Network Storytelling

Fig. – Complex Networks (examples): (a) the Internet, where nodes are routers and edges show physical network connections. (b) an ecosystem (c) professional collaboration networks between doctors; and (d) rail network of Barcelona, where nodes are subway stations and edges represent rail connections. (ANU E Press: Australian University Press)
Ref: http://chemoton.wordpress.com/2010/04/


The above image is from a lecture about storytelling through social network media. 

My work place + 100

Vacuum Tube Train: A 4000mph magnetically levitated train (source: MIka Grondahl,www.popsci.com)

Reference - http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/science-china-train/

As part of the week 1 home work I tried to imagine what my current work place (Queensland Rail) might look like in 100 years. I regularly work at central station which is a major transport hub connecting Brisbane's suburbia to the heart of the city and am curious about what the network infrastructure will look like in a future scenario.

Will train travel remain as a vital transport mode in the future and if so what innovations will have taken place and in what context?

When working at central station and observing and interacting with the 1000's of people that utilise the rail service everyday I am reminded of how integral trail travel is to the city. I am also reminded of the fragility of the system when the entire network is thrown into chaos after a bird flew into an electrical transformer. City circulation was choked with other modes of transport such as cars and buses suffering congestion as well.

This event had me thinking about the bigger picture of transport systems and it's integration into the city fabric. Integration appears to be the key strategy for future schemes with transport orientated developments (TOD) becoming the focus of planners and developers in recent times.

'Capillary Networks'

original image source: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/01/30/envisioning-a-future-interstate-rail-network/

I imagine a future Brisbane with a fully integrated transport system that reaches out into the regional areas not unlike capillaries from the heart. The city is planning the fusion of mixed transport mode infrastructure into a singular system that avoids the tangle and expense created by separate bus/train/car infrastructure, in affect, a 'tidying' up of the spaghetti style forms of current roads and rail corridors.

'Highway Spaghetti'
image ref: http://mehmetduru.net/karikaturlerim/


Trains and buses already share the same tube lines, however, road infrastructure still remains and is at the
subject of a heated debate to whether it should be dismantled in place of a new system.

Finally nuclear fusion technology has been harnessed resulting in a plentiful, sustainable energy supply that is localised without the need for large scale electrical infrastructure networks. Trains resemble current forms but are made of light weight carbon fibre shells that allow for greater speeds. They are moved by electromagnetic technology at speeds of up to 1000 km's an hour with the International Transport Authority (ITA) soon to approve speeds up to 4000 km's an hour pending final research outcomes at the Institute of Electromagnetic Technology.

The existing rail corridors are utilized for the new EM infrastructure which is essentially a circular tube in form. The 'tubes' are mostly recessed into the ground to allow for infrastructure to be built on top of the network. This eliminates all rail crossings and reduces car/pedestrian accidents to nil.

My new role at central station is titled Customer Experience Facilitator. QR's focus is on how customers experience and interact with the network. Thanks to huge advances in Personal Information Systems customers no longer need to ask staff for timetable or wayfinding info. Fares are deducted automatically as Smart Cards and personal microchips have replaced go cards and tickets. Augmented reality systems are in place which guide customers to where they need/want to go customise their experience of the station.

Augmented Metropolis

This short film by architecture graduate Keiichi Matsuda depicts a convincing future scenario utilising Augmented Reality (AR) technology. 

Matsuda vision of the digital merging with the physical is exciting,disturbing and seemingly inevitable. I am interested in the concept of digital/physical layering as it has direct implications for architecture and place. A place will potentially become an extension of the user who can change the change the characteristics of the place at will.

"the physical and virtual are seen together as a contiguous, layered and dynamic whole. It may lead to a world where media is indistinguishable from 'reality'." (BLDGBLOG, 2010)

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/augmented-metropolis.html

BLDBLOG: Architectural Conjecture + Urban Speculation

If Archigram is the mid-century pioneer of Architectural speculation then BLDBLOG is perhaps the contemporary batten holder.

"Architecture will always involve telling stories — it is as much fiction as it is engineering and materials science”
Geoff Manaugh

Reading 03: 32 Innovations

The story of lightbulb raises some interesting questions about invention, innovation and the economic context in which they fail or thrive. 

The electric clothing innovation that converts changes in temperature into electricity got me thinking about building materials/fabrics that might perform a similar function. In the future will our walls produce electricity/heat/light? Are there new technologies that be can transfered to architectural problems such as climatic control and energy consumption?

Reading 02: Beyond Architecture

archigram:a walking city [google images, accessed 29/07/2012]

Indeterminacy
Expendability/Prefab/Modular
Modern[ism]
Industrially designed architecture
Technological Transfer

Architecture is then like a 'still shot' , a momentary manifestation of the contextual ideas at that point in time

Forms held in suspension as if they would continue to unfold or move forward given the chance

Forms that alluded to their periphery and even beyond their boundaries

'endless architecture' or modular design?

What are the advantages of addition and extension? reconfiguration? dynamism?

I like the idea of Archigram's 'scene machine' where the user configures a continuously recomposing architecture. This idea is already being achieved through virtual technology and is not too much of a stretch to envision future buildings that can be physically reconfigured at the users whim or even inline with the users mood.

There's architecture and then there is thinking about architecture

I suspect that my thinking about architecture at this stage in my education has been focused on the physical present and near future with most concepts born out of site investigation. It seems imagination is a vital part of the architects toolbox and something that I need to develop in order to expand, enrich and provoke my architectural process.

order vs anarchy vs ordered chaos

Reading 01: Transnational Traders

The first thing that struck me about the transnational trader story was the potency of the plot and the authenticity of the images depicting it. Although I didn't fully understand the significance/function of a mobile  trading service operating internationally the idea itself presents interesting questions about future economics and politics.













It felt quite strange yet exciting and even a bit scary to read an account of the worlds economic and political future despite the fact it is only fiction. The timeline was incredibly detailed and demonstrated a thorough knowledge of complex economics which enviably made the fiction more believable. This is a standard I will aim towards when creating my own architectural fiction as it helps the reader become 'lost' in the story.














What will the political landscape look like in the future and how will global economics change?
Will major shifts occur in certain countries and if  so what are the ramifications for urban development, technological progress and ecological sustainability?

Notions of deregulation, and global trading free of state regulations are liberating ideas that facilitate the envisioning of future economic scenarios.

What are the implications of countries such as China emerging as economic super powers? How does this affect manufacturing and technology in other parts of the world? Will this economic power shift result in other countries adopting built environment models and technologies pioneered by China?

In order for Australia to remain economically competitive will it be 'forced' to rethink the way it builds it's cities?

Lecture 01 Reflection: Investigations and Objectives

Future Scenarios and Architectural Fiction

My first crude response to the lecture is that a lot of contextual research needs to take place before architecture can begin. I am slowly getting an idea of the breadth and depth of research that is required before the design process can progress and am attempting to distinguish the contextually appropriate architecture from the contextually awkward.

What are the contextual questions that need to be asked before a project brief can be developed?
(climatic, cultural, social, economical, ecological, geographical, political and technological)

It seems that some of these contexts are harder to prepare for and navigate than others, in particular, social, cultural and political.

How does on gain a deep insight into the rich nuances of a certain culture and apply this to an architectural response?

On reflection of the first lecture and the ideas presented by Yasu I started to considered the role of the architect and the architectural thinking that facilitates the design process. An architect is in a unique position to envision and visually represent future physical realities that require a thorough understanding of how the architectural outcome will be used and the context it will reside in. The act of creating a permanent and highly resolved architectural entity that doesn't yet exist is a very challenging task by nature and it seems that an architecture student must first develop thinking tools/skills that facilitate the envisioning of architectural experience. This may seem like an obvious statement, however, it is easy to focus on other areas of the design process, essentially overlooking the need to think about and test future scenarios.

In order to paint a picture of future interactions an architect must envision scenarios that test the architectural concepts at hand. These scenarios represent 'real' social events and human experience of the architectural entity. When thinking about these future scenarios one can adopt analogous themes that evoke images of human experience that may have been otherwise muted. Thinking of a project as a fictional narrative is one such approach that tells a detailed story of a central character. A stage is envisioned along with a plot devolving into a series of scenes that follow the central character's experience of the architectural entity and its context.