thesis as debate topic

Be it resolved that... Architects should bring the phenomenon of spatial intelligence back to the conscious mind of the building user through an applied understanding of the universal aspects of the phenomenon and a close analysis of place-specific spatial intelligence.

1mm architecture

what if, asks don, you paint the entire back side - the "square" side of your building - white. all white. it would take a year...your thesis would be the planning, organization and execution of painting...you could be out there everyday painting. and at the end, you would present a light show in the "square". an event that would transform this space by drawing people to it over an extended period of time and ultimately making it legendary.

architecture: 1mm thick

my reaction was immediate and clear - i'm much too precious about my building to ever want that to happen, let alone initiate it. no way.

my reaction made me wonder at its cause. what would be lost if the wall was painted white? the cracks in the plaster, the colour of the stones of 1867, the rust, the multi-coloured mullions. the contrast of brick to stone to brick. the yellow door.

what is the value of these parts of the building - the colours, materials, contrasts? what about wear? what is lost if the entire facade is wiped clean? equalized? whitewashed? what role do they play in the everyday actions and interactions of the building's users?

now i hear that someone has bought up main street, the entire block between water and ainslie...both sides. if that's true, what will he or she do to these buildings? to my building? will she remove all of the additions? unify the colour scheme? scrub the building from top to bottom? pull out the weeds that grow under the unused stoops? put the benches back in? kick out the drug dealers? all the have-not tenants? the small business owners? replace cafe13 with a kelsey's? what is lost if these changes are made? what can be learned from the bits and pieces changed and moved over time by people who live and work in the building? could that knowledge inform the design? is it possible to do more than clean up the building? what parts of the emergent complexity of this building can be retained or re-introduced in a new design? what if what if what if?

what was once my plan

• A close reading of a site for the purposes of collecting data and testing ideas
• Place my thesis within a history of thinking about the individual person as a member of the collective human race
• Discuss emergence as a phenomenon
• Survey contemporary architectural responses to the theory of emergence
• Analyze a selection of architectural languages proposed since WWII and propose a new or hybrid language for describing architecture (architectural elements) within an emergent system
• Develop an architectural intervention which facilitates (artificial) adaptive emergent intelligence in the community of users of my selected site

i am here

welcome to my thesis (in progress) here is an abstract...my abstract...it is abstract...good luck

Feedback: how architecture can facilitate (artificial) adaptive emergence in spatially-related groups of people

I am curious about the architectural implications of adaptive emergence and collective intelligence. It seems that facilitating adaptive emergent behavior in human social groups can provide better intelligence (collective intelligence), and increased agency for members of that group. I am speculating that American architect Robert Venturiʼs writings from the 1960s and 70s on an architectural language based on semiology resonate with the theory of emergence. In addition to a refreshed reading of Venturiʼs work in the context of adaptive emergence, I would like to develop new skills in generative design and agent-based modeling to test methods of using architecture to facilitate (artificial) adaptive emergence in spatially-related groups of people.