AGE OF

YOU

-

ARCHITECTUREOF STREAMING

ARCHITECTURE

BRIEF

Me. You. Us. Them. We are all part of the game … a game that is dominated by hyperconnectivity and the ubiquitous internet, where streaming data has become the most mundane activity embedded in the fab-

ric of daily life. At every opportunity, whether at home on our beloved bed, on the train, while grocery shopping, or even during public events, we are persistently streaming data to and from our phones, smartwatches, laptops, or

similar devices. Our attention is constantly split between our physical presence, i.e. the feeling of being in a tangible place, and the distant happenings of E-Sports events on Twitch, live podcasts on Clubhouse or the latest exciting series on Netflix.

Tele-audiovision (tele = far, from a distance) has fundamentally changed our daily lives, the way we interact and communicate with the world around us, and thus the way we live in general.

Of course, this is nothing new and we know it all!

But …

… What if we imagine scenarios that go beyond tele-audiovision? What if we imagine a daily life where tele-audiovision is replaced by embodied tele-presence?

What if we streamed not two-dimensional audiovisual data to our screen-equipped devices, but started to stream actual three-dimensional spaces that can be spontaneously inhabited at every opportunity.

What would that mean for our understanding of space and architecture? And how would that change our daily lives?

AGE OF YOU is a design studio that explores media assemblages, the spaces of world wide web and its architecture, to understand how it changes what we are and how we live. Precisely we will look closely at the phenomenon of streaming culture and its architectural understandings and formulations. This will include a huge variety of disparate agents, such as hosts, crowds, spaces, infrastructures, mech-

anisms, protocols, rituals, cults and data, to name just a few of them. We will also put those agents in relation to each other to see how they perform as a network determined by a high count of parameters, such as connectivity, transparency, ubiquity, performativity, empathy, irony, fidelity, accessibility, … and so on. The aim of the design studio is to provide students with the vocabulary of contemporary digital culture so they can

adequately meet the challenges of being a literate architect of today (and tomorrow).

M1 DESIGNSTUDIO ‘AGE OF YOU’ Uwe Brunner & Dominic Schwab

AGE OF

YOU

-

ARCHITECTUREOF STREAMING

ARCHITECTURE

BRIEF

Me. You. Us. Them. We are all part of the game … a game that is dominated by hyperconnectivity and the ubiquitous internet, where streaming data has become the most mundane activity embedded in the fab-

ric of daily life. At every opportunity, whether at home on our beloved bed, on the train, while grocery shopping, or even during public events, we are persistently streaming data to and from our phones, smartwatches, laptops, or

similar devices. Our attention is constantly split between our physical presence, i.e. the feeling of being in a tangible place, and the distant happenings of E-Sports events on Twitch, live podcasts on Clubhouse or the latest exciting series on Netflix.

Tele-audiovision (tele = far, from a distance) has fundamentally changed our daily lives, the way we interact and communicate with the world around us, and thus the way we live in general.

Of course, this is nothing new and we know it all!

But …

… What if we imagine scenarios that go beyond tele-audiovision? What if we imagine a daily life where tele-audiovision is replaced by embodied tele-presence?

What if we streamed not two-dimensional audiovisual data to our screen-equipped devices, but started to stream actual three-dimensional spaces that can be spontaneously inhabited at every opportunity.

What would that mean for our understanding of space and architecture? And how would that change our daily lives?

AGE OF YOU is a design studio that explores media assemblages, the spaces of world wide web and its architecture, to understand how it changes what we are and how we live. Precisely we will look closely at the phenomenon of streaming culture and its architectural understandings and formulations. This will include a huge variety of disparate agents, such as hosts, crowds, spaces, infrastructures, mech-

anisms, protocols, rituals, cults and data, to name just a few of them. We will also put those agents in relation to each other to see how they perform as a network determined by a high count of parameters, such as connectivity, transparency, ubiquity, performativity, empathy, irony, fidelity, accessibility, … and so on. The aim of the design studio is to provide students with the vocabulary of contemporary digital culture so they can

adequately meet the challenges of being a literate architect of today (and tomorrow).

M1 DESIGNSTUDIO ‘AGE OF YOU’ Uwe Brunner & Dominic Schwab

STRUCTURE

The semester will be structured in three chapters.

In the first chapter students must dive into a precise and analytical research of streaming culture and the relevance for architecture and space-making. To conduct this research Students will follow a methodi-cal chart called The 4 Elements of Streaming Architecture that was developed by the design studio supervisors.

In the second chapter of the semester Students will have to specify context, place and scale for their speculative intervention in order to illustrate their very own vision of what streaming archi-tecture might be and how it would manifest aesthetically in everyday life.

In the third and final chapter, students will work on an experimental short film that will showcase and document their individual speculative scenarios of streaming architecture and critically reflect on their research findings developed over the course of the semester.

METHODOLOGY & TOOLS

This semester we will focus on the usage of Machinima. Machinima describes the use of real-time computer graphics to create cinematic production. With this in mind, Students will work with game engines such as Unreal Engine 5 to craft hypereal experimental short films. In order to achieve engaging visual production Students will also work with technologies such as 3D Lidar Scanning, photogrammetry, volumetric capturing and 360 degrees video production. Besides this Students will also gain in-depth knowledge of web broadcasting tools and brows-er-based social VR platforms. A series of workshops will be offered that are mandatory.

STUDY TRIP

A one-day excursion to the exhibition Radical Gaming - Immersion Simulation Subversion in Basel is planned. Further information about the dates and organization of the short trip will be announced in the first week of the semester.

https://www.hek.ch/programm/ausstellungen/radical-gaming

STRUCTURE

The semester will be structured in three chapters.

In the first chapter students must dive into a precise and analytical research of streaming culture and the relevance for architecture and space-making. To conduct this research Students will follow a methodi-cal chart called The 4 Elements of Streaming Architecture that was developed by the design studio supervisors.

In the second chapter of the semester Students will have to specify context, place and scale for their speculative intervention in order to illustrate their very own vision of what streaming archi-tecture might be and how it would manifest aesthetically in everyday life.

In the third and final chapter, students will work on an experimental short film that will showcase and document their individual speculative scenarios of streaming architecture and critically reflect on their research findings developed over the course of the semester.

METHODOLOGY & TOOLS

This semester we will focus on the usage of Machinima. Machinima describes the use of real-time computer graphics to create cinematic production. With this in mind, Students will work with game engines such as Unreal Engine 5 to craft hypereal experimental short films. In order to achieve engaging visual production Students will also work with technologies such as 3D Lidar Scanning, photogrammetry, volumetric capturing and 360 degrees video production. Besides this Students will also gain in-depth knowledge of web broadcasting tools and brows-er-based social VR platforms. A series of workshops will be offered that are mandatory.

STUDY TRIP

A one-day excursion to the exhibition Radical Gaming - Immersion Simulation Subversion in Basel is planned. Further information about the dates and organization of the short trip will be announced in the first week of the semester.

https://www.hek.ch/programm/ausstellungen/radical-gaming

M1 DESIGNSTUDIO ‘AGE OF YOU’ Uwe Brunner & Dominic Schwab

SEMESTER SCHEDULE

KICK OFF 1st TASK: Video Self Portrait 60sec (The extreme self) + Portfolio Presentation 07.10. 10am First Studio Meeting

PHASE 1 - RESEARCH: THE 4 ELEMENTz OF STREAMING ARCHITECTURE

14.10. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) 16.10. Excursion to HEK Basel, ‘Radical Gaming’ (https://www.hek.ch) 20.10. 1st Workshop: Asset Production 21.10. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) 27.10. 2nd Workshop: Streaming Infrastructure 28.10. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) PHASE 2 - WORLD WIDE HOME: THE MEDIA ASSEMBLAGE

04.11. Early Review 04. - 11.11. 3rd Workshop: Unreal Engine 18.11. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) 25.11. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) PHASE 3 - DESIGN & DOCUMENTATION: FILMMAKING BECOMES SPACEMAKING

02.12. Midreview 09.12. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) 09. - 16.12. 4th Workshop: Video Editing & Post Production 16.12. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) 23.12. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit)

Christmas Break

14.01. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) 21.01. 10am Desk Crit (Zoom Crit) 28.01. Final Review

EXHIBITION

M1 DESIGNSTUDIO ‘AGE OF YOU’ Uwe Brunner & Dominic Schwab

THE 4 ELEMENTZ OF STREAMING ARCHITECTURE

###

https://www.distantcrowds.report/homehttps://summer2021.bartlettarchucl.com/Yara FeghaliNic Hamilton: Selected WorkSimon LehnerDepthkitUnreal Engine 5 Early AccessUnity Real-Time Development Platform | 3D, 2D VR & AR EngineHito Steyerl | ZKM

SFKP | poor images – Über copies in motion und wo man sie findetS

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nshine in my throat ░░░░░░░░░Beyond Resolution by Rosa Menkman - issuuAndrew Thomas HuangCathedralsActual ObjectsMETEORANikita DiakurPa.LaC.EDom GrossStates of Entanglement – Actar Publishers

TIME

AGE OF

YOU

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M1 DESIGNSTUDIO ‘AGE OF YOU’ Uwe Brunner & Dominic Schwab