presentation | studio any

On the matter and matters of space in novel media

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 16:00:00 +0000

The Architectural Continuum: Choropoietic media and post-physical-world spatial aesthetics

Mon, 18 Mar 2019 10:00:03 +0300

Workshop organized by Marc Bonner, DFG fellow at Universität zu Köln.

Event description

The international conference will be held in context of the DFG funded research project “Open-World-Structures: Architecture, City- and Landscape in Computer Games” (Bonner 2017-2020) and addresses the matter of (1) architecture in game worlds in the sense of its media specific spatialization, architectural layouts and the role of architecture, as well as (2) the architecture of computer games themselves in the sense of systematics, structures and media specific logics between algorithms and databases – worldbuilding from a different angle.

Thus, the participants will thematise aesthetics of reception as well as aesthetics of production and approach the complex constitution of computer games from a wide range of disciplines – from Media and Game Studies to Art History, Sound Studies to Architecture, Design to Phenomenology and Embodiment, as well as Spatial Theory and Cultural Studies.

The aim of the conference is to channel multi-disciplinary approaches and current research projects to fuel an interest towards an understanding of computer games as spatial, architectural or world phenomena within the current digital media culture. Furthermore, it is to explore and discuss concepts and methodologies from other disciplines and the potential transfer as useful tools in Game Studies.

Workshop programme

Monday, 03/18/19

Distant Agricultural Splendor: National Identity, Agricultural Labor, and Space in Farming Simulator (Derek Price) 10:45 a.m.
Taking a Breath of the Wild – Paidiatic Spaces and Practices Off the Ludic Grid (Cornelia Janina Schnaars) 11:05 a.m.
Feels Right – How Atmospheres of the Past Satisfy Expectations of Authenticity (Felix Zimmermann) 11:25 a.m.
Virtual Space and Video Game Photography: Towards a Socio-Political Reading of In-Game Photography (Vladimir Rizov) 12:00 p.m.
The World Machine: Self-Reflexive Worldmaking in OneShot (Theresa Krampe) 12:20 p.m.
Towards an Operationalized Definition of Procedural Representation (Michal Švarný) 12:40 p.m.

Welcoming Speech / Introduction (Marc Bonner) 1:30 p.m.
Protean Spaces. On the Aesthetics of Reconfiguring Game Spaces (Hans-Joachim Backe) 2:00 p.m.
Learning from Las Vegas … About Video Games and Virtual Reality Experiences (Gundolf S. Freyermuth) 2:45 p.m.
Labyrinth (Rolf F. Nohr) 3:45 p.m.
Personal and Cinematic Landscapes in Games (Rune Klevjer) 4:30 p.m.
Ludoforming (Espen Aarseth) 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, 03/19/19

Borderless Sound (Marcus Erbe) 10:00 a.m.
»I love how you can see the bottom of the universe from this room…« The Inside-Out-Architecture of Davey Wreden’s The Beginner’s Guide (Benjamin Beil) 11:00 a.m.
The Interior of Video Games (Thomas Hensel) 11:45 a.m.
Two Ways to Dwell: Hestial and Hermetic Dwelling in Digital Game Worlds (Daniel Vella) 1:30 p.m.
The ‘Lived Spaces’ of Computer Games (Stephan Günzel) 2:15 p.m.
Sense of Being Here: 3D Spaces Between Vision and Haptics (Carolin Höfler) 3:15 p.m.
The Architectural Continuum – Choropoietic Media and Post-Physical-World Spatial Aesthetics (Constantinos Miltiadis) 4:00 p.m.
Dreaming in the Witch House (Thomas Hawranke) 4:45 p.m.
Round Up Discussion 5:45 p.m.

The visual imaginary of intangible cultural heritage: Accessing the palimpsest of Nicosia through audio-enabled routes

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 19:40:57 +0300

Contribution to CHNT 2018 on intangible cultural heritage based on the project Daphne’s Diary.

Abstract

This paper presents theoretical and practical considerations regarding the role of moat of the medieval walls of historic Nicosia. It introduces the history of Nicosia, the last divided capital of Europe, through the development of its Venetian fortifications. The moat acquired an important role for Nicosia when the city started expanding beyond the medieval footprint of the labyrinthine urban fabric of the historic core during the late period of British rule on the island. Since the beginning of the 20th century numerous activities and uses were hosted into the moat, from sporting events, livestock trade and markets to parades and leisure spaces, waste disposal and farming.

After the war of 1974 and the division of Nicosia, the urgent and ever-growing needs of the city for empty plots to support its infrastructure and operation led to the fragmentation of the moat. In this context the paper reflects on the current state of the moat and inquires for the pressing need to reconsider the identity and value of the moat for the city.

In response to this need it discusses new approaches to the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for facilitating the re-appropriation of the moat of Nicosia’s medieval fortifications from being used as parking space, and other fragmentary private uses, into a green belt that highlights the only shared heritage that unites the two sides of the divided city, that is, its Medieval Walls. In particular an ICT-enabled initiative is presented that involves the creation of spatially-distributed storytelling for the promotion of the history of the Medieval walls of the city by exploiting the software and communities of Geocaching driven by preliminary results of a survey of users of the public space of the moat. The organization of this initiative was supported by a H2020 COST Action (TU1306) Short Term Scientific Mission, the results of which will be presented in the paper.

Concluding, the paper presents a grassroots approach to the application of digital interfaces and interactive narratives, which contributes to the exploitation of heritage in Mediterranean cities for the reactivation of neglected urban green spaces through playful engagement and storytelling. Specifically it suggests the use of a “cloud” layer over the city, on which to collect and expose the multiple narratives of its dense historical past, functioning therefore as a neutral ground for the analysis of the city’s palimpsest and the negotiation of the cultural processes for the production of the lived space. Employing a format of locative, historically corroborated dramatized audio narratives, the initiative intends to provide an experiential approach to history, eventually aiming to trigger the audience’s visual imaginary over their immediate surroundings.

It argues that heritage can be used to influence positively the social cohesion of the urban context. Promoting heritage in such a way that, instead of provoking tensions and division (based on a hegemonic reading of the -complex and debated- past), can offer opportunities of understanding, by enabling politically, historically and socially excluded communities to narrate their histories.. Focusing on everyday experiences, the project intends to eventually contributing to an inclusive view of the past of the built environment and therefore to a sense of mutual belonging.

Architecture as a Complex Number

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 18:00:00 +0000

Event organized by Pierre Cutellic in collaboration with AA n+1.
AA n+1 gallery, Paris, November 16, 2016

Description
The Plexus Project is an initiative to bring together the creative talent of different disciplines to share techniques, solve problems and build networks of collaboration. The events take place every month inviting young designers, architects, engineers, programmers, game designers and visual artists. This initiative is open to anyone in London that is looking for an informal place to network and learn about new methodologies and workflows.
The event was initially called Bartlett Nexus and was created by Jose Sanchez, currently he co-curates it together with Manuel Jimenez Garcia, who joined the event organization in September of 2013.

Speakers

Prof. Frederic Migayrou (UCL),
Manuel Jimenez Garcia (UCL),
Constantinos Miltiadis (TU Graz), and
Corneel Cannaerts (KU Leuven).