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|Gap| place. pause: the insertion of paraspace

University of British Columbia

We are at a point were technology has once again shifted focus as it has several times in the past. Gone now is the ages of the steam engines, railroads, the internal combustion engine and nuclear power. We are now in an age of technology based on microelectronics, biotechnology, and digital information systems. Each time a change in technology has come about, it has affected daily life and the way we understand space. The question is, what are those changes and how can architecture use them to densify, illuminate, pacify and enlighten in the urban fabric. Firstly, there has been an increase in banal space in the city, created by the repetition of forms and the sound bite philosophy of marketing and the franchise. This is space without features, edges, landmarks, substance or quality, or to say it another way it is location without locale. Life is also speeding up, and shows no sign of slowing down. With the increase in speed there is an increased awareness of those small units of time of waiting. The time isn't long enough to do anything, but too long not to, and this leads to lag stress. Multiple and parallel levels of existence are becoming legible, with the Cartesian grid no longer being the only defining frame of reference. In the datasphere the city is becoming, information no longer travels on longitude and latitude but instantaneously between two points. Finally, the frame between the virtual and the real is being removed. In response to this, I propose the following. A frameless spatial system A system which takes the ordinary and realigns it to create new and interesting juxtapositions of form and space. A system based on a program of waiting, to be used to decrease lag stress. A system which will help to create a focus and a sense of place in key areas in the city. A system based on process or relative based design - using connections, proximity, flow and view as generating devices. A system which makes use of an increased literacy in the population of overlapping layers and woven forms. A system which, therefore, sits parallel to, and co-exists with, the existing urban fabric, or a Paraspace.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-04-28

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7650

Architecture

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace