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Sunday, 26 February 2006 | Elif Sungur
Digital-minimal
On view in the Wolk Gallery until March 29, the digital_minimal exhibition explores alternative directions for the digital future of architecture and planning - from the use of mobile devices that describe urban space in real-time to new user interfaces that redefine the design process.
The impetus for the exhibit is the current discussion about the legacy of the digital revolution. In the past few years, the academic and professional debate has focused primarily on form-making, the most obvious result of which has been those blobs, or funny shapes, that have proliferated in many architectural and urban design studios.
But according to architectural theorist Antoine Picon: "What many designers have had in common is the belief that architectural form must express the intrinsic complexity of the invisible electronic networks and fields that surround it. Carlo Ratti and his colleagues and partners have taken a different course. Their mapping comes prior to any architectural endeavor. It reveals a level of complexity with which design should not even try to compete."
The digital-minimal exhibition presents a number of examples from the work of Ratti and his asssociates, including:
Mobile Landscape:
Graz
This project, developed in collaboration with Austria's largest cellphone operator A1, used cellphone data to visualize urban activity in real time.
iSPOTS
While cities such as Philadelphia have just announced long-range plans to install wireless internet nodes (WiFi) on every street lamp, MIT has already activated approximately 3000 access points. The effects of complete wireless coverage are monumental, as traditional workspaces are being abandoned in favor of more enjoyable environments such as campus lounges and public spaces. The iSPOTS project documents these changes in real time using log information from MIT's wireless network.
SandScape
Developed with the Tangible Media Group at the Media Lab, SandScape is an alternative form of computer interface that takes advantage of our natural ability to understand and manipulate physical forms while still harnessing the power of computational simulation. A surface made of glass beads can be manipulated by users; its geometry is captured in real time, digitally analyzed and animated with the results of the selected simulations.
MG_Flat
Shown at the last Venice Biennale for Architecture, MG_Flat takes advantage of IBM's everywhere display - a video projector with a rotating mirror that allows any surface around it to become a potential screen. Its envisaged use in the MG_Flat project informs the design and modeling of all interior spaces.
The exhibit is drawn from two sources - MIT's SENSEable City Laboratory and Carlorattiassociati of Turin, Italy.
MIT's SENSEable City Laboratory is a new research initiative between the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Media Lab. Headed by Ratti, the lab focuses on the increasing deployment of sensors and hand-held electronics in the built environment, tools that are radically transforming the way we describe and understand cities.
Carlorattiassociati is one of Italy's top emerging design firms, featured at the 2004 Venice Biennale for Architecture. Its work has been featured in international media such as Domus, Abitare, Casabella, Metropolis, Der Spiegel, the Boston Globe and the New York Times.
digital_minimal is sponsored by the MIT School of Architecture + Planning and the cellphone operator A1 | Mobilkom.
Exhibition design and installation is done by Assaf Biderman, Sonya Huang, Olivia Lee, Andres Sevtsuk and Walter Nicolino.
For further information, please visit http://web.mit.edu/sap/www/wolk/index.html
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