Metabolism for Cyborgs

Home , Megastructure

Syracuse University SURFACE

School of Architecture Dissertations and Architecture Senior Theses Theses

Spring 2017

Metabolism for Cyborgs

Christopher Bressler

Colin Hoover

Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/architecture_theses

Part of the Architecture Commons

Recommended Citation Bressler, Christopher and Hoover, Colin, "Metabolism for Cyborgs" (2017). Architecture Senior Theses. 390. https://surface.syr.edu/architecture_theses/390

This Thesis, Senior is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Architecture Dissertations and Theses at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Architecture Senior Theses by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. thesis METABOLISM FOR CYBORGS

by Christopher Bressler & Colin Hoover

Advised by Amber Bartosh with Brian Lonsway & Ivan Bernal

Submitted May 9, 2017 Syracuse University School of Architecture 02 CONTENTS pg # chapters

_note // due to the formatting of this book, animations and videos, which were heavely involved in the production and final presentation of this project, were not included. please refer to appendix on how to view said information. thank you.

03 04 01

overview

The networked device is becoming an integral part rooms, and a web of structure and services of the ways in which human beings interface with arises. The result is an edifice inscrutable to their environment. This project seeks to explore the few humans that remain - hundreds of rooms the architectural implications of this trend as suspended on top of one another. However, to the it reaches its logical conclusion in the cyborg cyborg, who is able to cull and sort through mind. Access to information concerning specific complex information, the web is a small town, geographic and architectural locations is already only a handful of virtual spaces occupying a tool used in the creation of communities and hundreds of physical instances. defining spatial boundaries. The ability to do so relies on the interconnected layers of virtual Although Brain-computer interfaces may be an and physical objects. This relationship is inevitable part of our future, we do not mean to described in Benjamin Bratton’s “The Stack” which present this project as an inevitable outcome. labels the mass of connected devices and users Rather, we hope to join a growing circle of as an “accidental megastructure.” Currently, architects exploring the possible manifestations our interactions with this megastructure are of overlays of physical and virtual space. mediated through external interfaces. However, Through a mix of conventional representation it seems inevitable that through augmentation, techniques and augmented overlays we hope to humans will adopt abilities that allow them to simulate the experiences of both human and interact directly with both physical and virtual cybernetic users, ultimately demonstrating spaces. As the cyborg becomes more prevalent, the necessity of new kinds and possibility architects will have to address structures that for architectural and urban organizations for can interface directly with the cyborg mind. cyborgs.

Our investigation utilizes the city as a test abstract site for an iterative series of prototype communities. Divided into four phases, beginning in the present day, and ending in an urban megastructure that is fundamentally designed around the cyborg. In each iteration of cyborg gentrification increasingly claims real estate, first virtually, then physically. Once claimed, spatial instances are copied and pasted into empty areas of the existing city. Corresponding infrastructure arises to support these duplicate

05 06 02

preliminary research

PROCESS: This project developed through a series of tests. Each week we developed a new image of the project as though it was the final product. Each iteration was analyzed and critiqued leading to the development of the next. In this way, even the drawings from the final thesis exhibtion would indicate successive iterations to come. This establishes the work as an ongoing project and in no means final.

07 image test | 1

TEST REPORT:

Test 1 – Image production methods.

Created in Photoshop, this is collaged from images of metabolist projects and the San Fransisco airport. The collage portion of the image was not laid out by hand, rather, a sections of buildings were placed in the background and the Photoshop content aware tool was used to successively build up the image. Thus, we end up with an incomprehensible image that still implies some kind of organization from the content aware algorithm.

08 09 image test | 2.1

TEST REPORT:

Test 2.1 – Graphic [re] organization.

This is a map of the United States that does not rely on either geographic adjacency or state shapes. Without those constraints, different information can be communicated. The states are each given new identities as polygons, and then filtered through a series of sorting mechanisms to reorganize the “map.” Here, area of a sate corresponds to its real world perimeter, while the number of points on a polygon correspond to real world area. Neither of these pieces of information can be communicated accurately on a projected map. Vertices are counted, color sorted by geographic coordinates, and displayed on the edge of the state. States are color coded by region, and a hatch pattern laid on top displaying population, with a greater population corresponding to a larger hatch scale (bigger dots.) States are packed into three containers not seen here, based on one person’s subjective ranking of the “quality” of states. Reading from the right to the left group, states fit into “worse” categories. This packing was performed by a nesting algorithm, not an intentional organization of objects.

After attempting this exercise, we begin to understand that an overly large amount of abstraction can lead to the lose of intention – by all accounts, this is no longer a map. The question is raised as to whether having geographic information embedded in a graphic constitutes a map, or whether specific relational information is required.

010 5 4 2 1 5 2 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 6 3 6 4 3 3 13 12 7 6 8 4 7 2 1 1 14 5 9 3 4 3 7 2 15 4 10 2 8 5 3 078 2 16 3 1 6 2 New Jeresey 1 4 09 0517 2 11 1 9 9 New Hampshire Delaware18 1 190 7 1 4 200 19 420 12 250 8 7 6 Maine 6 Alabama 5 3 Michigan 9 5 10 18 5 10 19 6 8 4 20 Missouri 41 13 24 10 4 8 170 8 7 5 4 1 21 40 11 311 17 Penn 11 189 63 7 22 39 14 2312 2 9 16 23 15 22 12 16 8 7 12 1710 2 04 38 13 1 13 15 10 9 6 13 Rhode2 Island24 37 16 21 14 14 10 15 11 5 4 14 15 16 11 1 25 36 17 18 19 20 300 12 11 10 9 8 7 12 5 4 2627 35 8 7 6 15 Tennessee 1413 6 11 14 3 12 260 3 3 28 3334 9 5 4 29 15 5 12 13 13 2 Arkansas 6 292 3031 32 10 16 4 14 13 25 12 11 10 11 3 28 16 3 1 7 1 151413 9 8 172 27 17 2 15 330 14 24 16 7 12 18 18 16 8 17 6 13 1 19 26 19 1 Missisippi 32 15 23 180 18 5 20 25 410 17 6 5 16 22 19 4 14 290 21 22 23 24 20 31 7 4 17 21 9 West Virginai 20 3 Washington 8 7 6 5 21 Oregon 40 18 30 3 18 19 20 1721 2 15 28 9 4 39 19 8 2 22 1 10 22 38 14 13 12 11 29 10 16 16 27 323 16 15 10 9 20 289 1 23 500 26 11 224 3717 8 21 22 27 11 15 24 49 17 12 25 3618 7 23 24 25 26 10 220 25 Florida 48 18 25 1 26 3519 6 6 5 4 12 13 14 19 24 13 27 3334 5 7 3 11 Georgia 12 11 10 9 8 7 26 47 20 21 22 23 280 2829303132 20 8 21 1312 11 10 9 8 1413 6 27 46 13 12 11 14 New York 21 4 2 1514 7 15 528 45 1514 10 9 27 3 9 12 2016 6 5 16 429 44 1716 8 7 15 22 1 17 4 17 330 43 18 6 26 23 2 10 13 1918 18 231 42 19 516 25 1 230 14 18 19 3 1 32 41 20 417 24 11 15 16 17 2 19 333435 383940 21 18 24 25 520 Illinois 22 20 1 20 430 3637 22 3 19 22 23 12 21 460 21 Arizona 42 2 20 21 26 Texas 51 21 22 45 41 23 1 50 13 23 New Mexico 22 24 510 27 20 44 23 40 4 3 25 28 49 14 24 43 24 39 5 2 California 50 15 19 25 42 25 38 26 49 29 48 16 17 18 13 12 11 10 26 41 26 376 1 27 30 47 4 3 1514 9 827 40 27 36 28 48 46 2 16 7286 39 28 3435 7 47 15 14 13 12 11 31 5 17 295 38 2930313233 160 29 46 16 10 32 45 1 18 304 31 3637 10 9 8 7 30 45 9 33 44 19 32333435 4 3 12 11 6 5 8 Ohio 31 44 17 834 43 6 20 3 5 2 13 4 15 32 43 18 357 36 41 42 14021 2 14 3 3334 4142 37 38 39 40 7 Maryland 22 1 6 1 92 35936837383940 19 6 490 15 14 11 10 7 6 20 2313 16 1 10 12 5 5 8 24 Montana 487 150 370 11 13 13 4 25 47 Indiana 17 12 14 3 21 4 12 46 18 Nebraska 36 2 9 11 26 458 14 19 35 9 8 7 6 15 22 3 3 102 27 10 5 4 16 1 28 44 20 3411 350 23 1 29 43 9 13 21 33 3 17 2 4 30 42 10 9 8 22 3212 2 18 Louisiana 34 2 31 404112 11 710 11 12 23 3113 24 100 321 33 3839 13 6 5 24 30 1 19 33 1 Massachusetts5 3 34353637 14 4 2526272829 14 310 20 3225 15 3 7 6 5 4 21 31 530 9 08 16 2 8 3 15 Utah 30 22 30 6 4 Vermont 17 16 29 23 29 26 Alaska 52 8 18 1 9 2 2425 262728 76 5 4 19 400 10 171 28 13 12 11 10 27 7 35 7 Virginia 39 18 27 1514 9 8 51 2 20 38 11 240 19 26 16 7 6 8 6 21 20 25 17 5 28 50 1 22 37 12 North Dakota 23 21 22 23 24 18 4 9 10 9 8 7 623 36 19 329 49 210 12 11 524 35 13 22 20 2 10 13 254 34 21 1 30 Iowa 263 3233 14 21 22 48 11 2014 22728293031 15 20 23 470 31 15 16 19 Minnesota 46 47 1619 1 3 17 18 24 45 32 12 360 2 25 46 13 1817 4 26 44 33 17 Wyoming 35 1 27 43 10 9 45 14 15 16 18 4212 11 8 7 34 44 1312 11 10 9 8 19 34 5 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 28 4113 6 5 14 7 33 10 9 8 7 120 14 6 2930 4014 435 43 15 6205 3212 11 6 15 5 31 383915 36 37 42 16 214 13 5 6South Carolina 16 4 323334353637 16 3 38 39 40 41 17 223 1431 4 17 3 3 2 2 3 18 23 293015 3 1118 2 17 1 4 2 19 2 2425262728 2 19 4 18 20 1 16 1 7 1 119 390 5 1 21 450 17 10 20 440 Colorado 38 44 18 380 8 9 21 43 5 20 22 Oklahoma Kansas 37 2 1 22 Nevada 42 21110 37 6 130 23 43 19 Wisconsin 22 36 Hawaii 24 42 20 36 23 41 23 35 25 41 21 35 60 24 40 6 24 34 7 12 26 40 34 Connecticut3 25 39 10 25 33 27 39 22 33 26 38 26 3132 28 38 23 32 27 37 7 27282930 8 11 29 37 24 31 5 2829 3536 8 9 9 10 30313233343536 252627282930 4 3031323334

_note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

011 image test | 2.2

TEST REPORT:

Test 2.2 – Textual [re] organization.

Original text: Carl Andre explored the reorganization of text in a series of poams in which color and graphic organization re contextualize the text. “What has planetary-scale computation done to our geopolitical realities? It takes different forms at Taking text from Benjamin Bratton’s The Stack and different scales—from energy and mineral sourcing and Zhongjie Lin’s Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist subterranean cloud infrastructure to urban software and Movement, each word is analyzed through their massive universal addressing systems; from interfaces frequency of use in relation to the two drawn by the augmentation of the hand and eye to users texts, as well as, their relationship to how identified by self—quantification and the arrival of frequently they are used in the English language legions of sensors, algorithms, and robots. Together, how (specifically between the years of 1999-2000). do these distort and deform modern political geographies The words are first sorted into categories of and produce new territories in their own image?” high, medium, and low usages between the texts, and then these categories are filtered through a similar process but using frequency in language as the sorting element. This process reveals a hierarchy in which words that are frequently used between the two texts, yet not frequently used in the English language, hold more value than words which are used commonly between the texts and the English language. The overlaying line reestablishes the order for how it should be read. By doing so, we free text from a sequential order, which results in a text that is simultaneously legible (when guided by the line), while also providing a kinds of relationship between this text and another. There is no need for any graphic organization which does not contribute alternate sets of information.

012 megastructure scales architecture. Together coherent ings planetary-scale computation cities urban modern forms infrastructure forming massive geopolitical realities? takes mineral systems; whole: political called universal eye identied produce sourcing subterranean cloud dierent dierent dierent both image? energy done seen hand us. software addressing interfaces many new new What these these own own how our do We can of drawn augmentation users so It it has but their their an at self—quantication arrival legions from from are by by be not on as sensors algorithms robots. distort as that that is is a a a in In to to to deform geographies territories and and and and and and and and Stack Benjamin Bratton proposes and and of of of of of the the the genres computation smart grids e the e e cloud platforms mobile apps smart Internet automation species evolving accidental Stack computational apparatus governing inside Stack inside megastructure scales architecture. Together coherent ings planetary-scale computation cities urban modern forms infrastructure forming massive geopolitical realities? takes mineral systems; whole: political called universal eye identied produce sourcing subterranean cloud dierent dierent dierent both image? energy done seen hand us. software addressing interfaces many new new What these these own own how our do We can of drawn augmentation users so It it has but their their an at self—quantication arrival legions from from are by by be not on as sensors algorithms robots. distort as that that is is a a a in In to to to deform geographies territories and and and and and and and and Stack Benjamin Bratton proposes and and of of of of of the the the genres computation smart grids e the e e cloud platforms mobile apps smart Internet automation species evolving accidental Stack computational apparatus governing inside Stack inside

_note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

013 image test | 3.1/3.2

TEST REPORT:

Test 3.1/3.2 – Room sorting_ objects + bins.

We are treating Slocum Hall as a container of rooms. Each of these rooms is sorted into one of five groups. Each group has the same number of rooms of a given program (studio, classroom, etc) but not necessarily the same square footage. Each of these groups represents the facilities necessary for a separate group of students. Slocum hall is then turned into three separate containers (or bins). Starting with group A, a packing algorithm in grasshopper moves the rooms into these bins in the most efficient pattern. It is important to note that the algorithm does not pay attention to the original orientation – rooms are packed on side or on end. Further, the algorithm optimized for each group, rather than the building overall. These rooms are then transformed again into building- either subtracted from the mass as in the first image, or supported in place as in the last. In either case, the issue of circulation is present. In the present Slocum hall organization is built around circulation, without it, a new retrieval or organization method is needed.

014 SLCUM HALL

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_note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

015 image test | 4.1

TEST REPORT:

Test 4.1 – Perceptual reorganization.

This project was an attempt to investigate the issue of recall raised by previous packing tests. Considering that spaces are now organized by physical efficiency rather than adjacency, circulation no longer exists a separate element in the project. Here, we have attempted to solve this issue by embracing the perceptual tools available to the cyborg. To do so, we have tried to even out the functional uses of the rooms. We have two room types, A + B, which when taken together have all the necessary functions of an architecture school. Each room now has the capability to adjust its function to that needed by a user in the room. With one user in the room, they are visually keyed to understand that the room is theirs. With multiple users in the room, they are all visually keyed into who has hierarchy and use. The animation above demonstrates an Admin user (the dean) in blue, who has priority over a single (student) user, but is equally weighted when both are in the same area, creating a new hierarchy to the space.

016 _note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

017 image test | 4.2

TEST REPORT:

Test 4.2 – Mechanical recall.

This project was an attempt to investigate the issue of recall raised by previous packing tests. Considering that spaces are now organized by physical efficiency rather than adjacency, circulation no longer exists as an integrated element in the organization of the project. Here, we have attempted to solve this issue by utilizing mechanized automation systems. Within the framework of the building, different user groups are sorted into separate containers. Here, we envision a user group being contained and then sealed into a package that can be adapted and reordered depending on the governing algorithm/evolving needs of the user group. (See model photo) Similar to robotic library retrieval systems, these packages would be removed and brought directly to user where they would access the spaces separate from the building before being placed back.

018 MECHANICAL RECALL SYSTEM

_note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

019 image test | 5.1

TEST REPORT:

Test 5.1 – City sorting_ racks + bins + objects.

Building on previous tests, we can begin to treat the city similar to the Amazon warehouse, where a series of “racks” contain bins into which objects are sorted. If programmed rooms are the objects, bins and racks become the language of the city. City blocks are replaced by packed racks of program, each of which follows packing algorithms that are tuned to the individual needs of the block. Cyborg understandings of space allow for the ability to travel between separate blocks of program without needing space dedicated to circulation. Thus, the circulation between buildings is removed and a new condensed city exists, allowing for new networking and connectivity between spaces.

020 _note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

021 image test | 7.1

TEST REPORT:

Test 7.1 – City layering_ racks + bins + objects.

Created here is a set of drawings describing new modes of organizing the city. We have begun to experiment with the role of servers and shards in the city. Separate servers represent separate environments with no shared users or space. Shards represent servers recalling identical environments without sharing users. Here, two separate servers are visualized- a hyper dense city that users can only experience or use 50% of the time. It takes a look at the kinds of spaces that are created and the overlaps which exist. One can imagine traveling along the overlaps of this city, enabling new kinds of circulation that rely on the presence of unseen infastructure.

The image begins to question how a block of this city might be organized- if the goal of the block (rack) is to create green space, individual buildings (bins) have to be moved in order to accommodate this.

022 _note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

023 image test | 7.2

TEST REPORT:

Test 7.2 – Object packing + moveable bins.

This test was undertaken to explore the possibility of organizing objects rather than bins to define an urban environment.

Rooms were extracted from buildings and treated as individual objects. These rooms were then assigned a server, A (black) or B (white.) The objects were then repacked into the same boundary that the previous test (7.1) occupied. Upon repacking, individual objects were assigned new bins based on adjacency and possible program. These soft “bins” are represented by the colored outlines above.

Separating the room from the container proved interesting, and relies heavily on the ability of the cyborg to create new paths through an uber- dense enviorment. However, this method results in no overlaps of server or shard, an issue in introducing further complexity to the project. Further, the programs and rooms here are not reflective of individual purposes – it does not embrace the ability to customize architecture.

024 _note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

025 image test | 8.1

TEST REPORT:

Test 8.1_Positioning of Discrete Objects

This test was undertaken to explore the possibility of organizing discrete objects that overlap with one another while relying on the cyborg ability to reestablish spatial order.

A series of rooms were generated on three servers (see image, bottom left) each of which has separate physical and conceptual attributes. (Ovoid and green, Oblique and red, etc.) These rooms were then inserted into a three dimensional space, with each axis corresponding to a value of the object.

X-axis: Order of creation

Y axis: Square footage

Z-axis: Randomly assigned IP address

Because each group was inserted separately, they intersect in an indiscriminate fashion. The resulting group objects are explored in the images on the bottom right.

026 _note // refer to appendix for supplemental videos & animation overlays.

027 mechanized railway

draw distance

028 mechanized railway

draw distance

029 030 03

image + city permutations

PROCESS: A continued exploration through images and animations in order to devlope a city for cyborgs which is both highly organized yet totally inscrutable.

031 image tests

A collection of images and graphics which influenced the development of the final permutation.

These tests explored new forms of information & perceptual overlays, sorting criteria/processes, mechanical recall & distribution systems, and enclosure systems.

032 request

p r i o r i t y high a alow d

low shape position high scale p r i o r i t y quantity a enaneposition edge.condition yt oi r p i r a sheltered garden high shape transparency height low scale shape quantity overhang.transition

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object instance .01

033 1.22.85.66

1.22.85.66 1.22.85.66

1.22.85.66

object instance .02

city section cut

CITY SECTION CUT V 2.1 01

merged overlays 034 city detail

CITY DETAIL VIEW V 2.1 02

CITY SECTION CUT V 2.1 01

packed object

035 036 04

final permutation

CONTENTION:

The cyborg citizen is inevitable, and will require a new type of design -- one that relies upon layers of additional information. We intend to desing a utopia for this new kind of architectureal user that takes full advantage of the perceptual and information processing abilities of the augmented transhunan.

037 USER 480-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

TIER 01 BOUNDING BOUNDING MESH_ON BOUNDING BOX:SUPPORT_ON SUPPORT TRANSFER_ON FLUID TRANSFER 01_ON FLUID TRANSFER 02_OFF ELCT TRANSFER_OFF FLUID 02_OFF COMPRESSION SUPPORT_OFF DUP. WALLS_ON VIR. WALLS_OFF FLOOR PLATE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_OFF RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 01 -2173.351, 9675.664, 4798.812

038 USER 480-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

039

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_OFF RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 01 -2173.351, 9675.664, 4798.812 USER 108-XX-XXX7 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 02 5516.581, 1955.607, 6710.829

040 USER 108-XX-XXX7 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 02 5516.581, 1955.607, 6710.829

041 USER 108-XX-XXX7 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON 042 WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 02 5516.581, 1955.607, 6710.829 USER 108-XX-XXX7 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON 043 WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 02 5516.581, 1955.607, 6710.829 USER 480-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_OFF RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 03 8057.106, 6815.662, 991.852

044 USER 480-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

045

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_OFF RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 03 8057.106, 6815.662, 991.852 USER 201-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 04 6183.793, 8364.339, 1782.091

046 USER 201-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 04 6183.793, 8364.339, 1782.091

047 USER 201-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

048

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 04 6183.793, 8364.339, 1782.091 USER 201-XX-XXX1 DATE // 04_23_17 TIME// 10:45:00

049

RACKS PROVISION TOWERS_ON SUPPORT FRAMES_ON TRANSIT DRONES_OFF FLUID SUPPLY_ SUPPLY 01_OFF SUPPLY MISC_ON WEAVER DRONE_ON

OVRLY SURFACE ID CODING_ON RACK PARTITIONING_ON USERS_OFF SYSTEMSSORT_OFF MISC_OFF 04 6183.793, 8364.339, 1782.091 050 05

final exhibition

PRESENTATION TEXT:

This may sound like a purely speculative The underlying logic is one of duplication; project, but we believe it is rooted in present existing spaces are found, copied, and pasted day issues. into the overall system. In the process of duplication, infrastructure is added to augment There exists today a gigantic network of and support the cyborgs within. The result is connected digital devices, each of which is a series of 12 virtual instances spread out tied to support infrastructure and users. The amongst hundreds of physical instances. We then architectural scholar Benjamin Bratton has attempted to explore the collapse of physical referred to this planetary scale system as an and virtual space through an exhibition, held “accidental megastructure.” in room 208, which relies on the intersection of interactive physical models, drawings and Right now, as users, our ability to tap into their digital representations. In this way, the this system is extremely limited. Cell phones, thesis is heavily invested in images and how computers and other devices mediate our cyborg organizations might be represented. We experience behind GUIs, OS’s, and hardware. But hope that these images hint at our conception in the near future, these layers will disappear. of the project as a utopian one - Implicit in Direct brain to computer interfaces are near at the project are metabolist ideas of physical hand, and soon people will be able to undergo and infrastructural organizations. However, “cyborg reassignment surgery” this organization is only visible to those able But what does that mean for us as architects? to process these systems, to sort the signal It means that we will have to design for a from the noise. The result is an architecture population that is capable of machine like that requires you to opt in. It requires the methods of organization and information augmentations of a cyborg to render it as processing. It means clients who are permanently anything other than inscrutable. For those networked and interfacing with their world. that are citizens of the cyborg community, the To this end, our project began as an users, circulation, support system, enclosures, investigation of originations and database delivery systems, all act as one megastructure systems: how does augmented information change communicating in a common language. the way that texts, (slide) graphics, (slide) and ultimately spaces get organized? For this reason, the Amazon warehouse is of particular interest to us, as a digital database of physical objects. We ultimately end up appropriating Amazon’s rack, bin, and object ordering system.

We have used this organizational system to craft a series of cities envisioned through the cyborg user. In the current permutation, you see a city that is at once hyper organized and totally inscrutable.

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055 more information can be found on our blog https://cyborgmetabolism.wordpress.com

056 more information can be found on our blog https://cyborgmetabolism.wordpress.com

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