Architecture, Media & Technology Class

ARCHITECTURE, MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY

Instructor: Julio Bermudez

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General Class .....Description

B a c k g r o u n d

Digital Media is launching us into a cultural revolution that challenges the way we have hitherto dealt with reality. The impacts of such a transformation go well beyond the technological as they substantially modify the way we see, think, feel and act in the world.

Architecture is in an unique position to reflect and respond to this zeitgeist as it finds itself under the same dilemmas facing civilization. On one hand, the technological mutation underway is forcing a major shift from analog to digital modes of architectural production. The resulting shift is profound enough to challenge our traditional representational systems and, more importantly, the way we think and make architecture. On the other hand, the mentioned cultural changes are requiring architectural responses defying all past traditions. Contemporary architects increasingly find themselves with the task of redefining architecture’s purpose, technology, functionality, and aesthetics based on the needs and visions of the rising new civilization.

This theory class will explore and reflect on the implications of the radical media revolution affecting our humanity/culture and architecture. This will mean to:

(1) identify and critique the trends, technology, knowledge, and ideas leading the media shift.
(2) investigate the language, rituals, values, and culture of the media age
(3) study the theoretical foundations of media and representation in culture and architecture
(4) debunk stereotypes and discover the ‘reality’ of virtuality with its threats and opportunities for the architectural discipline
(5) start debates, stimulate arguments, generate creative interactions that focus on cutting-edge media theory and practices
(6) apply and test these ideas in an experimental collaborative environment based on Web media technology

Structure & Scheduling

The course will work as a seminar, that is, as a learning environment in which each class participant fully engages in finding, preparing, presenting, and discussing ideas and arguments pertaining to the topic of study. The seminar will be broken down into four parts.

12-26 January (2 weeks). PREPARATION

In the first part, students will team up in groups and read selected articles on the relationship between media, representation and architecture. Teams will present the result of their investigation in the form of a 2-3 page long paper (per student) and orally. Paper deadline and presentation: January 26th. (10% of course grade)
28 January: No class, teams spend their time collecting data about their assigned place (see second course assignment)

2-23 February (3 weeks): CONNECTIONS

The second part of the class will consist of a Web-based media studio in partnership with people from the University of Oregon and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. We will engage in the critical use and examination of the communication and representation opportunities afforded by new media technology. (30% of course grade)

2-30 March (4 weeks): BACKGROUND READING

In the third part, classes will consist of student's presentation of their theoretical investigation based on an assigned book followed by a critical debate. The assigned reading (one book per student) are:
(1) Anders, Peter (1999) Envisioning Cyberspace. New York: McGraw-Hill
(2) Bertman, Stephen (1998), Hyperculture. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group
(3) Johnson, Steven (1997). Interface Culture. San Francisco: HarperEdge.
(4) Negroponte, Nicholas (1995). Being Digital. New York: Alfred A. Knopf
(5) Taylor, Mark & Saarinen, Esa (1994). Imagologies. Media Philosophy. New York: Routledge. And
McLuhan, Marshall (1996). The Medium is the Massage. San Francisco: Hardwired
(6) McLuhan, Marshall (1965). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company
(7) Mitchell, William (1995). City of Bits. Space, Place, and the Infobahn. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press
Each students will present the result of their study in the form of a 5-7 page long critical paper. Paper due and presentations on March 30th and April 1st. (30% of course grade)

6 April-5 May (4 weeks): RESEARCH

The fourth and last part of the course will ask students to select a topic or subject for investigation. The format of this study will depend on the chosen area, the interest of the student, faculty input, school-university resources, etc. Examples include research papers, design projects, thesis proposals, annotated bibliographies, multimedia presentations, electronic simulations, etc. Whatever format the investigation takes, the student will have to fulfill the following requirements:

1. select a particular area of study (in consultation with instructor)
2. establish and submit a methodology of investigation. At this point a learning contract between the instructor and the student will be established. This document will define the conditions and expectation ruling the student's project
3. review the appropriate literature/precedents on the subject
4. independently develop their work and meet the given deadlines .
5. submit their final work in a digital format that allows for hard and electronic copying

There will be once a week scheduled meetings to discuss advances in the final project. Research proposal paper due on Thursday 8 April (5% of course grade). Interim presentation on Tuesday 20 April. Final presentation and discussion along with project submission on Tuesday Final Week (25% of course grade)

R e a d i n g s

See handouts for first assignment. Daily readings. Students are required to subscribe to one non-local newspaper (e.g., The New York Times —subscription @ the student Union for about $30 a semester, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, or The LA Times)

.G r a d i n g

All students are required to present their work for evaluation at the scheduled time. Late or incomplete work will be graded down. Incompletes will be given only for well substantiated reasons (e.g., documented illness). The student is responsible for knowing what happens during class meetings whether or not she/he attends.

The course follows the official University Grading Policy, that is:

A, A- : represents excellent performance, superior achievement (outstanding work)
B+, B, B- : represents good performance, substantial achievement (work that is above average)
C+, C, C- : represents standard performance and achievement (passing grade; work that meets the class requirements in all aspects)
D+, D, D- : represents substandard performance and achievement (not passing; work that meets the requirements in some aspects)
E : represents unsatisfactory performance and achievement (failed; work insufficient to merit any credit)

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E-Mail: bermudez@arch.utah.edu

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