Ioanna Fragkaki | The (Un)canny transformable "home" of today

diploma theory thesis:

The (Un)canny transformable "home" of today

Ioanna Fragkaki mentors: Oungrinis Konstantinos | Technical University of Crete Patsavos Nikolaos | Technical University of Crete Heidi Sohn | Delft University of Technology

table of contents_

abstract

.... 1

introduction

.... 2

chapter 1 | the human of today

.... 9

chapter 1.1 | the cyborg .... 9 chapter 1.2 | the need for adaptation .... 18

chapter 2 | The uncanny_soul – space - technology

.... 20

chapter 2.1 | The emergence of the notion of the uncanny .... 21 chapter 2.2 | The establishment of the notion of the uncanny and its contribution to the psychoanalytic theory. .... 23 chapter 2.3 | The integration of the notion of the uncanny in architectural theory.... 26 chapter 2.4 | The extensions of the uncanny in technology chapter 2.5 | The process of familiarization

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.... 31

.... 35

iv

chapter 3 | The housing as a result of the uncanny changing way of living ....39 chapter 3.1 | The issue of «home»

.... 39

chapter 3.2 | The uncanny and architecture

chapter 4 | Transformable architecture

.... 43

.... 50

chapter 4.1 | Transformability as a regulator of the level of intimacy.... 50

chapter 5 | criteria of recognition .... 55 chapter 5.1 | control by the user

.... 56

chapter 5.2 | access- appearance of the mechanism chapter 5.3 | speed of transformation

.... 57

.... 59

chapter 5.4 | correspondence of materials

.... 61

chapter 5.5 | limit’s sharpness of the shell

.... 62

chapter 5.6 | perception of alteration - form

.... 64

chapter 6 | conclusions .... 66

bibliography .... 71 image credits .... 75

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Abstract

Can the human of the twentieth century feel “at home” in a place which transforms and changes itself?

Transformability as much as multifariousness, can easily be observed in every aspect of the modern society but also in the life of every human being as well. In a society which constantly keeps changing the conditions of living for many people sharpen the sense of the feeling of the uncanny.

Transformability in architecture tries to act as a regulator of the degree of intimacy that a person feels in his personal space. One of the questions of this Thesis is how can we define the human of nowadays, and what differences does «he» have comparing to the human of the past centuries?

In answering this question, we might be coming closer to a new definition of the human existence. This re-defined human existence acquires familiarity with machines and technological or artificial environments and at the same time may loose familiarity with other environments. The process of familiarization, the raise of the feeling of the uncanny require further research. It is an issue that has been dealt with by psychologists and sociologists, as well as architects, who have attempted to define and have given various explanations during the last decades. This definition should be developed with simultaneous transfer of concepts from the field of psychoanalysis in the field of architecture. Finally, there is one more issue to be researched and that is whether the regulator we said above, transformability, can both create and maintain this familiarity and in what scale.

1

Introduction

Human and the society in which he lives is subject to change throughout time. Modernity introduced a new type of human, with new data on humans’ both habits, their behaviors and relationships, and their personality, where society must keep pace with these new changes. Following Modernity, Postmodernism reintroduced the forgotten issue of identity as a central issue and many theorists and artists have argued that identity is “infinitely mutable rather than being based on some essential nature”.1 However, the traditional view of what we know until now as a “human being” is now undergoing a transformation, as we can no longer think about being human in the same way we used to.2 This Postmodern society, where the search for the lost identity is more obvious than before, is the same society, which has been described as a “society of cyborgs”. “Cyborgs”, abbreviation of the term «cybernetic organisms», have 1

Malpas, S. (2005). The postmodern. Oxon: Routledge. 74 Pepperell, R. (2003). The Posthuman Condition: Consciousness beyond the brain. Bristol, Great Britain: Cromwell Press. iv 2

2

become a central figure since the mid-20th century. To Donna Haraway the Cyborg is a positive inhuman, a required irrational response to the rational project of Modernity and the Enlightenment.3 By referring to the term “Cyborg” it is meant a wide range of living organisms, including almost every human in our days: the human who had been vaccinated to resist specific diseases and has intervened in the genetic material to someone with a prosthetic member or even an artificial face.

Even if we don’t agree so ourselves, we are certainly living in the society of cyborgs, where machines and people are now more close than ever before. The vitalization of machinery along with the mechanization of human beings, after the Second World War led to the creation of new limits on fundamental dipoles, such as human - tool, alive - dead, natural - artificial, mind - body, self-made - designed and more. The post human becomes more familiar with various kinds of intermediates, called «interfaces», which create the connecting link between human and machinery. However, this unprecedented intimacy with the virtual world is changing the nature of 3

Haraway, D. (1991). "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century". Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. New York: Routledge.

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human as well, since the familiarity with both the virtual and the real space, acquires new dimensions.

But what is what makes a house more familiar to its resident? The interest is focused in the field of housing, as the “home” is the personal space of each person, the place where he feels or should feel more intimate and familiar than anywhere else. What are the factors that determine how easily and quickly or for how long a person can feel “at home” in his own space? How can this process be controlled, each time giving the desired levels of intimacy and uncanny? These questions are attempted to be answered by doing a research on the work of those who dealt systematically with the uncanny, mostly from the field of psychoanalysis. Among other things, there is going to be a research on writings by authors such as Ernst Jentsch on early 20th century, Sigmund Freud few years later with his "The uncanny" and of course Anthony Vidler, who linked the psychology to architecture, in his book “The architectural uncanny: essays in the modern unhomely”.

The issue however is not the just the detection of the exact method by which one place can acquire all these qualities that make this place familiar to a person. The aim of this research is also to find a way to maintain this status

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for as long as possible, as it can be reversed at any time resulting from an intimate space to an alien one. As Sigmund Freud has mentioned, the idea of the uncanny refers to the peculiar concern about something that until recently seemed known and familiar. The uncanny can be both the unknown and the unfamiliar and the familiar may at any time become uncanny and unappealing. Apart from the feeling of uncanny, another issue is the issue of the control of adrenaline in a way that it can control the sense of fear as well, so that a space will become more “interesting”. So perhaps we are not talking anymore about a simple obedience of the space to our needs, but rather a prediction based on behavior, needs and desires. So it makes its appearance a new kind of environment that lives, hears, feels, reacts and interacts simultaneously with manuser. The surrealists also have claimed, that the aim must be an architecture that meets the psychological needs.

Also, as has been said by Matta Echaurren,4 “…we must have walls like damp sheets which deform themselves and

4

Echaurren, M. (1938). Mathematique sensible - Architecture du temps.

Minotaure , 11 (43).

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join with our psychological fears‌ the body insinuated as into a mold, as into a matrix based on our movements.�5 The change that is happening in the structure of the society, refer to the idea of adaptation, the idea of transformability, in the housing as well, since housing is a mirror of society. The interest is focused in transformability itself. By historically researching the development of transformability, there will be an attempt to answer in all the questions about contemporary housing, which require redesign having as a tool, technology, machines, etc. It is nevertheless clear that even because of the fact that we are in a transitional and experimental stage this research is more of a starting point for further investigation.

5

Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 153

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“It may well be that what we have hitherto understood as architecture and what we are beginning to understand as technology are incompatible disciplines. The architect who proposes to run with technology knows now that he will be in fast company, and that, in order to keep up, he may have to emulate the Futurists and discard his whole cultural load, including the professional garments by which he is recognised as an architect. If on the other hand, he decides not to do this, he may find that a technological culture has decided to go on without him�6 Reyner Baham

6

Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 8-9

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1. The human of today 1.1 The cyborg A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction.7 Already by the middle of 20th century and especially the late 20th century, cyborg has become a central figure in our society. It was just a few years ago when in 1993 the society, alarmed by the impending implantation of electronic chip in the human body, argued that the cyborg is a sign of the appearance of Antichrist on Earth.8 Back then the term “cyborg” was a distant, alien and obscure term, but nowadays it is a term quite defined, understandable and even friendly in many cases. The cyborg makes its appearance when the boundaries between animal and man are violated. As Donna Haraway argues, “Biological and evolutionary theory over the past two centuries have simultaneously produced modern organisms as objects of knowledge and reduced the 7

Haraway, D. (1991). "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and SocialistFeminism in the Late Twentieth Century". Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. New York: Routledge. 152 8 Gray, C. H., Mentor, S., & Figueroa-Sarriera, H. J. (1995). Cyborlogy: Constructing the Knowledge of Cybermetic Organisms. The Cyborg Handbook.

London; New York.

9

fig. 1

line between humans and animals to a faint trace re-etched in ideological struggle or professional disputes between life and social science.�

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History can provide us many examples of these early-time cyborgs, such as the Centaur, the Minotaur, the Sphinx and many others.Eventhough these examples refer more to fairy tales and myths than in real life, there are many others that are referring to today. There are so many examples of cyborgs around us and as time passes, they multiply rapidly, so it is hard to distinguish them and even more hard to ignore them, if we are not ourselves cyborgs as well. The cyborg, even if the terminology is strange, it is much simpler than it sounds. The boundary between organism and machine is not clear at all. Not only are our household machines becoming more lifelike and taking on personalities, but also humans are coupling with machines for medical purposes: pacemakers, dialysis, artificial limbs and joints, hearing aids, glasses to improve the vision, vaccines. etc10

9 Haraway, D. (1991). "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century". Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. New York: Routledge. 152 10 Haraway, D. (1991). "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century". Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. New York: Routledge. 152

 fig. 2

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"Everything we do is change for the machines.Eventually we changed so much that from now on, the machines will make the changes for us. ".11 So even if we ourselves cyborgs are not cyborgs, we surely live among them and of course we live in the society of cyborgs. Maybe in our minds a cyborg has the form of something terribly complicated and inaccessible, even uncanny. We feel so unfamiliar with the idea of the cyborg, even if we know that we are ourselves, and keep trying to hide it in every way. We take for granted the existence of the uncanny feeling even if this about ourselves. As mentioned by Schelling, «Uncanny is the name for everything that ought to have remained ... secret and hidden but has come to light."

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In our minds, the coupling of the machine with the human has results such as the cyborg Robocop and Frankenstein or even the heroes of Star Trek, all examples borrowed from movies. Even if the public got to know the artificial organisms through the films, they did not first appeared there, but they were widely known and universally accepted through the movies. The reasons for

11 12

Cadigan, P. (1991). Synners. Grafton. 334 Freud, S. (2009). Το ανοίκειο. (Έ. Βαϊκούση, Trans.) Αθήνα: Πλέθρον.

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their creation was mainly military and medical reasons and secondarily to serve the sector of work and entertainment.

Various technologies concerning cyborgs were developed, mostly in research centers, but NASA was the first one, since NASA was the first to use the term “cyborg” in order to describe the conversion of a human in order to be able to live in space without the special suit. Through time, of course, NASA used other terms as well apart from fig. 3 posthuman and environment connected as one

cyborg such as bionics, human augmentation and others the main from these technologies were restorative, normalizing, reconfiguring and enhancing.13 It might seem a sudden change, but the transition from the first machine of occupancy, the city, to the city that lays predominant to technology has lasted many hundreds of decades. The most rapid change however was during the last 200 years after the industrial revolution, when even the machine was replaced by the automatic machine.14 The machine is now connected to the human more closely than ever before and in many cases have become complementary to one another.

fig. 4 scene from the movie ¨ΜΑΤΡΙΧ¨, where machine and human are closely connected.

13 Gray, C. H., Mentor, S., & Figueroa-Sarriera, H. J. (1995). Cyborlogy: Constructing the Knowledge of Cybermetic Organisms. The Cyborg Handbook. London; New York.

14 Gray, C. H., Mentor, S., & Figueroa-Sarriera, H. J. (1995). Cyborlogy: Constructing the Knowledge of Cybermetic Organisms. The Cyborg Handbook. London; New York.

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The post human, both interacts with the environment, and is influenced by it, it almost becomes one. The manifesto of the post human characteristically says “Humanists saw themselves as separate beings, in a competitive relationship with their environment. On the contrary post humans conceive their very existence, as inclusion in a broader technological environment.”15 Donna Haraway, who was the one that formulated the manifesto for cyborgs, says quite clearly that our machines are annoying live and we are terribly inactive.16 The boundaries between organic and inorganic have been blurred not only when it comes to human but also in terms of the machine, robots, artificial creatures, etc. The question that has always has been problematized by mankind since ancient times was the distinction of a living thing to anything inorganic. Aristotle argues that a living thing is the one that is characterized by the principle of change, the ability to grow and move at will. 17 More contemporary philosophers, doctors and other scientists

15

Pepperell, R. (2003). The Posthuman Condition: Consciousness beyond the brain. Bristol, Great Britain: Cromwell Press.

16 Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 148 17 Αριστοτέλης. (1999). Περί Φύσεως.Το δεύτερο βιβλίο των Φυσικών. (Β.Κάλφα, Επιµ., & Β.Κάλφα, Μεταφρ.) Αθήνα.

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fig. 5 the way human perceives his environment

think of life as a matter of physical machine and often separate it from the mind and consciousness. During Enlightenment, both life and consciousness were not considered, nor mechanism, nor soul, but substance.

Moreover, according to the theory of Darwinian evolution, the human ability to react with its environment, responding to it and adapt to it, became the characteristics of the human.18 At the same time, however, this unprecedented continuous contact of human with his environment and the machine, whose boundaries have been blurred as mentioned, creates new relationships between them, between human and the machine as a tool.

At the same time, another important fact of our days, is the intimacy that human has acquired with tools and machines. It is not anymore a simple "companion" between human and machines, but rather a coexistence of those, which is achieved with the help of a new language, the Cybernetic language, understood by both sides.

With the use of the Cybernetic language, human nature is conceived as a closed system. This system adapts to the environment according to the flowing information and the possible changes. So we are in front of a 18

Darwin, C. (1869). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. New York: D. Appleton and Company.

 fig. 6 human-machine

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intermediary, an interface, which makes communication between organic and non organic things not only possible but also efficient and rapid. But how did this language was imposed so quickly? Were there forces that accelerated the spread of it and led to be widely established? Certainly many circumstances led to the establishment of this new language. The mechanization of war, the automation of work, the electronization of information, the commodification of culture, the triumph of mass media, the spread of global networks, and the triumph of cybernetic metaphors in science and medicine, all contributed.19 All these currents needed the fundamental contribution of machine and therefore the cybernetic was widely established.

The new limits that are created between the organic and the inorganic, after the end of World War II, lead to the redefinition of fundamental terms. Dipoles that have been problematized by mankind throughout centuries are now being redefined, dipoles such as human-machine, human-tool, alive-dead, organic-inorganic, naturalartificial, present-future, acquire new bases and their fig. 7 illustration of cyber-space 19

Gray, C. H., Mentor, S., & Figueroa-Sarriera, H. J. (1995). Cyborlogy: Constructing the Knowledge of Cybermetic Organisms. The Cyborg Handbook. London; New York. 1-15

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limits are tested on an ongoing basis. Who can for example speak anymore about the human body and the clear separation from the machine and everything non-organic, since the body encloses inorganic objectsin some cases?

How much familiarity does the human feel with this new way of life and up to what point he learns to live, react and interact to the new life? “Soon, perhaps it will be impossible to tell where human ends and machines begins.�20 Our skin can no longer distinguish the inside from the outside, apart from its own limited sense of its physical strength. It perceives in its body, feelings too narrowly focused and whatever is created within and outside the body, is hooked as information in the global network of computers, the Internet. Internet, all computers connected worldwide, is now part of our senses. At the same time, human is trying to increase interaction with this system of networks, in every possible way. As mentioned by Roy Ascott, not only are we changing radically, body and mind, but also we are becoming actively involved in our own transformation. We are acquiring new faculties and new understanding of human presence. We are now able to 20

 fig. 8

McHugh, M. (1997). China Mountain Zhang. Orb books. 214

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inhabit both the real and virtual worlds at the same time, and to be both here and potentially everywhere else at the same time is giving us a new sense of self, new ways of thinking and perceiving which extend what we have believed to be our natural, genetic capabilities. In fact the old debate about artificial and natural is no longer relevant. We are not interested anymore to find the differences between the artificial and the natural, to answer what made us, but more into finding our own answers to what can we make ourselves. We are now consisted of many “selves� so we become more familiar with the idea of the interface. We are all interface. We are computer-mediated and at the same time computerenhanced. These new ways of conceptualizing and perceiving reality involve more than simply some sort of quantitative change in how we see, think and act in the world. They constitute a qualitative change in our being, a whole new faculty, the post-biological faculty of "cyberception".

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As perception, again according to Roy

Ascott, we can define the awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation. This new kind of

21

Ascott, R. (1994). The Architecture of Cyberception. The 5th Inernational Symposium on electronic Art. Helsinki: ISEA '94.

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perception, the cyberception22, “heightens transpersonal experience and is the defining behavior of a transpersonal art. Cyberception involves transpersonal technology, the technology of communicating, sharing, collaborating, the technology which enables us to transform our selves, transfer our thoughts and transcend the limitations of our bodies.”23 Intelligence by definition, is the ability to understand, so in the way, all structures that have a sense of why they are used for, and respond to it, can be considered intelligent. Therefore, human today more demanding than ever before, requires from any “intelligent machine” or environment that comes in contact with, not only to react with hip and adapt over time but also to take initiatives, so that his life will become I little easier.

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1.2 The need for adaptation In a society that is constantly changing and therefore makes itself uncanny and unfamiliar to many people, the need for an architecture that can adapt, evolve 22

cybernetic perception Ascott, R. (1994). The Architecture of Cyberception. The 5th Inernational Symposium on electronic Art. Helsinki: ISEA '94.

24 Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 36 23

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and conform to the contemporary currents is immediate. As Gilles Deleuze mentions architecture should be a machine of action. "The lack of stability, the continuing movement of entities and even more of properties, not neseccarily of shelters, creates an environment whose transformability makes the movement of the current person-nomad relative”25. All these digital environments and systems that are getting adapted to humans and their identities more and more, must be able to adapt to the new choices of the human that are deriving from a much larger range of options. Human, is used to always if not deciding, at least to co-deciding everything, especially when it comes to matters such as the place of residence. A simple example of this attitude is the way children mark their rooms with posters and they seperate it in a way from the rest of the family.26 If we widen our research field, we need to find out, how people of different ages and backgrounds express their identityand how architecture adapts to their choices.

25

Ρότσιος, Δ. (2001). Future Vision Housing. Τρίτη Biennale Νέων Αρχιτεκτόνων. Ελληνικό Ινστιτούτο Αρχιτεκτονικής. 95 26 Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 37

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2 The uncanny_ soul – space technology

uncanny ανοίκειος ξένος uncomfortable uneasy

The meaning of the uncanny, which was formulated and analyzed in the past, refers to the curious concern that can be created to humans that derived from something that until recently appeared as something known and familiar. This feeling is directly linked to the fear of the unknown, whether it is a situation, a monster, a dark room, or even humans. It represents the feeling created by the lack of intimacy, but it is not identified with the unknown.

gloomy haunted unheimlich heimisch vertraut sinistre lugubre

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2.1 The emergence of the notion of the uncanny

Erst Jentsch, in 1906, was the first one that problematized the meaning of the uncanny, specifying it as the feeling in which the man is unable to recognize himself. When something happens to someone that is not quite ‘at home’ or ‘at ease’ and it seemes foreign to him, then something ‘uncanny’ happens. Moreover, the word suggests that a lack of orientation is related with the impression of the uncanniness of a thing or incident. At the same time, the human has doubts as to whether an alive organisation can really move and, on the other hand, if something lifeless, indeed can not move. Man, when there is an object whose identity and properties is not sure of, he feels fear for it. Jentsch deals with a variety of different situations and feelings that are born under different circumstances and conditions and he examines them in the light of the uncanny. Man, fears whatever thing, he is not fig. 9

sure about its identity and properties. According to Jentsch, the lack of control is the main source of fear, as

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he doesn’t know how to face it and mostly how to control it.27 A typical example that Jentsch uses to describe this situation, is the case of a tree trunk, which can barely been seen in the darkness and finally turns out to be a giant snake, which is not lifeless and motionless as thought, but live and animated instead.28 Many times, as bigger and more realistic an object is, the more terrifying seems in human eyes. This is the reason why art avoids the true and absolute imitation of nature and living organisms. Subsequently, he argues that something seems uncanny and horryfing since he cannot find himself in it and this, according to Jentsch, is the main source of the sense of uncanny. Finally, many different occasions are analyzed and the notion is divided into many subindents.

27

Jentsch, E. (1996). On the psychology of the uncanny. Angelaki Issues , 2 (1).

28 Jentsch, E. (1996). On the psychology of the uncanny. Angelaki Issues , 2 (1).

 fig. 10 Francis Bacon, triptych

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2. The establishment of the notion of the uncanny and its contribution to the psychoanalytic theory.

In 1919, only a few years after the first time Ernst Jentsch introduced the notion of the uncanny, it was back in the spotlight with the known scientific study of Sigmund Freud for the “unheimlich”, meaning the uncanny. Freud, unlike Jentsch, did not examine each case individually in order to produce different conclusions depending on the indent being surveyed, but instead, tried to see the uncanny as a whole and research it into detail. He mentions as uncanny, something that causes fear, terror and horror, but does not identifies it to scary and unknown. A large part of his research, if not the largest, focuses in the etymological approach of word uncanny, not only in German but also in many other European languages, including Greek, Italian, Spanish, etc.

The concept of uncanny (unheimlich) is identified as a form of frightening, but it derives from something that previously was not only known and but familiar as well. According to Freud, at any moment something can

23 fig. 11 Francis Bacon, part of triptych

become uncanny, scary and frightening. Many times, the German word “unheimlich” has been mentioned. This word indicates in the German language the opposite of the heimlich, heimisch vertraut, meaning the familiar, which leads to the conclusion that something is frightening precisely because it is not known and familiar. But particular attention is needed in this connection, because the definition doesn’t work in both directions. Something that is unknown and unfamiliar,is not always scary. Is something else that is added to the new and non-familiar and which makes it uncanny.29 The sense of uncanny can occur at any time and is not unusual or surprising. It refers in most of the cases to repressed primitive instincts, hidden, secret and purposely concealed elements, which should remain so for both strangers and to ourselves. The main problem, according to Freud is the control of reality, the physical one, since it is the only that theoretically can be controlled by man. The omnipotence of thoughts and the promt fulfillment of wishes are related according to him, with the return of the dead on Earth, and derives from our primitive ancestors. Mainly our ancestors believed that man 29

Freud, S. (2009). Το ανοίκειο. (Έ. Βαϊκούση, Μεταφρ.) Αθήνα: Πλέθρον. 13-16

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possesses secret injurious powers that can materialize any of his thoughts. Even if the man today has overcame such thoughts, any occasion or coincidence, worries him and makes him think that something similar is still happening, even nowadays. Of course, this concern is fundamental to the creation of the sense of uncanny. Finally, Freud parallelizes the uncanny to death and the fear of it.30 Nowadays, Sherry Turkle, adds to the interpretations and theories of Freud the process of visual contact as well, since human becomes more familiar with forms that resemble to human, even if he knows that what he looks at is not a human. Characteristic is the creation of the “Kismet” robot, which can represent human expressions in a very persuasive way.31

fig. 12 the «mental iceberg» of Freud, that illustrates the human brain structured as an iceberg

However, Freud does not directly correlate the concept of uncanny to space, something that Anthony Vidler did years later. Vidler was also the first architect who systematically problematized both the meaning of uncanny and its connection with architecture.

30

Freud, S. (2009). Το ανοίκειο. (Έ. Βαϊκούση, Μεταφρ.) Αθήνα: Πλέθρον. 58-59 31 Turkle, S. (2007). Evocative Objects: Things we think with.

Cambridge, ΜΑ: The MIT Press.

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2.3 The integration of the notion of the uncanny in architectural theory

Anthony Vidler, did not only systematically do a research on the meaning of the uncanny, but also tried to relate

the

Architectural

notion

with

Uncanny

architecture. His '

unites

work,

architecture

"The with

psychoanalysis, two different fields. As he argues, the transition from a sense of intimacy into a sense of alienation and danger is fundamental for the formation of the uncanny. Familiar can be anything that causes the feeling that something is protected, sheltered, or even hidden from strangers, a feeling that something is protected by the comfort our home. On the other hand, as uncanny can be described what has been revealed but should have remained secret. Even if previously it was at the same place and it seemed to us as familiar, it is no longer considered familiar, because this light fell and it became visible and known in the eyes of strangers.

Moreover, Vidler is really interested in the new type of residence, but also at it’s resident, the new human, the cyborg. More specifically, in the chapter “Homes for

 fig. 13 Francis Bacon, triptych

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Cyborgs” he quotes the introduction from Donna Harraway, “A cyborg Manifesto”: «The cyborg is resolutely committed to

partiality,

irony,

intimacy,

and

perversity.

It

is

oppositional, utopian, and completely without innocence.

No longer structured by the polarity of public and private, the cyborg defines a technological polis based partly on a revolution of social relations in the oikos, the household.

Nature and culture are reworked; the one can no longer be the resource for appropriation or incorporation by the other.»32 Even the feeling of nostalgia that someone feels due to his absence from home, can be fought with the help of technology.

32

Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 147

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Anthony Vidler parallels the place a human lives throughout his life, with his first shelter, the womb of the mother. The resemblance, as he sais, is inevitable as the womb is the most familiar place a human can experience. Therefore, each form should be mimics or even refer to the womb as there is always the desire to return to it. The most obvious way to achieve this, is with the proper use of materials. Soft, flexible and volatile materials, such fig. 14 womb house |Atelier van Lieshout | 2004 | example of wombarchitecture as an installation

as paper, rubber, cork come in contrast with rationalism and function as a link of nature with human, creating an architecture that could be described as 'endomitrium'. This kind of architecture is sensitive to the psychological needs of the user and acts as a mould with the use of pulsating walls. The architect must discover, or more correctly, to rediscover, the umbilical cord that keeps us in contact with other objects.33 The resemblance of the endomitrium life of the embryo to architecture, creates some parallelisms. The idea of the womb as an origin is connected with the Freudian theories of desire and the suppressed path of nostalgia. In the womb of the mother

fig. 15 endometrium grouth of embryo

the embryo is experiencing for the first time the feeling of 33

Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 147-163

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protection. The womb, a beating surface, which takes the shape and size of the embryo, is the first home for a human. Each and every sigle need that the embryo has is getting transferred to the mother through sensors and a network is created between the two of them, through the umbilical cord, a highly interactive network. It is systems like this, that the human tries to rediscover for the rest of his life, as a remnant of his early life inside the womb.

Finally, much of his research, is focused on the idea of transparency. Especially after the spread of the Modern movement, transparency became dominant. The catalysis of boundary between public and private, with the help of transparency, promised a more natural and honest architecture that would eliminate the sovereignty of suspicion and absurd. No secrets anymore would be left in the dark and everything would come in the light of truth. Transparency though, given that it is almost impossible to be achieved, usually acquires another meaning and is being redefined, either to the meaning of reflection, which is the inverse of it, or to meaning of opacity, the opposite of it. The person who comes into contact with the area characterised by transparency, often gets confused and experiences the feeling of uncanny,

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since he cannot find the new limits and boundaries of the external and internal, as well as he sees himself in the reflection of the glass, a condition which causes the appearance of uncanny.34 So it is rather an architecture that an creates the feeling of uncanny in an attempt to minimize our compunction and fears.

34

Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 217-225

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2.4 The extensions of the uncanny in technology.

A situation in which very easily can create the sense of uncanny is raised when an uncertainty about whether something is alive or lifeless as well when the dead is too much similar to the living one, when it is uncanny.35 The theory of the Uncanny Valley, delivered in 1970 by the Japanese robotist Masahiro Mori, could be said that is very interesting and relevant to that theory. According to Mori's original hypothesis it is stated that as the appearance of a robot is made more human, a human observer's emotional response to the robot will become increasingly positive and

fig.16 Diagram of the ¨uncanny valley¨

empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong revulsion.

However, as the robot's appearance continues to become less distinguishable from that of a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.36 This area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and

35

Freud, S. (2009). Το ανοίκειο. (Έ. Βαϊκούση, Trans.) Αθήνα: Πλέθρον.36 36 Masarino, M. (1970). Bukimi no tani The uncanny valley. (K. F. Minato, Trans.) Energy. 33-35

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fig.17 Τhe uncanny valley in cinema

motion between a "barely human" and "fully human" entity is called the uncanny valley. The name captures the idea that an almost human-looking robot will seem overly "strange" to a human being, will produce a feeling of uncanniness, and will thus fail to evoke the empathic response required for productive human robot interaction.

The human is much more sensitive and open to realistic forms rather than caricatures, cartoon character that can not identify and determine the origin of them. The notion of the uncanny, as studied by Sigmund Freud, refers to the peculiar concern may create in man something that until recently seemed known and familiar. This concern is fig. 18 human expressions in robots

directly related to the fear of the unknownof any form and character. However, such close human contact with the machine and objects of artificial intelligence needs attention as there are dangers, also in the ethical domain.

When the machine or the robot function as tools, then their role is in most cases clear, since they are programmed to perform certain actions and judged on their ability to implement them. But when the machine-robot is part of a social context, then it is judged on other criteria, including that of the reliability, a criterion that is based on the

fig. 19 ¨Kismet¨ robot, that can simulate human expressions

development of relations. This is the exact point where

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more attention is needed. For example, the creation of robots that feel and live with humans, makes human to react at it as if the robots were people and maybe ther are developed misleading relationships. However, as Brian R. Duffy says, there should be not so much concern since as he claims, humanity has the strong ability both to adapt and to redefine itself after unexpected incidents occur.

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The

issue of authenticity and accuracy, including with distinction of human from anthropomorphous machines is discussed. «Authenticity is to us what sex was to the Victorians, threat and obsession, taboo and fascination.»38 The issue of the form and whether an object starts to acquire human properties, human anatomy, human habits, possible to grow and reproduct, is an important issue. The interest is in whether a machine is doing more than the human is expecting, if it takes initiatives and if it begins to develop its own behavior, both in relation to human and other machinery, and to the environment. So, up to a limit, a machine that develops its own behavior is acceptable, if only it does not exceed the limits of the

37

Duffy, B. R. (2008). Fundamental Issues in Affective Intelligent Social Machine. The Open Artificial Intellince Journal , 2. 21-34 38 Turkle, S. (2007). Evocative Objects: Things we think with.

Cambridge, ΜΑ: The MIT Press.

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theory of the Uncanny Valley. In this case the human is unable to separate organic from inorganic and he fells confusion and uncanny as the machine tries to familiarise themselves with the environment.39

39 Riskin, J. (2007). Genesis Redux; Essays in the History and Philosophy of Artificial Life. Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press. 2328

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2.5 The process of familiarization

In the previous chapter it was mentioned the need for a human to create familiar spaces around him, we talked about ownership or perhaps better familiarization.

Familiarization is defined as the experience of becoming familiar with something. In modern times, the relationship between the user and the space is neither stable nor predictable, beacause of many changing factors, therefore there is the need to create a more stable relationship between them.40 These factors are associated with the occurrence, maintenance or even the elimination of uncanny, but also the level to which this occurs depends on various consistings. Obviously it would be wrong to claim that it is possible to track all of these constituent parts, especially if they fall within the scope of human psychology, a field so broad, complex, separate and contradictory. For this reason I mentioned some of these factors only.

Many times the level of intimacy that somenone feels in a place depends on the level of relaxation that can 40

Ρότσιος, Δ. (2001). Future Vision Housing. Τρίτη Biennale Νέων Αρχιτεκτόνων. Ελληνικό Ινστιτούτο Αρχιτεκτονικής. 94

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fig 20 drawing by Lebbeus Woods

be felt in this space. This level though, is not a constant and it is not always the same, as it is formed and occurs each time depending on the human and his needs. For example the appearance of uncanny creates a relative feeling of stress and anxiety in humans, which however, in certain cases is may needed. The feeling of danger raises the adrenalin levels, putting the person in a state of alert.

The extended stress though for a long time can be tedious or even exhaustive, but for a short period might be more productive, especially if the human wants to work and not simply to relax.

The factor of the unintentional repetance is a factor that converts something harmless to something uncanny.41 It also makes humans associate everything with destiny, with the idea that it is meant to be, and of course this situation puts the human in a state of alert or even defense several times. For example how many times when an event in the life of a human is being repeated again and again without his willing, makes someone wonder if this is a coincidence or not? This situation can even generate fears, if still appears as a coincidence. So does the need for diversity is more important than we thought until now?

41

Freud, S. (2009). Το ανοίκειο. (Έ. Βαϊκούση, Trans.) Αθήνα: Πλέθρον.

42

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In addition, when the boundaries between imagination and reality disappear, then surely the human feels once again the feeling of uncanny, when something that was just an imagination now it apperas as something real.42 In this case, superstitions and prejudices appear, as residues from primitive man.

The feeling of immediate fulfillment of wishes, as well as the power of thought, clearly creates the feeling of uncanny. In these cases, the issue for a human is to be very clear that he controls reality and that nothing happens to him by accident.43 . So the human cannot accept that his thoughts may be directly or indirectly become action, especially when it is done by a machine or environment and not by him. Such thing exceeds his congenital capabilities and strengths. In this case, therefore, it is also important the issue of control as well as awareness. As awareness it is meant when the human-user knows what is inside a place and considers that indirectly he can control it.

The feeling of uncanny keeps changing and being redefined, since the changes are sometimes slow and

42

Freud, S. (2009). Το ανοίκειο. (Έ. Βαϊκούση, Trans.) Αθήνα: Πλέθρον.

52 43 Freud, S. (2009). Το ανοίκειο. (Έ. Βαϊκούση, Trans.) Αθήνα: Πλέθρον.

58-59

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fig. 21 scenes from the movie «The party», during which some non controled transfromations occur, creating unpleasant feelings.

sometimes quite sudden. Whether these changes are serving human each time depends on many factors.

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3. The housing as a result of the uncanny changing way of living

3.1 The issue of “home”

“All of architecture is colored by the problem of the house”. 44

According to Jean Helion, architects have always problematized the issue of housing. The home is the most personal space in the life of a man, the place where man spends most of his time, the place in which he always escapes to get rest and relax and thus usually in that place he feels the greater intimacy and familiarity. “It is the place in which we create our personal space and fulfil basic needs and our desires.”45 Home has always been linked to the idea of roots, identity, even if today it has lost this 44

Terence, R. (1999). The Un-Private House. New York, NY: The Museum of Modern Art. Terence, R. (1999). The Un-Private House. New York, NY: The Museum of Modern Art. 9 45 Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 12

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property. It was the fatherland and up until now it functioned as a point of reference and was also linked with the “topos”. This is why Marc Augé argued that place is up to the point where the drums of the tribe can be heard.46 By etymologically examining the greek word for household “oikia” we can understand that the notion is connected with the notion of roots and identity. It can also refer to the family, the property of the host as well as other kind of sacred building. Can it therefore be said that the word “home” maintains the importance of this even today, now that the “home” has been disconnected from its topos(place), now that it is no longer considered sacred, now that the drums of the breed can no longer be heard?

Perhaps it can in some cases, although today because of this major movement of populations, either individually or in groups and all other social changes, home does not have the same importance that had in the past. The man of today moves continuously, in many cases unable to have the time needed to feel familiar to a place.

46

Τουρνικιώτης, Π. (2006). Η Αρχιτεκτονική στη σύγχρονη εποχή. Αθήνα: Futura. 254

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The residence of the 20th century, therefore must be redefined, based on the new data. The new conditions of our time, need new ways of reaction. The home is not anymore the bubble that protects us from external adversity. In a society in which everything changes rapidly, the need for adaptation becomes greater. The city, the house, the surroundings in which we live, all these should acquire biology, should become living systems which will live,hear and feel together with humans. In a society in which everything changes rapidly, the need for adaptation becomes even greater.47 Space should interact with humans and give one another a constant feedback, it should be able to identify the needs and desires of the human, through a continuous interaction, something art has achieved up to a certain point. This is why architecture could maybe imitate this and take the form of installation. That would not only be the obedience to human's needs but also the provision of them. The challenge is to create an intelligent environment that sees, thinks, feels, reacts, and interacts with its user. An environment that will live with him, be adjusted on the basis of his own needs and desires, but that will also 47

Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 12

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41 fig. 22 ÂŤWalking City Âť, Archigram, 1963

protect him from great dangers that might appear. An environment which will regulate the level of intimacy that its user will feel.

In architecture,the process of first conceiving, then constructing and of all managing architecture allows a massive flow of interactivity. The project is judged not according to the criteria of functionality but on predecided capabilities that can potentially provide this through interaction. 48 The challenge, therefore, is to regulate the level of intimacy or any other feeling, through interaction, according to the needs of any moment, and not based on a fixed, unchangeable and constant need.

fig.23 The ÂŤFaraday chairÂť by Anthony Dunne, a device that protects human against electromagnetic radiation, that penetrates even his residence.

48

Saggio, A. (1997). New Subjectivity: Architecture between Communication and Information. Digital - Real.

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3.2 The uncanny and architecture

The human curiosity for anything new, which as mentioned above is not necessarily uncanny, leads either to gradual acceptance or to rejection. As Vilem Flusser has mentioned, according to the second law of thermodynamics, " Novelty is an improbable inversion of the general tendency toward ever greater probability, and that is terrifying precisely because it is an inversion"49.

However, eventually the new will grow old and therefore it will become probable and perhaps familiar. Somehow, the level of horror refers to the level of novelty. The newer something is the more terrible it appears.

The surealist artists have argued that architecture must meet the psychological needs of the resident-user and they rejected any attempt that was made by the Modern movement. However, Walter Benjamin parallelizes the wires of the new technological era to the curves of Art nouveau. The notion of womb as origin remarks the transition from the primitive cave to the cave and then in the tent and the dwelling. The artist Louis Soutter, argues 49

Flusser, V. (2002). writings Habit: The True Aesthetic Criterion.

Minneapolis; London: University of Minessota Press. 51

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fig. 24 Marcel Duchamp, ÂŤNude descending the staircaseÂť

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that: "the minimum house or future cell should be in translucent. No more windows, these useless eyes. Why look outside?"50. He is refering to a self-sufficient shell which could provide with the necessary the user, reducing the relationship and dependence on the outside world to the minimum. Of course this opinion is opposed to the opinion of the architects of the Modern movement such as Le Corbusier and Mies Van Der Rohe, who in purpose blur the boundary between the public and the private. This kind of intra-uterine architecture can only exist if issues on comfort, material, emotional and physical welfare, living of intimacy are solved.

Of cource the level of intimacy that someone may feel in his personal space or any other place, is a subjective and personal matter. But the question remains, whether the contemporary architecture covers the needs of today, especially as far as dwelling is concerned,a person’s more personal space, as well as if it responds to the changing everyday cyborg life. As mentioned by Anthony Vidler, the cyborg-human today is suffocating to separate the inside from outside, the public from the private, and specifies its technological society based on any new relationships that 50

Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 151

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have arisen in relation the the word “Oikos” , the household. Cities should become the mould, matrix of new forms and to join in the CODA rhythms of meta-organic life."51 Already back in 1938, on the 11th issue of the magazine ' Minotaur ', there had been made a reference to the senses and materials, with particular interest in soft materials, which come against the architecture of rationality and refer to the womb of the mother, the most familiar place in the life of a human, according to Freud.

Robert Kronenburg, one of the supporters of the transformable architecture nowadays, argues that the space which can achieve the ultimate degree of flexibility is the space that will probably be completely formless and transitional. This space can change color, shape,level of sound/lighting/temperature as the user moves through it.

The limits between soft and hard, hot and cold, wet and dry become vague.52 Therefore, the question that comes up, is how can the human return to a “womb” architecture, released from any supressing feelings. In other words, we need some kind of control or regulator with which, fig. 25 J. Mayer H., thermosensitive sheets that keep the imprint of human

51

Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 147 52 Kronenburg, R. (2007). Flexible: Architecture that responds to Change. London: Laurence King Publishing. 11

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different levels of stress, adrenaline, tension, relaxation, at every time. The feelings and emotions keep changing and so are human.

After all the rapid developments in technology, science and society more generally, the house is no longer the bubble-container that protects us from the vicissitudes of external environment, or even if it is, it does not protect us much as it should.53 Already in the past there had made some efforts for creating such bubbles that could function independently from the rest of the environment and to provide a secure place in its resident. The first deliberate attempt to create an autonomous building during the 20th century was the Dymaxion House from the architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller. This attempt had as a goal the creation of an autonomous residence, something like a stand-alone bubble within which a man may be hosted without needing anything other from the external environment. It was something like is the womb, the first dwelling of human beings, in which the baby has everything it needs. Completely detached from the environment it creates a bubble in which lives and grows. fig. 26 Dymaxion House by Buckminster Fuller 53 Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 148

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As mentioned above, we are witnessing this new world order resulting from the new type of human.

Therefore, the redefinition of the meaning of the bedroom, the dining room, the living room, even of the housing as a whole cannot be ignored.54 The walls inside a dwelling are not defining anymore the function they used to define.

Transformability and variability in humans’ life has invaded at their homes as well. Laptops for example, are transferred from the kitchen to the bedroom and from the bedroom to the living room, turning all those spaces in some way in a workplace. Of course this happened at the same time that the work from home became really popular, especially via Internet. “Multitasking” is a word that has become a key term in our glossary. Since we ourselves are dealing with more than one or two things at the same time, why should not our homes do the same, why not follow the habits of their residents?

Even the human's personality has somehow gained this property of multitasking, of the multiple processes. As Sherry Turkle argues, the human after his very close contact with the machine, the computer and its environment, is now redefining how he sees himself, taking 54

Τουρνικιώτης, Π. (2006). Η Αρχιτεκτονική στη σύγχρονη εποχή. Αθήνα: Futura. 272

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fig. 27 chair-device with control panel (Γ.Ορφανός, Δ. Παπαδόπουλος)

the Freudian theories one step further. The human and the way he acts, is parallelized in the way that Windows are running in the environment of computer. A person is not consisted anymore from many different roles of himself, which change one to another, but on the contrary, from one uniform self, which is consisted of several different roles at the same time. “…Windows have become a potent metaphor for thinking about the self as a multiple, distributed system. According to the metaphor, the self is no longer simply playing different roles in different settings, something that people experience when, for example, a woman wakes up as a lover, makes breakfast as a mother, and drives to work as a lawyer. The life practice of windows is of a distributed self that exists in many worlds and plays many roles at the same time.”55 Of course, every time of the day, a human needs a different kind of intimacy and in a defferent level.

Sometimes the need but also the mood of the user requires open large spaces and sometimes small, cosy and private rooms that make you feel more familiarity. As a tenant of one convertible house, mr Gallop says “it is very important to have the feel of open space, but also to have privacy 55

Turkle, S. (2005). Computational Technologies and Images of the Self.

Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

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when I need it”.56 Every person feels the need to both be amused in large spaces and relax in a place that feels that it is protected from everything. The personality and the character of each space and each room can change dramatically with a simple move, such as an opening or closing a moving element. “Don't be afraid to experiment.

The great thing about convertible living is that it’s designed to be changeable.” Andrew Franz.57 Transformability is the tendency to change and alteration. But it is not a simle and individual change but rather a tendency to change, a constant in human’s mind with technological terms, a constant that is characterized by the idea of «becoming».58

56

Lam, A., & Thomas, A. (2007). Convertible Houses. Utah: Gibbs Smith Publisher. 13; 15 57 Lam, A., & Thomas, A. (2007). Convertible Houses. Utah: Gibbs Smith Publisher. 13; 176 58 Tofts, D., Jonson, A., & Cavallaro, A. (2004). Prefiguring Cyberculture: An Intellectual History. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

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4. Transformable architecture

4.1 Transformability as a regulator of the level of intimacy

It can be said that there is no architecture that is intended to generate the feeling of uncanny, i.e. that there is no architecture of uncanny. But architecture is from time to time and for different reasons each time can be accompanied with the feeling of uncanny. Maybe it is always present but not active so the important thing is to try to find a way to regulate the activity or inactivity of the feeling of the uncanny in every occasion.

This regulator, could be transformability, as it carries by definition the meaning of adaptation and adjustment. Transformability, either mechanical or perceptual, is a satisfactory response to these questions precisely because of the different solutions that can provide at anytime. However, the transformable architecture had not always been accepted by architects, especially before the Modern movement. In many if not all

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cases it is connected with the nomadic architecture, and of course with emergency situations such as earthquakes, floods, etc., in order to accommodate the people in need.

But it would be interesting to identify which were historically the reasons that led to the emerge and spread of the transformability. The issue of motion has been problematized by many architects, throuout the centureis.

Frank Gehry has said: «When I look outside the door, what do I see? An airplane flying over, a car passing by.

Everything is moving. That is our environment. Architecture should deal with that.»59 Also in the past the architects had to deal with this issue. Especially with the Modern movement the factor "motion" was more current and popular than ever before. Some of the reasons are, because originally Modernism was deeply influenced by machine, a key element of which is of course the motion. It is also known that Le Corbusier in the book "Towards an architecture," describes the house as a machine for living.

More specifically he states: “A house is a machine for living in. Baths, sun, hot water, cold water, warmth at will, fig. 28 housing as «a machine to live», drawing by Lebbeus Woods

conservation of food, hygiene, beauty in a sense of good proportion. An armchair is a machine for sitting in and so 59

From Shiva to Disney. (2004). New Perpectives Quarterly , 21 (1).

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on.”60 Moreover, architects are no longer only occupied by designing buildings but furniture and objects in general as well, of any scale and use. Many examples of such architects can be found, from Mies Van Der Rohe to Rietveld and Gropius to Le Corbusier. Finally, the rapid development of science and the application of physics in every aspect of life, set new foundations.61 The environment is perceived by human as something very dynamic and in no case can be characterized by anything fig. 29 drawing by Lebbeus Woods

static. Physics as a science refers to notions such as motion, action, reaction and interaction, notions that as a consequence are moved into our daily lives.

The residence of today is not enough to simply fit within the wider urban fabric, but it must also acquire a more social behavior towards human. As interactive systems are not defined the systems that are unchanged, but instead the ones that taking process all the datas and they extract the best possible result. And of course it should not be confuses the interactive top-level with the hi-tech. Something can interact with its environment, 60

fig. 30 «machine to live», by Lebbeus Woods

Le Corbusier. (2004). Για µία Αρχιτεκτονική. (Π. Τουρνικιώτης, Trans.) Αθήνα: Εκκρεµές. 74 61 Oungrinis, K. Transformations: Paradigms for designing transformable Spaces. Harvard design school, department of Architecture, design and technologies report series 2005-2006. 10-11

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without being hi-tech, working with cutting-edge technologies.62 How would it be for example, if the space would change colors depending on our psychology, or depending on how tired we are or not, if it would regulate how light or dark the room is etc. This new perception of things, cyberception, helps people to see things not linear, as they did before. On the contrary, human today has a sense of the whole and interacts with it very quickly, but also has access and interacts with a lot of available data, available due to the existence of the global network. fig. 31 Pachube application

A nice example is the development and use of Pachube, a basis upon specific applications can be developed. It is used already to monitor the energy use of a building via PDA or laptop in real time and take corrective actions. The data exchanged and stored in databases can vary from energy consumption and wind speed up the exploitation of resources and levels of carbon dioxide.63 According to Antonino Saggio, “If transparency provided the aesthetics and ethics, the reason and the technique for a world that rationally wished to see the

62

Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 118-120 63 Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 141

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fig.32 Pachube application

progress of civilization, and better standards of living for the vast masses of workers in industry (and it succeeded!), I hope that interactivity may serve to focus contemporary thought on an architecture that, having overcome the objectivity of our needs, can respond to the subjectivity of our wishes”.64 So far, architecture might was something like shopping, non customized products, standardized and beautified at the market products ready for consumption by the public, indifferent to every human need, which in theory should serve. As Roy Ascott, states "in the future we will all live in physical forms with mental dimensions inside the limitless cyberspace”.65 It has been reported thatin the future we will live in an online process that will be controlled through machines.

64

Saggio, A. (1997). New Subjectivity: Architecture between Communication and Information. Digital - Real.

65 Ascott, R. (1994). The Architecture of Cyberception. The 5th Inernational Symposium on electronic Art. Helsinki: ISEA '94.

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5. Criteria of recognition After mentioning the factors that shape the degree of familiarity or not a of a human-user with his personal space, an attempt is made to transfer them to space. The criteria listed below arise after research on psychology texts, which are then transfered to the field of architecture. There are of course many other factors to shape the degree of familiarity of a human to a space, but these do not arise from the field of psychoanalysis, studied in this research, and so it will not be mentioned. The scale with which familiarity is measured is from 1. the most desirable to 3. the least desirable. The classification was done according to data collected from questionnaires in order for the results to be as objective as possible.

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5.1 control by the user | 1. indirect, 2. direct, 3. automation

The issue of control is a key factor that determines the degree of familiarity. It is depended on the possibility of the environment to be adapted to human at his initiative and not act independently disregarding the user. The user wants to feel that he defines the changes that may occur at his house. The opposite is quite strange for him, and causes the feeling of the uncanny, as mentioned by Sigmund Freud. Therefore the issue of control is one of the leading factors in the appearance of the uncanny. Control can then be either direct, that is to happen after the action of human-user, or indirect, to be preceded or caused by some action of a person without aiming at this change, or to be automated ,meainig independent of any actions of the human-user. The indirect control gives the advantage of control, but without becoming tedious and boring, as it direct control becomes in most of the cases, because of the time needed for the transformation to be completed.

Automation on the other hand, makes people feel very

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little responsible for any change so the feeling of the uncanny is created for longer.

5.2 access - appearance of the mechanism |1.semi-visible, 2.visible, 3.hidden

A very controversial issue, is whether a mechanism should be visible to the user or not. Benjammin Otto, director of a group of architects who speciallize in technology planning in residential buildings mentions: “Many clients want the technology to be invisible. Pure technology modules such as video recorders are often considered objectionable. We thus try to integrate these devices into the architecture in the shapeliest and most invisible manner.�66 In this way customers obviously feel they are enforced on machines and that they do not depend on it. The oppsoite case is the case where technology is visible to the user. Technology is in a way 66

Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 13

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"desacrilized" and becomes a tool in the hands of ordinary users.67 Thus, human becomes more friendly and open to technology and the changes that technology brings. The user knows what's next to him and so he feels more confident that he can deal with it or even be imposed at it, if necessary. So technology works as an extension of human and not as a standalone machine, perhaps one more honest approach to technology. However, this factor is related to the control that a person wants to feel, an issue problematized mostly by Freud. As visible mechanism is defined the mechanism that we know that it is there , there is direct access to it and is visible to the human eye.

As a semi-visible mechanism, we define the mechanism that is both accessible to humans for potential intervention or even repair, but not obvious to the eye. Finally, we define hidden mechanism theo one that is not accessible to man nor obvious. The semi-visible mechanism, therefore, gives a person the highest degree of familiarity because he feels he can control it at any time and for any reason, but without loses in aesthetics. A hidden mechanism, gives the least possible control in humans, making it even more difficult the familiarization of a person with a space.

67

Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture

by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 27

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5.3 speed of transformation |1. medium, 2. low, 3. high

The speed of transformation, especially when it is a mechanical one, affects in a large part the familiriazation or not of the changes by the human. When a person can neither control nor determine something and this keeps changing gradually, in many cases, this constitutes a small "threat" to him, even if he does not realize it at first. On the other hand, something that the human himself operates and modulates at will, which radically transforms, then it is easier to familiarize with it, since this is the extension of his will and desire. It is a machine which acts according to the human’s will. As mentioned by Ernst Jentsch and in the theory of the Uncanny Valley later, when something lifeless, starts moving and becoming live, then the feeling of uncanny is created. The speed that something transforms defines whether the person will perceive the

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change and will accept it or not. When we talk either for perceptual transformability, that is usually not directly controlled by the user, or mechanical, which is usually connected directly to the user, the speed can range from slow to medium to fast.

As slow can be characterized the speed during which the data may change and a new adjustment is required.

Middle is characterized the move that occurs in a sufficient time for a person to see the result, keep up with the changes and of course to realize it. High can be described the speed during which the user does not have enough time to perceive the transfrormations immediately and to intervene if a change has to be made. Because of the scale of a house, which is small to medium, as an ideal speed we can characterize the medium speed, second one the slow second and last one the high speed.

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5.4 correspondence of materials |1. strong, 2. medium, 3. small

The materials of a space, especially in a house, form to a large extent the reaction and feelings that are created in humans. Materiality indeed has always been a great issue in the toolbox of every architect and rarely plays a secondary role in an architectural composition, as it has the ability to completely change both the image and the sense paeople are having inside or outside a space. Soft and flexible materials, which as we mentioned, refer to an endometrial architecture, similar to our mother's womb, create the conditions for a faster and more effective familiarization of a person with space. The constant reference to an endometrial architecture refers us in the search "of smart materials" that live and react to each stimulus received from humans. Surfaces that have ‘memory’ and keep the imprint of human, walls that take different color depending on the weather, glazings that change appearance and objects that their mold is determined by the form of human, are just some examples of these smart materials. The greater the response of such

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materials the more direct the familiarity that someone may feel arround a space. These materials become the extension of human’s memory, and since the materials acquire their own database in which all information regarding humans are stored.

5.5 limit’s sharpness of the shell |1. strong, 2. medium, 3. small

Architecture has always been characterized by a sustained effort to clarify and distinguish boundaries but also to define its qualities. The complete lack of boundaries between the outside and and the inside,between the public and the private makes people lose their limits in general and their orientation. Of course we not are talking about absolute, solid and stable boundaries, but for symbolically, which also serve as reference points. The lack of boundary between the inside and the outside may create the inability of a person to separate himself from the whole, to seperate

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the individual from society. As stated by Anthony Vidler, the person who is unable to find the new boundaries of interior and exterior, is often confused; and this situation is a condition that predominantly causes the appearance of the uncanny. People who live in spaces that are in constant exposure to the eyes of everyone,at some point feel quite uncomfortable, and constantly exposed. Should therefore be given particular attention in this matter and to be controllable each time how much or not is the user exposed to the undesirable glances of passersby. The non-separation of the interior from the exterior became more intense after the extensive use of transparency, especially after Modernism. Both transparency and reflection, the appearance of our idol on the glass, are reasons for uncanny to appear. According once again to Anthony Vidler, transparency is almost impossible to be achieved and often either turns into its opposite, opacity, or the inverse of it, reflection. So even if theoretically transparency could promote a healthier architecture, as Modernists argued,yet we are not sure about the mental health of the users, since now the person detects himself in the reflection of the glass and not in the space that he actually is. Maybe the answer to this would be that if we take for granted that

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transparency cannot be achieved and maintained, then perhaps the man could define the degree of opacity, reflection or transparency, so that he feels a good as possible each time.

5.6 perception of alteration - form |1. medium, 2. small, 3. strong

The percentage of alteration that a person perceives defines also the degree of the feeling of uncanny in that same space. As transformation can be considered, for example, a door that opens and closes, but because of the very small scale especially in relation to the whole, it does not upset, nor raises the interest of a human. So the importan is what dimensions has the object that transforms and whether a man perceives it. Ernst Jentsch, talked about the strange feeling that someone feels when something big, from the trunk of a tree to a huge snake, acquires life and starts moving. This raises the issue of both form and scale, the percentage of change that the human

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eye perceives. The form, if altered partially, has a smaller percentage of perception than of the complete change, which also means the creation of a new form. So we can define as rate of change, the changing space to the total space and in any case to be able to check the rate given.

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6. Conclusions

At the beginning of this research and after analyzing the new data in the structure of society and therefore the dwelling, the question that came up was whether and in what way transformability can regulate the degree of intimacy of the living places, in order to achieve each time the desired or needed level of intimacy and relaxation.

The existence of the feeling of the uncanny can be taken for granted from the beginning, since it may appear at any time, even for something that previously was not uncanny. So the question now is not whether or not something is uncanny, but instead, how intense that feeling is. In other words, even in the cases that it is desired how can it be adjusted using the factors reported above.

After extensive reference to some of the factors that shape the degree of familiarity of a person-user with his personal space, there was an attempt to transfer them to the space itself. The criteria listed, have arisen from the study of psychoanalysis texts, which are then transferred to the field of architecture. There are many other factors as well that define the degree of intimacy of a person within a

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specific space, but these do not arise from the field of psychoanalysis and will not be reported in this study. The familiarity acquired is measured on a scale from 1. the lowest level of uncanny , to 3. highest level of uncanny.

The classification was done according to data collected from questionnaires in order to obtain objective results.

More specifically, six factors emerged. The first factor is the control by the user, meaning whether and to what extent each person controls and defines these changes based on his needs and desires. The second one is the access and appearance of the mechanism, the ability of the human both to have access and the opportunity to intervene at any time on the mechanism but also on whether these devices are visible to the human eye.

Moreover, the speed of transformation causes different speed of perception by humans and is a key factor in the familiarization of a specific place. The correspondence of materials, meaning the “memory” that the materials are acquiring in order to store data related to the characteristics and behaviors of its’ users, make someone attain another relationship and contact with space.

Furthermore, the limit’s sharpness of the shell is just as important as it creates a reference point to the man

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himself. Finally, the perception of alteration - form is related to the degree of a given change, something that derives from how radically a space changes.

Of course, not all factors can reach their highest level at the same time, nonetheless the more the better for the best results possible. Care by the architect must be comprehensive and multidimensional. Ι believe that at this point of time, we are on a transitional phase. On one hand some questions have arisen in relation to this issue and some attempts have been made to answer them with the help of technology; but on the other hand the human has not yet become familiar with these technologies and can exhibit a relative prejudice towards them. For these reasons, in my opinion, the complete integration of transformability in all aspects of architecture has not been fully developed, but rather we can say that there have been only small and smooth interventions and adjustments.

With the possibility of variation but also of adaptation of the level of uncanny that someone may feel in a place, his different feelings are also affected.

Transformability may become a tool in the architect’s hands, which should be used wisely and carefully in order to improve the conditions of contemporary living. Going

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one-step further, it would be interesting to include the degree of familiarity of a place within the principles of designing.

“…We must have walls like damp sheets which deform themselves and join with our psychological fears… the body insinuated as into a mold, as into a matrix based on our movements.”68

Matta Echaurren

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Vidler, A. (1992). The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely. Boston, MA: The MIT Press. 153

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Images

fig.1 http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k258/mmadttog/010101_an i.gif (visited 05.06.2012) fig.2 http://www.futurehi.net/images/sl3a.jpg (visited 03.07.2010) fig.3 personal archive fig.4 http://worldofweirdthings.com/wpcontent/uploads/2009/12/matrix_pod_fetus_440.jpg (visited 02.06.2012) fig.5 Pepperell, R. (2003). The Posthuman Condition: Consciousness beyond the brain. Bristol, Great Britain: Cromwell Press. 76 fig.6 http://projects.vanartgallery.bc.ca/publications/75years/pdf/Hi ne_Lewis_74.pdf fig.7 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lieb0128/architecure/links/CyberSpacethe%20Matrix.jpg (visited 04.07.2010) fig.8 http://www.mondolithic.com/wpcontent/uploads/2008/11/posthuman-evolution.jpg (visited 03.06.2012) fig.9 http://www.kultur-online.net/files/exhibition/03_274.jpg (visited 04.06.2012) fig.10 http://cuilcheanna.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/20_francis-

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bacon_triptych-in-memory-of-georgedyer_19711.jpg?w=510&h=219 (visited 02.06.2012) fig.11 http://thisrecording.com/storage/francis-bacon-portraitof-george-dyer-talking19662.jpe.jpeg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1245161366844 (visited 02.06.2012) fig.12 http://www.kheper.net/topics/psychology/freuds_model.jpg (visited 02.06.2012) fig.13 http://cuilcheanna.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/bacon_triptych 1973.jpg?w=509&h=226 (visited 02.06.2012) fig.14 www.hive-mind.com/travel/2007/10/le-mur-vert.htm (visited 14.06.2010) fig.15 http://nameforbaby.istheissue.com/images/unborn.jpg (visited 14.06.2010) fig.16 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley (visited 14.05.2012) fig.17 http://www.toplessrobot.com/uncanny_graph_blog.jpg (visited 30.05.2012) fig.18 http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2003-08/manwho-mistook-his-girlfriend-robot (vivisted 02.06.2012) fig.19 http://images.usatoday.com/tech/_photos/2006/11/22/robots47 2.jpg (visited 04.06.2012) fig.20 http://lebbeuswoods.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/firminstall3.j pg?w=562&h=714 (visited 02.06.2012) fig.21 personal archive fig.22 http://dprbcn.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/manhattanoneirocritica-fredrik-hellberg/ (visited 02.06.2012) fig.23 Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture by Technology. Berlin: Jovis. 58 fig.24 http://fc3arch.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/nudedescending-a-staircase-no-2-by-marcel-duchamp/ (vistited 07.06.2012) fig.25 www.jmayerh.de (visited 05.06.2012)

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fig.26 http://cva.ap.buffalo.edu/20x20/?page_id=2 (visited 02.03.2012) fig.27 Καλαφάτη, Ε., & Παπαλεξόπουλος, Δ. (2006). Τάκης Χ. Ζενέτος, Ψηφιακά Οράµατα και Αρχιτεκτονική. Αθήνα: Libro. 54 fig.28 http://lebbeuswoods.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/lwblogyendo-71.jpg (visited 05.06.2012) fig.29 http://images.sub-studio.com/images/2009/0921leb.jpg (visited 30.05.2012) fig.30 http://lebbeuswoods.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/lwblogyendo-83.jpg (visited 02.05.2012) fig.31 Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture by Technology. Berlin: Jovis.139 fig.32 Heinich, N., & Fransiska, E. (2009). Sensing Space: Future Architecture by Technology. Berlin: Jovis.141

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