This thesis proceeds from an analysis of practice and critical commentary to claim that the
opportunities presented to some architectural practices by the advent of ubiquitous digital
technology have not been properly exploited. The missed opportunities, it claims, can be
attributed largely to the retention of a model of time and spaces as discrete design
parameters, which is inappropriate in the context of the widening awareness of social
interconnectedness that digital technology has also facilitated. As a remedy, the thesis
shows that some social considerations essential to good architecture - which could have
been more fully integrated in practice and theory more than a decade ago - can now be
usefully revisited through a systematic reflection on an emerging use of web technologies
that support social navigation. The thesis argues through its text and a number of practical
projects that the increasing confidence and sophistication of interdisciplinary studies in
geography, most notably in human geography, combined with the technological
opportunities of social navigation, provide a useful model of time and space as a unified
design parameter. In so doing the thesis suggests new possibilities for architectural
practices involving social interaction.
Through a literature review of the introduction and development of digital technologies to
architectural practice, the thesis identifies the inappropriate persistence of a number of
overarching concepts informing architectural practice. In a review of the emergence and
growth of 'human geography' it elaborates on the concept of the social production of
space, which it relates to an analysis of emerging social navigation technologies. In so
doing the thesis prepares the way for an integration of socially aware architecture with the
opportunities offered by social computing.
To substantiate its claim the thesis includes a number of practical public projects that have
been specifically designed to extend and amplify certain concepts, along with a large-scale
design project and systematic analysis which is intended to illustrate the theoretical claim
and provide a model for further practical exploitation.
Date of Award | 2007 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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A Social Dimension for Digital Architectural Practice
Speed, C. (Author). 2007
Student thesis: PhD