Auteursarchief: martinpot

two spaces?

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While cleaning up my overloaded bookshelves I retrieved some magazines and checked them for articles worth keeping. One of these was an issue of Archis, the architectural magazine that has devoted many articles to the – at that time already – increasing developments in virtuality. In 1997 the symposium Transarchitectures 02 took place in Paris, accompanied by an exhibition curated by Paul Virilio. An interview (originally in Archicree, 279) with him was published in Archis, issue 1998/11 in which Virilio stated: “The problem is that the architect is back to working with two types of space. He has to build real space and allow immediate – meaning active – space, and virtual – meaning latent or potentially present – space to co-exist.”

Now, almost 20 years further, we may come to the conclusion that ’the problem’ still exists; only a few very architects succeed in really ‘ mixing’ both types of space. Worth reading in this is also the book by Ole Bouman: ‘ Real time in quick space’ ; also as series of essays, still actual. (NAI-Publishers, 1996)

human & things

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December 4th.,2014, Eyeloco Antwerp; a very interesting and informative evening organized by MeetUp Group IoT-Gent. Presentations by e.g. Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino (Designswarm) , Louise Heinrich (Superhuman) , all with the emphasis on human issues within the iot and tech.How can a world in which everyday products are interconnected be actually meaningful for people? Product presentations by a.o. Incredible Machine, afdeling Buitengewone Zaken. All presentations were streamed, the link will be here soon.

 

Fountainhead

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Now that Ayn Rand’s ’the Fountainhead’ is put on stage by ‘Toneelgroep Amsterdam‘ I started re-reading some of its chapters/dialoges, after having first read it long ago. Once again I find it stunning, in the sense that much of what Rand wrote in 1947 is still valid and maybe more valid then in her days. One example:

“A building is alive, like a  man. Its integrity follows its own truth, its only single theme, and to serve its only purpose. A man doesn’t borrow pieces of his body.  A building doesn’t borrow hunks of its soul. Its maker gives it the soul and every wall, window and stairway to express it.” (p.16)

Of course; one can see/listen again to Roark’s  famous fountainhead – roarks defense. he provides when he is in court, after being – correctly – accused of demolishing one of his (though build by another) buildings. Still; also after heaving seen/listened to Ramsey Nasr recently about his role:  an architect has a client, a framework within which he builds. The Fountainhead is about holding on to one’s ideas and principles: but, referring to Nasr’s remarks, architecture is not ‘free art’ but does have its limits.

Nevertheless: after almost 70 years it remains fascinating, contemporary reading; without having seen it on stage yet, it is remarkable that it is practically sold out. I do hope not all visitors will be architects.

“Technology will not save us”

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A most interesting article published last month, on Sept. 27th.: “Technology will not save us“, by Michael Sacasas on “The Frailest Thing’.  “Entering the complex and messy realm of of human desires and cultural dynamics”, Sacasas argues that “technological determinism is the product of cultural capitulation. It is  symptom of social fragmentation.”  Referring to Ellul and Winner he states that “due to a focus on technological innovation our society is in thrall of technique.” (ital orig.) With regard to architecture this is in any case a most valid statement, as the recent EC-discussion has illustrated.

Architecture depends

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Sometimes one reads a book and wonders why one has not seen/read this before. To me, this is now the case with a book written by Prof. Jeremy Till, ‘Architecture Depends‘; with its intriguing photograph on the cover of a man dressed as a bear, with in the background the ‘Neue Nationalgalerie’ in Berlin designed by Mies van der Rohe. Architecture, Till argues, “cannot help itself; it is dependent for its very existence on things outside itself“. Given the critics Koolhaas received on his curatorship on the current Architecture Biennale,I believe this is a book to be read by all architects concerned with their profession, as well all concerned with our build environment.

Additionally: Till gave a lecture on March 17th 2011 at the Berlage Institute in Delft; introduced by Roemer van Toorn.

internet of things & philosophy

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Next to many technologically focused and/or business-case driven meetings there was this much needed recent conference in York: IoT-Philosophy, from 3rd.-5th. of July 2014. Initiated/organised by Rob van Kranenburg (Sociotal), Justin McKeown (Univ.York St.John) and Joachim Walewski. It provided the framework for a thorough thinking: from the website’s homepage: “do we want to simply leave market forces to shape our reality? Or is there a deeper need, given the significance of this technology, to consider its ramifications within a philosophical context?”.

 

Conference IoT, Build Environment & Smart Cities

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Last April 9th. 2014 on WW-IoT-day, the 3rd. IoT & Build Environment Conference was held; once again in Rotterdam, this time at ‘the Gouvernestraat’.

This location, with its history of over a hundred years of music, dance, theatre, poetry and meetings provided an excellent venue in the city-centre for both conference and parallel Hackaton, organised by Hogeschool Rotterdam, section Media & Communication. Additional theme for 2014 was Smart Cities; with some fine presentations/lectures which illustrated the sometimes contemporary values of earlier projects and visions. Lees verder →