker-Cohen, Richard Coyne, Michael Fox, Anne > Galloway, Charlie Gere, Usman Haque, Natalie Jeremijenko, Sheila > Kennedy, Eric Paulos, Karmen Franinovic, Mette Ramsgard Thomsen, > Kazys Varnelis > > Contact: Jessica Blaustein - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Since the late 1980s, computer scientists and engineers have been > researching ways of embedding computational intelligence into the > built environment. Looking beyond the model of personal computing, > which placed the computer in the foreground of our attention, > "ubiquitous" computing takes into account the social dimension of > human environments and allows computers themselves to vanish into the > background. No longer solely virtual, human interaction with > computers becomes socially integrated and spatially contingent as > everyday objects and spaces are linked through networked computing. > > Today, researchers focus on how situational parameters inform the > design of a wide range of mobile, wearable, networked, distributed > and context-aware devices. Incorporating an awareness of cultural > context, accrued social meanings, and the temporality of spatial > experience, situated technologies privilege the local, context- > specific and spatially contingent dimension of their use. > > Despite the obvious implications for the built environment, > architects have been largely absent from this discussion, and > technologists have been limited to developing technologies that take > existing architectural topographies as a given context to be > augmented. > > At the same time, to the extent that early adopters of these > technologies have focused on commercial, military and law enforcement > applications, we can expect to see new forms of consumption, warfare > and control emerge. > > This symposium seeks to occupy the imaginary of these emerging > technologies and propose alternate trajectories for their development. > > What opportunities and dilemmas does a world of networked "things" > pose for architecture and urbanism? What distinguishes the emerging > urban sociality enabled by mobile technologies and wireless networks? > What post-optimal design strategies and tactics might we propose for > an age of responsive environments, smart materials, embodied > interactions, and participatory networks? How might this evolving > relation between people and "things" alter the way we occupy, > navigate, and inhabit the city? What is the status of the material > object in a world privileging networked relations between "things"? > How do distinctions between space and place change within these > networked media ecologies? How do the social uses of these > technologies, including (non-) affective giving, destabilize > rationalized "use-case scenarios" designed around the generic > consumer? > > Through a combination of presentations, discussions, and performative > design scenarios organized around the notion of "encounter" with the > city, this symposium will explore how architecture might contribute > to the development of situated technologies, and how a critical > engagement with these technologies might extend architecture beyond > itself. > > +++ > > Architecture and Situated Technologies is a co-production of the > Center for Virtual Architecture, The Institute for Distributed > Creativity, and the Architectural League of New York, as part of the > League's celebration of the 125th anniversary of its founding. > > Architecture and Situated Technologies is supported by the J. Clawson > Mills Fund of the Architectural League and is supported in part by > the School of Architecture and Planning and the Department of Media > Study at the University at Buffalo. > > +++ > > The Center for Virtual Architecture at the University at Buffalo > http://cva.ap.buffalo.edu > The Center for Virtual Architecture¹s research is located at the > intersection of architecture, new media and computational > technologies. We are interested in the possibilities offered by > computational systems for rethinking human interaction with (and > within) the built environment. Our focus areas include learning > environments, design environments, responsive architecture and > locative media. Computational technology provides both a means and a > medium for this research: an operative paradigm for conceptualizing > relations between people, information, and the material fabric of > everyday life. > > The Institute for Distributed Creativity > http://www.distributedcreativity.org > The research of the Institute for Distributed Creativity (iDC) > focuses on sociable media and media theory with an emphasis on social > justice. Its mailing list is a vivid discoursive platform for the > social implications of emerging forms of networked sociality. The iDC > is an international network that combines collaborative research, > events, and documentation. > > The Architectural League of New York > http://www.archleague.org > The Architectural League of New York is an independent forum for the > presentation and discussion of creative and intellectual work in > architecture, urbanism, and related design disciplines. Founded in > 1881, the League promotes excellence and innovation in architecture > and urbanism by furthering the education of architects and designers, > and by communicating to a broad audience the importance of > architecture in public life. Through an active schedule of programs, > the League provides a venue for contemporary work and ideas, > identifies and encourages the work of talented young architects, > creates opportunities for exploring new approaches to problems in the > built environment, and fosters a stimulating community for dialogue > and debate. All of the League¹s work is shaped by its ongoing > commitment to interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and international > exchange, and by its concern for the quality of architecture and city > form as critical components of a vital and dynamic culture. >
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