Digital Civic Places

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CONTEMPORARY THEORY ESSAY Studies in Contemporary Architectural Theory M Arch 1 | Robert Hebblethwaite


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“Digital information technologies, networks and forms of communication are destroying traditional notions of place. Discuss in relation to your own response as a designer...” Digital technologies are forcing traditional place to become hybridised, augmented, mediated and performative. Civic architecture, such as political assemblies, theatres, and libraries, illustrates how notions of public place, individual and collective identity, social participation and exchange are transformed. Political Theatre, my design project in the Faroe Islands, responds to the global broadcast of political conferences and theatre. Its architecture embraces physical context, houses media prosthetics, facilitates temporal occupation, and offers public gathering space. Traditional places are spaces with character, that allow working, living and visiting, serve as geographical anchors, create psychological stability and a sense of belonging.1 The urban environment enables constitution of individual identity, and propagates civic identity. Public spaces facilitate the gathering of private individuals to reproduce civil society through social exchange: ‘spontaneity of uses, density of interaction, freedom of expression, [and] the multi-functionality of space’.2 Universal access is maintained by negotiation between conflicting users. In Building, Dwelling, Thinking, Martin Heidegger pursues an etymological analysis of traditional place, returning to its roots as dwelling. Primarily, place is defined by the natural environment and human existence (the fourfold). Building (bauen) arises from the need to dwell (buan): ‘to stay in a place’, therefore ‘to build is in itself already to dwell’.3 All human activity encompasses dwelling and building, which produces man-made structures and cultivates the land. Staying in place implies ‘staying with things’, a process of protection and preservation.4 Living (wohnen) is to grow accustomed, inhabit and peacefully belong. Architecture gathers space together to create place. Heidegger’s example, the bridge, has a unique identity: both as a conduit for flows of people and water, and a demarcation of each bank.5 Mental attachment is important, since ‘space is neither an external object nor an inner experience’.6 Places extend our identity by being part of a continuous tradition, updated for a community in the common present.7 They facilitate a full life, termed the Fourfold. It includes Earth (ground, nature and growing), the Sky (looking beyond the earth to the eternity of time), Mortals (accepting our fixed existence and eventual death) and Divinities (our needs are provided for by anonymous creation).8 Each epoch has its own mode of dwelling, which is constantly evolving through thought. Heidegger states: ‘only if we are capable of dwelling can we build’.9 Digital technology is redefining staying in a place, influencing the public realm, identity, and social exchange. 3


Firstly, physical and electronic places are being hybridised, dissolving boundaries to create a fluid interface. Globalisation, rapid transportation and instantaneous communication submit dwelling to the logic of networks, nodes and flows. Unlike agrarian or industrial societies, we are not geographically fixed by cultivation. In the Network Society, the Space of Flows, links ‘electronically separate locations in an interactive network that connects activities and people in distinct geographic contexts’, and the Space of Places structures ‘experience and activity around the confines of locality’.10 The former controls the global economy, international media, and digital technology, whilst the latter relates to ‘work, private life, cultural identity and political participation’.11 These oppositions no longer adequately describe the entwined interaction between the physical and virtual. Traditional places of gathering and exchange, such as the marketplace, are being recreated online. Virtual communities use social networks to organise and supplement physical meeting. Geographic locations are tagged with GPS to have an electronic presence (fig 1). Mobile devices create a data cloud, revealing habitual rituals tied to the metropolitan landscape (fig 2). Perhaps modern cultivation is about occupation, socialisation and the rich occurences of everyday life. Currently, architecture conceals this electronic layer, but imagine if buildings were to dynamically update and render it visible. The Information Age has created paradoxes. The more globalisation takes hold, the more importance of local identity, roots, culture and values is stressed. Increased remote interaction leads in-fact to a rise in physical travel. Most significantly, the character, function and identity of traditional places still persist, but in new forms. Recombinant Design describes the transformation of civic institutions, to incorporate digital technology.12 The Seattle Central Library presents access to new and old media as an information store.13 Modern civic buildings read in continuity with urban context, deploying the façade as a skin (fig 3). On the exterior, the Seattle Central Library is a distinct architectural object. Yet the interior has visual porosity, designed as a ‘complex microcosm of urban fabric and the digital world beyond’.14 Visitors experience a ‘fluid intersection of spaces through which social actors move, rehearsing their role in civic life’. (fig 5)15 Similarly, the New Danish Broadcasting Hall dissolves interior and exterior through a projected media façade (fig 4).16 Activity in the concert hall is extended to the urban scale, since the building is visible from the Copenhagen Metro. Architecture in the digital era is one of extensity. Political Theatre, my studio project, responds to increasing connectivity in the Faroe Islands, through physical infrastructural prosthetics, sub-sea tunnels and causeways giving rise to the Faroese Network City (fig 6), and global electronic communication. International political conferences and theatrical events will be simulcast globally. There was a conscious decision to make the building continuous with the city and environment, by leaving the theatre auditorium open to the elements, and incorporating views to Klaksvik, the Faroese fishing industry and fjord beyond. For performances, selective levels of enclosure may be deployed to combine surroundings with the drama. The tower and concourse are key elements visible from the town, symbolising a civic 4


Fig 1: Physical locations can be geotagged, rendering them visible in the electronic world.45

Fig 2: The electronic and physical worlds readily intertwine. Geneva traffic circulation: habitual routine highly tied to specific place.44

Fig 3: Seattle Central Library (2004), Office for Metropolitan Architecture. Facade porosity creates continuity with the urban context.46

Fig 4: Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen (2009) Jean Nouvel. Projection on the facade extends action from interior to exterior47

Fig 5: The Mixing Chamber, Seattle Central Library, presents traditional and digital media together48 5


destination, and functioning as a social-exchanger. Beside political conferences, broadcasting, theatrical events and sheltered outdoor space, there is a Faroese COMMUNICATION IN AN ISLAND TERRITORY archive is available online, and for enjoyment in media library. The digitised [PROSTHETICS] {Interlinked Vessels} its original format (for example, Cinefilm). Viewing can be either individual, in Faroe Atlantic | Robert Hebblethwaite specialised capsules, or as a collective in the reading room. Hybrid electronic and physical architecture reconsiders dwelling for the digital era. Successful civic places incorporate technology through reinvention, and retain their social qualities in new forms.

LEGEND KlaksvĂ­k - FĂĄmjin [Thread] Settlement Outlines [Vessels] Roads [Prosthetics] Ferry Routes Service Stations Electricity Grid Lighthouses Telephony Digital Transmitters 0

10km

Fig 6: Communication in an Island Territory, Faroe Islands. Physical infrastructure, sub-sea tunnels and causeways, and electronic communication networks are represented. KEY TERMS Infrastructural Prosthetic: Faroese infrastructure grafts individual fjords together. Performance and Performativity: Infrastructure is a rich performance of everyday life. 6


Fig 7: A Stop-motion film, created on the last remaining ferry, served as a tool to reimagine KlaksvĂ­k harbour. These digital annotations were distilled from an analogue drawing

Fig 8: Poised between town and fjord, Political Theatre is a civic platform that hosts party-political conferences, broadcasting, theatre, and public gathering. 7


Augmented reality demonstrates that the Information Age caters for a new, highly individualised subject. Mobile electronic communication assembles constellations of family, friends and colleagues across physical locations and time zones, instantly creating Time-Space compression.17 For the electronic nomad, ground moves in relation to our electronic apparatus: the laptop computer, smartphone and tablet. Augmented reality is a digital overlay offering a personalised information feed. Humans read as continuous with their environment. Illustrating that the ‘city historically constructed is no longer lived and is no longer understood practically,’18 augmented reality transfers importance away from urban hardware to software. Perception is always influenced by age, gender, class and experience, and so may already be seen as interactive.19 Each individual creates their own reality, which now incorporates a digital layer. Virtual services extend individual sovereignty, removing the need to form secondary relationships with human providers such as travel agents or bankers.20 In turn, more time is devoted to maintaining primary relationships, through remote synchronous communication. Splintering Urbanism and Castell’s Dual City maintain that personalised electronic networks are ‘machines of deliberate segmentation’,21 connecting the wealthy, powerful and influential, and bypassing less economically productive demographics, often in close geographic proximity. The digital revolution has universal reach, but caters for pluralistic values and interests, making the sharing of collective societal values more difficult. Hence, there is an increased importance on the design of public space, as the place where private individuals become citizens. Civil society, community and the public realm is challenged by a capsular existence. A digital civic must encourage genuine embodied social interaction whilst using technology.22 The Seattle Public Library dedicates space for social interaction; such as the Living Room (fig 9), an area for gathering, reading and Internet browsing; and the Mixing Chamber, a digital media centre.23 The tall atrium void permits chance encounters. Programmatic elements are visually porous, reinforcing simultaneity of experience between users in a functional, rather than symbolic manner.24 Direct social interaction is not enforced, but it is also impossible to remain fully isolated. Contemporary political assemblies encourage meeting between politicians and the public. At the Welsh Assembly (fig 10), the plinth is conceptualised as an extension of Cardiff Bay, welcoming the electorate into the assembly, and allowing them view the Siambr (debating chamber) beneath.25 Transparent democracy and public place is demarcated by the roof plane; which passes over the Oriel, a gathering space and café (fig 11). At the heart of Political Theatre is an elaborate concourse that connects the box office, bar, restaurant, media library, tower, conference rooms and actors changing rooms (fig 12). Interweaving staircases maintain a visual connection between patrons and actors, but ensure physical separation. At the foot of the stair, the drama of an actor’s entry to the auditorium is heightened. The reading room permits collective viewing of traditional and digital media. Conference facilities have a dual aspect to the concourse and the auditorium. Their timber screens contrast with the concrete mega-structure. In the digital era, staying in place increasingly refers to remote maintenance of individual relationships. However, civic architecture resists hyper-individualisation, with embodied interaction, freedom of expression and collective ownership. Socialisation occurs in degrees: visual awareness of simultaneous occupation, spontaneous encounters at gathering spaces, and mixing on the concourse. 8


Fig 9: The Living Room, Seattle Central Library, a spontaneous gathering place49

Fig 10: National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff (2006) Richard Rogers Partnership. The plinth and sailing roof extend the assembly to the bay, welcoming the public50

Fig 11: The Oriel maintains a visual connection to the landscape, and debating chamber below. It is a place where political representatives and the electorate can meet51

Fig 12: The heart of Political Theatre is an elaborate concourse, which connects the passage of patrons and actors52 9


Digital media has developed from a means to understand place, becoming the primary way it is experienced.26 In contrast to Heidegger’s notion of dwelling, attached to origins and preserving ancestral ground, electronic mediation means we associate with multiple locations and communities. Transmission presents architecture in a fragmentary, selective, intensified, and remote manner.27 For example, tele-presence services like Skype mean we can identify with the location of distant relatives and friends, without ever physically visiting (fig 13). Embodied experience connects with all experiential aspects of architecture, whereas broadcasting emphasises the visual and remote. The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are technologically advanced political organisations, which webcast all business live (fig 14). Their chambers become chassis for digital prosthetics, such as microphones, computer podiums, electronic voting systems and translation consoles (figs 15-16). Both institutions have broadcasting booths, translation rooms and dedicated media offices to rapidly disseminate information. Digital media also influences design through increased important on sequencing, to create a hierarchy of formality.28 For instance, the Scottish Parliament incorporates the Black and White Corridor and the Garden Concourse (fig 18), areas removed from the chamber where the media conduct reaction interviews with MSPs.29 Political Theatre comprises two sequences, shown by visualisations, and a digital animation. The patron is directed from the box office, to the bars, cloakroom, toilets, auditorium, interval refreshments, and eventual departure. Actors enter, change, apply makeup, wait in the green-room, perform, and celebrate afterwards. The contrast between representational techniques: well developed architectural moments, with intervening space between, illustrates that the media image is often seen as complete, but is in fact very selective.30 Authenticity of place is questioned through the spectacle, ‘a social relation among persons mediated by images’.31 Two recent examples: the inauguration of New Broadcasting House by the Queen, and the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, illustrate how it is becoming harder to distinguish between truth and simulacra. New Broadcasting House (2012) (figs 19-20) is ‘the iconic home of the BBC reinvented for the digital future’,32 integrating news, radio, television and online services. It includes the largest live news room in Europe, fronted by the BBC News 24 studio. To the viewer, it is difficult to tell whether the newsroom is physically present or a projection from a remote location. The Queen’s official opening visit (7th June 2013) removed the possibility of illusion, when the newsreaders observed the monarch and gave spontaneous applause (fig 21).33 At New Broadcasting House, place is reinforced as important, with many programmes (such as the One Show) strongly referencing its identity. The World Piazza has loudspeakers linked to the output of the World Service, emphasising the BBC’s global connections. Yet it also hosts temporary events, such as fundraising for Sports Relief, and is where celebrities, media personalities and fans meet. The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games is a counterpoint. Danny Boyle combined live action with pre-recorded footage, splicing the real and fiction. Interactive Pixels installed in the stadium seating celebrated the 10


Fig 13: Hayden White, fellow student, and his friend Rawan communicate via Skype. Hayden is familiar with Rawan’s home in Kuwait, though he is unlikely to physically visit

Fig 14: All official business at the Scottish Parliament is webcast live. Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, answers questions53

Fig 15: The chamber at the National Assembly for Wales incorporates advanced digital technology54

Fig 16: Conference facilities. Architecture is becoming a chassis for digital prosthetics, with emphasis on the props and furniture of activity55

Fig 17: Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh (2004) EMBT and RMJM. The Media Tower is arguably the most dominant part of the complex, when viewed from the exterior.56

Fig 18: The Garden Concourse allows the media to conduct reaction interviews with MSPs, is an informal gathering place, and hosts temporary events, such as artist exhibitions.57

Fig 5: The Mixing Chamber, Seattle Central Library, presents traditional and digital media togetherx 11


invention of the Internet, the casting of the Rings was simulated with lighting, and images were projected onto inflatables (fig 22). The sketch of the Queen and Daniel Craig at Buckingham Palace, and the arrival of the Olympic Torch by Speedboat extended the ceremony to London. For the Queen, footage of a helicopter ride to the Olympic Park cut to a stunt double parachuting into the stadium (fig 23). The real monarch then appeared on stage.34 Simulacra, theorised by Baudrillard, value ‘appearance over existence’.35 Consumed as a mass spectacle, their authenticity and originality is unimportant. Digital technology makes it easier to manipulate space for dramatic effect. Political Theatre fuses physical location with live action, emphasising authenticity of place by encompassing its surroundings, and recycling activity in the building’s under-croft. If, as Heidegger suggests, place ‘is neither an external object nor an inner experience’, generated by thought,36 traditional place was already fictitious. However, media disrupts the auto-poetic act for strategic aims, such as politics, commerce, or entertainment. The Political Theatre aims to explicitly associate Klaksvik with Faroese politics and drama, bringing economic growth to the area. Theatre is being reconceived for simulcast. In November 2013, the Royal Shakespeare Company broadcast Richard II live from Stratford-upon‑Avon to 350 cinemas around the UK. Producer, John Wyvr, describes how the transmission replicated the theatre experience, and enhanced it with developing shots. In particular, a large telescopic crane roved the auditorium and could zoom into the action (fig 24-25).37 The simulcast introduced Stratford-upon-Avon with a short archival montage, before transitioning to the embodied audience, who remained discernible throughout the performance. Like at Stratford, the auditorium of Political Theatre is equipped with many types of camera, which can broadcast live, or capture footage for later editing. The local audience is far fewer than those who are remote, rendering the experience as one of watching a team produce action for a virtual audience. The Faroese Nation is an interesting case, as the population form a worldwide diaspora that periodically return to their homeland.38 Therefore, Political Theatre is a fluid digital gateway that preserves attachment to place by bringing together a virtual, national community. In this sense, traditional dwelling as a form of community still originates from place, but is extended remotely through electronic mediation. Increasingly, place is now viewed as performative, with emphasis on ‘occurrences, events and scenarios’. 39 Harvey describes how Late Capitalism has developed to market ephemeral spectacles, because they are short in duration, and decoupled from physicality. At an urban scale, mobile devices measure performances of all kinds, from traffic circulation to the mood of inhabitants. Architectural design anticipates expected performance.40 The concern is that buildings become merely facilitators, ‘depriving them of their capacity to act as stabilisers of urban life and experience’.41 Digital technology enables the dynamic production of space, structuring the urban environment temporally. Political Theatre has an annual cycle of occupation, hosting party political conferences, a performance of Faeryinga Saga (the Faroese national


Fig 19: New Broadcasting House, London (2010) refurbishment by HOK.. The BBC incorporates the studios’ urban context into programming58

Fig 20: The BBC Newsroom is the largest in Europe. To the right, the BBC News 24 studio can be discerned59

Fig 21: The Queen appears live on the BBC News Channel, showing that the news studio and news room are, in-fact, visually connected60

Fig 22: Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, London 2012. Digital pixels involved the audience in the performance61

Fig 23: The ceremony was extended to London with pre-recorded montages. Above: The Queen parachutes into the stadium62

Scan QR codes to view both spectacles incorporating the Queen


epic), and stages existing events in Klaksvik, such as the Summarfestivalurin music festival Though events are temporary in nature, their re-occurrence still imbues a space with identity. The design of the auditorium is highly flexible, influenced by Cedric Price’s Fun Palace (1961, project) (fig 26) the Pompidou Centre (1977, Rogers and Piano), and Wyly Theatre (2011, REX/OMA) (fig 27). The latter example is a reconfigurable theatre machine in New York, capable of transforming from flat floor, proscenium and thrust stage auditoria. The project was ‘two-thirds infrastructure, one third architecture’, incorporating descending balconies, floating seating and a removable proscenium.42 Though Political Theatre appears as an infrastructural machine, its dramatic location at the mouth of the bay gives it a unique sense of place. Public ammenities, such as the restaurant, library, and pier mean it will always be a civic destination, regardless of event occurrence. In this case, the structure is tuned to a slower pace of life, facilitating social interaction, relaxation, and a sense of dwelling and belonging. Finally, a critique of modern events is that they disrupt the capacity of the urban environment for memory and history. Picon suggests that the traditional city had events, but they had ‘resistance or inertia’, acting as stabilising anchors. On the other hand, the concept of traditional events is problematic, since, as Giddens comments, ‘all traditions are invented’. Some argue the multiplicity of events, and transitive nature of electronic records is making historical change difficult to discern, causing an eternal present. Yet, the primacy of Architecture as collective memory was first superseded by writing in the age of Victor Hugo (‘ceci tuera cela’).43 Place-bound identity still draws on history and tradition, but its authenticity, questionable in the first place, is being increasingly manipulated through digital media for ideological aims. Whilst civic spaces remain an important palimpsest that records history, and incorporate digital technology in continuation with the past, the city as an archive is gradually transferring from the physical to the virtual. In future, perhaps records from the data cloud will evidence historical occupation. In summary, digital technology is not destroying the traditional notion of place, but radically transforming it through hybridisation, augmentation, mediation and performance. Traditional places as building-dwelling, means that we simply need to learn how to dwell in the digital era. Heidegger’s example of the bridge suggests architecture now interfaces the physical and virtual, defining place through digital technology. Design is influenced by strategies of sequencing, boundary dissolution, degrees of enclosure, visual connectivity and interactivity. Sense of place, psychological stability, identity, and public social exchange can be preserved, but in new forms. Crucially, the meaning of staying in place has changed. We no longer solely identify with a single location of origin or community, but relate to multiple and fragmented locations, both physically and electronically. Political Theatre attempts to redefine civic place for the digital era, as a hybrid social-exchange.


Figs 24 and 25: Richard II, performed by David Tennant, was simulcast to 350 cinemas throughout the UK. In particular, a large crane-operated camera supplemented the remote audience with close-up and developing shots63

Fig 26: Fun Palace, project, (1961) Cedric Price suggested technology could produce a highly adaptive event space.64

Fig 27: The Wyly Theatre, Dallas (2009) is highly flexible, transforming between flat floor, proscenium and thrust auditoria. 65

Fig 28: The auditorium of Political Theatre reads as highly infrastructural. However, the architecture maintains sense of place by emphasising connection to the landscape


Fig 29: The auditorium extends into the landscape along a raised walkway

Fig 31: Digital modelling has been used extensively, translating a stop-motion animation into an architectural concept


Fig 30: Interaction between patrons in the reading room


End Notes 1 English Heritage. Heritage Works: the use of Historic Buildings in Regeneration a Toolkit of Good Practice. London: English Heritage, 2013. 2 Castells, M. “Space of Flows, Space of Places: Materials for a Theory of Urbanism in the Information Age.” In Rethinking Technology: A Reader in Architectural Theory, by W. and Hale, J. and Sadar, J. (Eds.) Braham, 440-456. London: Routledge, 2007. 3 Heidegger, M. “Building, Dwelling, Thinking.” In Basic writings from “Being and time” (1927) to “The Task of thinking” (1964), by M. Heidegger, 334-363. London: Routledge, 1993, 348. 4 Ibid, 353. 5 Ibid, 354. 6 Ibid, 358. 7 Cultural Studies Reader. Martin Heidegger: Building, Dwelling, Thinking. May 10th, 2010. http:// culturalstudiesnow.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/martin-heidegger-building-dwelling.html (accessed April 13th, 2014). 8 Ibid 9 Heidegger, M. “Building, Dwelling, Thinking.” In Basic writings from “Being and time” (1927) to “The Task of thinking” (1964), by M. Heidegger, 334-363. London: Routledge, 1993, 361. 10 Castells, M. “Space of Flows, Space of Places: Materials for a Theory of Urbanism in the Information Age.” In Rethinking Technology: A Reader in Architectural Theory, by W. and Hale, J. and Sadar, J. (Eds.) Braham, 440-456. London: Routledge, 2007. 11 Ibid 12 Mitchell, W. cited in Horan, T. “A New Civic Architecture: Bringing Electronic Space to Public Place.” Journal of Urban Technology, August 2000: 59-83. 13 Murphy, A. “The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media.” Places, Summer 2006, Vol. 18, No. 2: 30-37. 14 Ibid 15 Ibid 16 Jackobsen, A. “Performative Spaces: Interactions Between Body and Image.” In Architecture and the Stages of the Experience City, by H. (Ed.) Kiib, 283-291. Aalborg University, 2009, 287. 17 Harvey, D. “Time-Space Compression and the Postmodern Condition.” In The Condition of Postmodernity : An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, by D. Harvey, 284-307. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989. 18 Lefebvre, H. “The Right to the City.” In Writings on Cities, by H. Lefebvre, 147-159. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996. 19 Jackobsen, A. “Performative Spaces: Interactions Between Body and Image.” In Architecture and the Stages of the Experience City, by H. (Ed.) Kiib, 283-291. Aalborg University, 2009. 20 Mitchell, W. E-Topia. London and Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000, 79. 21 Castells, M. “Space of Flows, Space of Places: Materials for a Theory of Urbanism in the Information Age.” In Rethinking Technology: A Reader in Architectural Theory, by W. and Hale, J. and Sadar, J. (Eds.) Braham, 440-456. London: Routledge, 2007, 447. 22 Murphy, A. “The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media.” Places, Summer 2006, Vol. 18, No. 2: 30-37. 23 Seattle Public Library. About the Library. n.d. http://www.spl.org/locations/central-library/cen18


plan-a-visit/cen-floor-by-floor-highlights (accessed April 13th, 2014). 24 Murphy, A. “The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media.” Places, Summer 2006, Vol. 18, No. 2: 30-37. 25 National Assembly for Wales. History of the Assembly and its Buildings. n.d. http://www. assemblywales.org/abthome/about_us-assembly_history_buildings.htm (accessed April 13th, 2014). 26 Murphy, A. “The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media.” Places, Summer 2006, Vol. 18, No. 2: 30-37. 27 McCullough, M. “On the Urbanism of Locative Media.” Places, Summer 2006, Vol. 18, No. 2: 26-29. 28 Murphy, A. “The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media.” Places, Summer 2006, Vol. 18, No. 2: 30-37. 29 Scottish Parliament. About the Parliament Building. n.d. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/ visitandlearn/9983.aspx (accessed April 13th, 2014). 30 Virilio, cited in Gumpert, G. and Drucker, S. “Introduction: The Transmogrification of the Geography of Place.” Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, Summer 2008, Vol. 25, No. 2: 91-93. 31 The Society of the Spectacle. Directed by Guy Debord. 1973. 32 BBC. Broadcasting House: About the Building. n.d. http://www.bbc.co.uk/broadcastinghouse/ aboutthebuilding.html (accessed April 13th, 2014). 33 BBC News. Queen Officially Opens the BBC’s New Broadcasting House Building. June 7th, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22804844 (accessed April 13th, 2014). 34 BBC. “London 2012 Olympic Games.” DVD. London: BBC, 2012. 35 Eisenmann, P. “Architecture After the Age of Printing.” In The Digital Turn in Architecture 20022012, by M. Carpo, 15-27. NY: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2012. 36 Heidegger, M. “Building, Dwelling, Thinking.” In Basic writings from “Being and time” (1927) to “The Task of thinking” (1964), by M. Heidegger, 358. London: Routledge, 1993. 37 Royal Shakespeare Society Live. Production Diary 12. November 13th, 2013. http://onscreen.rsc. org.uk/richard-ii/production-diary-12.aspx (accessed April 13th, 2014). 38 Jackson, A. Faroes: the Faraway Islands. London: Robert Hale, 1991. 39 Picon, A. Digital Culture in Architecture. Basel: Birkhauser, 2010, 12-13. 40 Ibid 41 Picon, A. Digital Culture in Architecture. Basel: Birkhauser, 2010, 204. 42 Prince-Ramus, J. Building a Theatre that Remakes Itself. October 2009. https://www.ted.com/talks/ joshua_prince_ramus_building_a_theater_that_remakes_itself (accessed April 13th, 2014). 43 Picon, A. Digital Culture in Architecture. Basel: Birkhauser, 2010.

Images: 44 Carto DB. A City’s Heartbeat. 2013. http://xumx.me/geospatial/# (accessed February 22nd, 2014). 45 Google Maps. Google Maps, Edinburgh. n.d. https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=google+maps+ edinburgh&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x4887b800a5982623:0x64f2147b7ce71727,Edinburgh,+City+o f+Edinburgh 46 Ewing, J. James Ewing Photography: Seattle Public Library. n.d. http://www. 19


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All unreferenced images are the author’s own


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Studies in Contemporary Architectural Theory ESALA, University of Edinburgh M Arch 1 | Robert Hebblethwaite


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