DREAM DEPOT: A COLLECTION OF FRAGMENTS

THE SAVANNAH WEAVE

DESIGN STUDIO: DESIGN AND RESEARCH 2

PROFESSOR: LARS SPUYBROEK

PARTNER: HEIDI DAVARI

In 1962 the British self-proclaimed surrealist science-fiction writer J.G. Ballard wrote a short story titled “The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista.” It tells the story of Howard Talbot, a young lawyer who buys a so-called “psychotropic house”—a house that through specific types of deformations of walls and ceilings responds to its inhabitant, deeply altering his moods and desires. Quickly it becomes clear that the house has absorbed many of the psychological traits of its previous inhabitant, a famous movie star named Gloria Tremayne, who after a bout of madness, murdered her architect-husband. While the story develops, Howard falls in love with Gloria, who attacks Howard’s wife and chases her out of the house, leading the lawyer and his murderous robot- house to an inevitable climax.

The studio uses Ballard’s short story to investigate a broad range of questions about inhabitation. What space do we actually inhabit, and what is the space technology inhabits?

The project, Dream Depot: A Collection of Fragments, breaks down the perception of what architectural objects and elements are, and allows them to become something new through reconstruction of fragments. The game is meant to challenge your perception of architecture and ideas of inhabitation.

The project utilizes AI dream cards generated using an architectural element, an object, a scene, and a modifier word. These dream cards are then interpreted by online players to populate a two-dimensional game board that results in imaginative plans. These plans inform a three-dimensional virtual world that is reminiscent of an architectural garden. Architectural objects exist out of scale, in fragments, impressed into the ground, walls, or ceilings, hang in the air, etc. The dream world is meant to evoke a reimagination of occupation and the house.

In addition to the virtual world, the games are constructed in physical sites around the world as well. The different sites act as a reflection of a moment in time that can be accessed as a sort of dream pilgrimage, traveling from one to another, allowing the real-life experience of varying cultures.

With the creation of stories from visitors to the architectural gardens both virtually and physically, new dream cards result, emphasizing a cycle for which the game can be played infinitely.

Game Cycle

https://www.dreamdepot.com/jennysmith_stories

DEPOT

THE STORIES ARE USED TO GENERATE NEW DREAM CARDS https://www.dreamdepot.com/game1/2D architecture was breathtaking, with towering spires and intricate archways made of shimmering crystals. As she explored the garden, she noticed that there were floating objects in space all around her. Floating globes of light dri ed lazily through the air, while strange, otherworldly structures seemed to hover just out of reach. Lily soon discovered that she too could float through this dream world. As she li ed the ground, she felt weightless and free, soaring above the garden and taking in the stunning sights around her. But as she dri ed higher, she noticed something even more incredible. The garden seemed to be connected to other worlds, with portals and gateways leading to other realms of existence. Through these portals, she glimpsed incredible landscapes and otherworldly beings. Lily spent what felt like hours exploring the garden and its connected worlds. As she floated back down to the ground, she realized that this dream was not just a figment of her imagination, but magical place that existed beyond the boundaries of the waking world. From that day forward, Lily knew that there was so much more to the world than what met the eye. And every night, she closed her eyes with the hope of visiting that mystical garden once again.

3D GAMES ARE VIRTUALLY OCCUPIED BY THE PLAYERS WHO WILL WRITE STORIES ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE gameboard:3D

2D GAMES GIVEN TO ROBOTS AND DRONES THAT CONSTRUCT THE 3D SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD