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Free of the constraints of physical form and limited only by imagination, new environments spring to life daily in a fantastic realm called cyberspace. The creators of this new virtual world may be programmers, designers, architects, even children. In this invigorating exploration of the juncture between cyberspace and the physical world, architect Peter Anders brings together leading-edge cyberspace art and architecture ... inspiring new techniques and technologies ... unexpected unions of reality and virtuality ... and visions of challenges and opportunities as yet unexplored. More than an invitation to tour fantastic realms and examine powerful tools, this book is a hard-eyed look at cyberspace's impact on physical, cultural, and social reality, and the human-centered principles of its design. This is a book that will set designers and architects thinking�and a work of importance to anyone fascinated with the fast-closing space between the real and the virtual.
- Sales Rank: #1014400 in Books
- Published on: 1998-10-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.20" h x .87" w x 7.30" l,
- Binding: Paperback
- 228 pages
From the Back Cover
Unfettered Excerpt by the Limits of the Imagination. Free of constraints of physical form and limited only by imagination, new environments spring to life daily in the fantastic realm of cyberspace. Fabulous structures welcome throngs of people, new communities bond across borders, fallen kingdoms thrive once more while futuristic cities rise majestically amid fields of electrons. The creators of this new virtual world may be programmers, designers, architects, even children. Unexpected Unions of Reality and Virtuality: In this this invigorating exploration of the juncture between cyberspace and the physical world, and reality and virtuality, architect Peter Anders brings together leading-edge cyberspace art and architecture...inspiring new techniques and technologies...unexpected unions of reality and virtuality...and visions of challenges and opportunities as yet unexplored. More Than Fantastic Realms and Powerful Tools: More than an invitation to tour fantastic realms and examine powerful tools, this book is a hard-eyed look at cyberspace's impact on physical, cultural, and social reality, and the human-centered principles of its design. From analyses of the implications of multi-user domains on the physical form of libraries, banks, and schools to new ways to regard virtual villages, this work rockets architects to the epicenter of cyber-creation. This is a book that will set designers and architects thinking--and a work of importance to anyone fascinated with the fast-closing space between the real and the virtual.
About the Author
Peter Anders is the principal of Anders Associates, an architectural practice specializing in information-intensive environments. Widely published, he has received numerous professional awards for his work and has taught graduate-level architectural design studios, theory, and computer-aided design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan. He invites those interested in the development of cyberspace to contact him at anders@concentric.net.
Excerpt. � Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Toward a Model for Anthropic Cyberspace "...we thrive in information-thick worlds...[Images dense with information] are an appropriate and proper complement to human capabilities...High-density designs also allow viewers to select, to narrate, to recast and personalize data for their own uses..."
Edward Tufte Cyberspace presents us with beings, objects, volumes and forces. Its designers found it on human behavior and thought reconciling our experience in the world with our minds cognitive landscape. Their success will symbolically extend our presence in the physical world. At their best, they will develop this extension to the point that we are unaware of the interface. This can only be done by designing from our fundamental awareness of the world. In this section I will describe a model for cyberspace founded on proven principles of spatialization an anthropic cyberspace. The model proposes a multidimensional spatial environment intended for human communication. Some of the issues discussed in this section will be elaborated later in the book. Anthropic Cyberspace We think with space. Using our minds ability to dimensionalize information, we reduce complexity to manageable units objects of information. When we look up to see migrating birds we identify the flock before we focus on individual birds. The mind sometimes spatializes information to the same end. What looks like a snowflake could be a cube if some of the details are changed (fig. 4). The mind uses spatial thought to manage incoming information, reducing its complexity for our use.[1] Spatialization lets us distinguish objects and establish relationships between them. In so doing it augments our qualitative judgement. Computers can help us by presenting information in ways that capitalize on this skill. Indeed, the spatial presentation of a problem can often lead to new ways of solving it.[2] We also use space to communicate.[3] Our bodies participate in an on-going dialog with our social environment through gestures, facial expression and speech. In social situations our location in space, body position, and gestures are choreographed to either amplify or modulate what we say. Ultimately, we use space to define ourselves. As we occupy a space, so too are we ready to defend it. Strangers can only approach so far before we fend them off. On a larger scale, social groups also have zones of identity extending beyond visible borders. At its extreme, these territorial boundaries define cultures and nations by using space to reinforce identity and our position in the world. But how can computers and new information media tap into these innate strengths? What model harnesses the computer for our ways of thinking? Space. Spatial thought forms the foundation of our awareness. Spatial, anthropic cyberspace [4] links to a pre-linguistic knowledge of the world a knowledge crucial to our navigation, operation, and communication. We understand spatial representation regardless of its cultural origin. Spatial thought a shared, human trait underlies the images of objects and spaces from all cultures. Mythic Space Cyberspaces offer a communal mind space a shared, but non-physical environment. We can enter them collectively as active environments. They are a new form of mythic space. Traditional mythic spaces convey meaning on many levels. Noahs Ark is simultaneously a wooden vessel as well as a refuge for the innocent. Eden is both a garden and an origin of humanity. Cyberspace has not yet achieved this cultural richness. Despite contributions from many fields there is no unifying view of what cyberspace can become. As a result we have hybrids, graphic images pasted into text Web sites. This approach understandably responds to the rushing advance of technology. But the effort so far has been technology-driven rather than guided by a vision based on human aspiration. We should now take the time to describe the cyberspace we want. The View Beyond the Machine Some may object. Planning cyberspace seems so entwined with its technology that we cant anticipate it without knowing the tools to create it. This is true, to a point. But lets look at this another way. Imagine standing before a window overlooking a valley. As the mist rises houses and trees come into view; people and cars move in the streets below. But the blind is half-drawn, the glass is dirty and cracked. You pull aside the curtain to wipe the window with your hand. The glass is clearer, but cleaned properly you could imagine it gone altogether. You could imagine yourself suspended over the valley. The window is the technology that lets you see the view. The window is imperfect but improvable its ultimate goal is to vanish entirely. The essence of the window is what it is not. And so it is with the technology of cyberspace. Transfer speeds and memory storage increase exponentially with the goal of infinite, unrestricted access to information a technology-driven goal. This is not to undervalue the efforts of those engaged in technologys development. But we must remember the purpose of the window to view the distant landscape. There are human needs for cyberspace as there are for windows. But to meet them we must also focus on the view beyond. Developing Anthropic Design Principles for Cyberspace The spatialization of cyberspace is happening in many forms. We see it in games, scientific visualizations, and multi-user environments. Many fields contribute to its emergence. Since its final form is impossible to predict, we have to take our evidence from current trends and patterns. The principles underlying existing disciplines may foreshadow those of cyberspace design. This is in part because they are already engaged in cyberspaces creation, but also because these disciplines are based on principles of human perception and expectation. Paintings, music and books all depend on continuity, composition and definition to connect with their audience. The designers of cyberspace can certainly learn from such cultural precedents. I will examine the different aspects of cyberspace to propose principles for its future development. This book will present concepts of what the cyberspace can become, what its characteristics may be and what consequences it may have on the physical world. Space, Experience and Understanding Since our experience of space is multi-modal, involving all our senses, space offers us a perfect model for creating a multi-dimensional information environment. It lets us use speech, text, visual and acoustic information in conjunction with one another (figs. 5, 6, 7). Spatialization also lets us relate subject to context focus on details or stand back for a better view. We take this facility for granted though we use it every day. Spatialization allows the translation of problems from cognitive to experiential modes. It helps us model and organize abstract concepts by presenting relationships in a palpable way. Difficult mathematical formulas, for instance, can be modeled graphically for easier comprehension. Problems stated in text or speech can, at times, be better resolved graphically or spatially. If lost in a city, for instance, I would prefer a map to a complicated set of instructions, however well-meant they may be.[5] Spatial presentation can also show multiple resolutions to a problem. If I come upon a road-block, the map shows me alternate routes. Verbal instructions, on the other hand, would leave me stranded.[6] Our understanding of the material world depends on our spatialization. Anthropic cyberspace could allow dynamic motion through information, letting us rely on our instincts rather than memorized rituals of interaction. It could assist us in the navigation of information using our innate, spatial literacy. Significantly, this literacy is linked to our use of language as well. A spatial cyberspace may be supported by the metaphors and symbols on which we base our language. This is not just a matter of illustration or reducing complex ideas into icons. A useable, anthropic cyberspace recognizes the subtle interplay between our perception of space and our language. When we use metaphors in speech we refer to our environment. In turn, our understanding of our environment is conditioned by our language. An object on top of another may be considered dominant, for example. But in another context it may be seen to be dependent upon the supporting object. Space not only is a tool for thought, it informs all our other tools such as text, speech and visual understanding. Human cognition is comprised of three types of thought: an enactive mentality, an iconic mentality and a symbolic mentality. The enactive mentality involves navigation and operation in space. Iconic mentality is the ability to recognize and compare the images and things we find in that space. Finally, symbolic mentality lets us think abstractly, creating arguments and manipulating concepts. No single mentality dominates the entire range of human thinking.[7] To a degree all of them are used in problem solving and thought. If we note that two of the mentalities are the result of spatial understanding, and that symbolic reasoning even in language relies on our experience in the world, then we see the importance of spatial cognition. It underlies nearly all of our thought processes. These types of thought work together. Susanne Bdker, in her book A human activity approach to user interface design, writes that physical interfaces with tangible objects are easier to learn than graphic user interfaces, such as the Macintosh or Microsofts Windows operating system. The graphic interfaces are, in turn, easier to learn than abstract, language-based interfaces. Our mentalities combined with our physical and spatial experience help us to understand more abstract concepts.[8] Abstraction is well suited for computing. After all, computers have been operating on this level for some time technology has only recently allowed us to represent information spatially. Recently cyberspaces have emerged from being purely symbolic spaces into more experiential environments. Still, the development can go much further. Ideally, cyberspaces will simultaneously accommodate all modes of thought, including sensation and interaction as well as cognition. The Spatial Matrix and Multiple Media Information space lets us use different modes simultaneously. In conversation, we use gesture in addition to voice. In moving about an environment we can smell the air, hear the traffic, feel the pavement under our feet. All these contribute to the experience of movement down a crowded street. Our mind creates a coherent environment in which the modes can co-exist without conflict. In fact, the relationship between modes is sometimes more important than the information we receive. Imagine entering an art museum. At the desk you pick up a brochure and read about the installations. Since the museum is large, you also use a map to find your way. Entering the galleries you find artwork from many times and cultures. You walk past Renaissance nativities, Impressionist landscapes, Chinese scroll paintings and Beaux Arts renderings. Pausing before a Vermeer, you are taken by its meticulous execution. The light of the painting seems to enter your space. You are drawn in. This example shows how space supports many modes of experience. The entry of the building, the brochure and map at the desk, the different images on the wall all were contents of the museums space. The experience of entry was different from the experience of reading the brochure, however. One was physical while the other was symbolic. Reading the brochures text was in turn different from reading the map of the museum. They both referred to the same exhibits using different modes of communication.[9] The paintings in the galleries were experienced in yet another way. Though they all presented images taken from the world, they each used their own means of presentation. You experienced their spaces differently depending upon the style or substance of the piece. Still, you were able to appreciate each painting because you understood the conventions used to create it. Space was the matrix for the experience. The building, brochures, map and paintings, each with its unique, symbolic code, co-existed without conflict, enriching the experience. Space is multi-modal by nature. While the museum visit was described visually, sound, touch and smell all played a part in the experience. All these reinforced the experience. Cyberspace, as a symbolic environment, might well be modeled on a principle of multi-modal space (fig. 8). The brochure helps us understand the paintings; the map helps us understand the museum. Each medium benefits from the presence of another.[10] Microcosm and Plan Space In his book, Mirror worlds, David Gelernter proposes the development of a vast computer model of the world. In this model every object, action and transaction is documented, supported by on-going monitoring of the planet. He describes this not as an oppressive surveillance mechanism, but as a means for getting the Big Picture, what he calls topsight. Topsight, the ability to see events in a larger context, helps people make better informed decisions. Politically speaking, a population that had access to this world model would form the basis for wise government and intelligent use of resources.[11] Microcosms, in this case self-contained models of the world, have fascinated cultures for centuries precisely because they present this overview. Just as a globe shows the forms of continents we cant see from the ground, miniatures show relationships we cant easily see otherwise. Cyberspace has the potential of becoming a microcosmic resource. Already it is used in surveillance and monitoring. Satellite images and live views taken from surveillance cameras are available on the Internet. However, microcosm is more than being able to see details it is about seeing relationships between them, seeing systems at work. I believe that cyberspaces capacity for modeling relationships is one of its greatest virtues. Not only does microcosm let us see what exists, it also lets us plan for what will be. Depending upon their representation, the artifacts of cyberspace can be rigorously detailed images of physical conditions or abstracted symbols. These symbols may show what presently exists or what is projected for the future. Architects and planners utilize this approach every day. They use scaled-down abstractions since full-scale representations would be unwieldy.[12] A cyberspace can be an experiential space or, as in the architectural example, a plan space. This second space would allow exploration and manipulation. Links between its objects may represent subtle relationships or meaning. These spaces may help us plan spatial experiences much in the same way that storyboards are used to outline a films sequence. In fact, these spaces may be all that is needed. They are simply different versions of the same information. This plan-space concept underlies object-oriented programming (OOP). OOP lets code writers program using modular parts.[13] These parts, units of computer code, can be reassembled into larger programs. The idea of code-objects stems from physical reality and mass production. But the translation is imperfect. Only some of the current object-oriented programs use graphic code-objects that connect to produce flow charts. These diagrams may be viewed graphically or run as computer programs. The two modes are simply different ways of experiencing the code. Spatial Metaphors and Cultural Artifacts In 1996, when President Clinton suggested building a bridge to the 21st Century he used an architectural metaphor to present his administrations goals. By analyzing this metaphor we understand that the bridges embankments spring from the present and future centuries, the gap between them represents the distance between the status quo and his intentions. The bridge itself, a complex construction requiring many to build, is the means of spanning the gap. The bridge metaphor contains internal consistencies which support the larger reading.[14] Lakoff and Johnson, the authors of Metaphors we live by, claim that most of our fundamental concepts are organized in terms of spatialization metaphors. We use terms like in, out, above and below both spatially and metaphorically.[15] In fact, there is a reciprocal relationship between physical space and language. While much of our language is influenced by physical space, our understanding of that space is conditioned by our language. Space and language validate each other. As soon as we create a spatial metaphor, i.e., the bridge, the reference becomes an artifact made by humans. But artifacts are not the objects of our work; rather they mediate our relationship with other objects.[16] This is the case whether an artifact is physical or not. Spatial, anthropic cyberspace is much more than an exercise in transferring conventional physical realities into a new medium. It must draw on deeper resources for a spatialization theory, including our affinity for people and objects. It should support a continuous on-going creativity in the ways we demand of physical space. The Great Work Spatial experience is not purely physiological; our experience is culturally conditioned.[17] Anthropologist Edward Hall believes that we experience our world in such a way that our culture is already present in the very experience itself. Space, and by extension cyberspace, is a human artifact an intensely human phenomenon. In the following chapters we will see cyberspace through many eyes. Artists, designers, engineers and scientists around the world are bringing about a human-centered cyberspace. This anthropic cyberspace recognizes space as a human-generated means of thought and communication, as a site for cultural engagement. The creation of this kind of cyberspace could be a Great Work, the electronic equivalent of the cathedrals in Europe.[18],[19] People involved in its construction are building the extensions of our present world of space and thought. In coming years we will encounter resonances between physical and cyberspaces. This book will show how they can be integrated as products and tools of our human understanding.
Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
The best overview and analysis of cyberspace in the 90s.
By jleft@orbitnet.com
The accelerating growth of personal computing over the past two decades and the unprecedented rise of the Internet in the 1990s has led to a countless number of books. Many deal with particular aspects of this revolution - linear historical accounts, analysis of emergent psycho-social phenomena, how-to manuals on the latest program or technology, etc.. Very few however, manage to capture a broad overview and comprehensive analysis of this explosion. Fewer still have documented the wide array of less common technologies and research efforts that have accompanied and in many cases, presaged, the more familiar aspects of today's cyberspace.
It's not surprising then, that a uniquely comprehensive view should come from a member of the original generalist profession - architecture. In "ENVISIONING CYBERSPACE: Designing 3D Electronic Spaces," architect and media theorist, Peter Anders has succeeded in delivering one of the best and rarest overviews of the beginnings of the Information Age.
Integrity demands that I disclose that some of my own work is featured in this book, but what I discovered to my great surprise and delight, is that it's also filled with many incredible technologies and ideas that I was unaware of. Such is the difficulty in being aware of everything that's going on in our rapidly evolving era.
Anyone interested or involved in the design and development of information technologies would do well to read this book. The future is not limited to just a simple extrapolation of what's most commonly known today. The real Information Age is a vast, barely explored region of possibility around us and ahead. We're lucky to have Peter Anders serving as both Lewis and Clark.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Envisioning Cyberspace Optimistically
By Mike Mosher
Something that makes Peter Anders' _Envisioning Cyberspace_ especially interesting is that it's the work of an architect and designer, for whom the issues of designing workable, user-centered cyberenvironments are comprehensible. He's gathered and comments upon a wide-ranging collection of work that he finds interesting, efforts that approach and address the big issues if not always fully realizing them. It often reminds me of the 1991 anthology _Cyberspace: First Steps_ edited by Michael Benedikt (another architect), or some of the hot early-'90s books on Virtual Reality, in that it's full of enthusiasm and enjoyment at the elegance of possible solutions. In this hard-nosed commercially-driven era that's a breath of fresh air; the real kind, not the virtual.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
thought-and-design provoking
By Stephen J Luecking
Though a book of the 90's I have just used this book as a text in my course on virtual architecture in our computer graphics program. It worked superbly. The text stimulated long fruitful discussions (some for three unbroken hours) and put students in the state of mind to produce 3D based sites of significant meaning. Students took to heart Anders cautionary assessments on designing cyberspace and produced work that leapt well ahead of the work they were producing prior to the discussions. Anders chooses all of the best sources for his analysis of the similarities and contrasts between actual space and cyberspace, especially his use of Jean Piaget's interactional psychology as a base.
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