Presentation

hey everyone

I think presentation went ok, and could do with alot more improvement, i think jess picked up on the main points, i agree with the points to improve, i also remember mike saying he wanted us to show a story of the site- show the character/ behaviour of the site to show its life/ lack of it more sumhow, i like the photo montage idea, and maybe you cud do a walking video around/ inside the site showing its state....??

He also mentioned that we shud add info about the key movement through the area- i.e. slaughter house stock etc. which we should all research

Anyways i've uploaded our presentations on to 'My Drive' its our 2GB on the net, so we can all upload videos, photos and anything else useful

http://www.mydrive.ch

Username: Group-3

Password: Mobility

Jess let us know wat research you got from site.....

Group Presentation

Hey everyone.

How did you feel the group presentation went?
What do we need to improve?
And when do we wanna do this?

My opinion was that we did ok, I think we hit most of the points but there were definately some areas to improve, and some areas to expand on which they really liked (such as Floriane's patterns and materials on site)

The things that I picked up from the feed back, and from speaking to Ian after, (he is writing up our groups crit) are:

-Likes florianes patterns of the site,
-Dislike cliche images (but this is easy to change) I think the idea is great but we need to find a better way to show it.
-Representing the data found. (we have loads of information but need to find ways to make them more visual and come to some conclusions about the information we have found)
-Similarly with the future developments they want us to really know them and critique them, and give our opinions on them) If we feel they fit with the site or not, ect!

More specifcally for the first point, I think we could expand this by, maybe photo montaging the images to scale onto a site map, this is want I want to start with today, I am going to go to site, do another walk, and photograph similar things, and note down where they are found, so that I can put together this photo montage, perhaps even a larger scale model, and montage the photos on to this and show our route some how!
So this is were I will start today..

I intend to go to site today, and do some more work, so if anyone wants to join me then thats great, just give me a text or a call!

These are just what i have have picked up on, im sure there were other points.
I hope you dont think im being pushy or anything, not my intention, just wanna get the most out of this year and im sure you do too,
I was thinking it is probably easyiest to chat about this on the blog rather than by email so I will post all this up there too!


Sorry its alot of writing!
Thanks jess

Stage 2

Hey every, Here is the spider diagram of my inital thoughts for this stage of the project!

Neil, do you think you can download that video, and we could possibly include it in our presentation!

See you all tomorrow!

BCU City Centre Campus: Phase 1

Hey again...this video illustrates how the new city centre campus should look after phase 1 is complete in 2013..after viewing the concept video's earlier last year i think that the way the design team have taken the overall look of the building to be quite complementary of surrounding digbeth and seems to fit in well with the historical context that surrounds whilst still keeping it quite modern through detailing and design..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rs8EsD4iHI

Neil

Eastside City Park

hey guys...amongst some of the other stuff i found on this development i came across this video that illustrates the proposal for the area around curzon street station

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WluyF9mBv3w&feature=player_embedded

Neil

Curzon Street

An Interesting link about Curzon Street

http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/curzon_street.php#

Curzon street History

Curzon Street Station was a railway station in Birmingham in the 19th century and is the world's oldest surviving piece of monumental railway architecture. It acted as the terminus for both the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway, with lines connecting Birmingham to London and to Manchester and Liverpool respectively. The two companies had adjacent, parallel platforms but no through services were provided.
The station was opened in 1838, with the first train from London to Birmingham arriving on September 17. However, the railway station was inconveniently located on the eastern edge of Birmingham city centre. For this reason, its use as a passenger station was short-lived. When the London and North Western Railway was created in 1846, they decided to build a new joint station with the Midland Railway at New Street. It was about half a mile west of Curzon Street Station. When this was completed in 1854, Curzon Street ceased regular passenger use, although holiday excursions ran from the station until 1893. However, it remained in use as a goods station until its closure in 1966. The station was known simply as 'Birmingham' until November 1852, when the suffix 'Curzon Street' was added. A smaller goods station, Lawley Street Goods Station, was located to the east of the station.




The surviving entrance building, which was designed by Philip Hardwick and constructed in 1838, is three storeys tall but relatively small. The architecture is Roman inspired, following Hardwick's trip to Italy in 1818–19. It has tall pillars running up the front of the building, made out of a series of huge blocks of stone. The design mirrored the Euston Arch at the London end of the L&BR. As part of the original design, the building was to be flanked by two arches leading into the station, but excavations revealed that these were never built. The interior housed the booking hall, with a large iron balustraded stone staircase, a refreshment room and offices.
Adjacent to the station was Queen's Hotel. It was here that the Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established on 27 January 1847 with George Stephenson as its first president. A plaque commemorating the event is located inside the station building, as the hotel has since been demolished

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curzon_Street_railway_station

Adaptability to mobile life

A french designer, Matalie Crasset, created this "hospitality tower" called "When James comes to Paris". It's for people who receive friends and don't know where let them slip. It was inspired by the cramped studio apartements of Paris and is designed to make overnight guest feel welcome, even when the host has a minimum amount of place to offer.

This is a reaction to our mobile life style. In our society we travel a lot thanks to fast transportation and meet people living far from our home. This is very normal to go see them and travel cheaper in the same time, particulary in the student life. This tower offers a place to sleep to friends when they come to visit.

When the tower is open it offers a mattress to sleep, but Matalie Crasset has considered other needs, a personnal lamp and an alarm clock. When it is closed the tower occupies a small place. It can be stocked in a corner until the next friend comes. It fits perfectly to the student's accommodations.

It shows that we more mobile and we use our friend network to socialize and travel, so a new need appears, how to receive friends temporarily. The solution is to change the space to receive them, the column is a example of adaptability system.

FUTURE CITY MOBILITY BICYCLE- Marten Wallgren

I thought this article was quite interesting. As i know alot of people love bicycles which will hugely become a key factor of future sustainable living!! Enjoy!!

Imagine riding through Picadily Circus and all you hear and see are people talking and birds in the sky. This was the guiding vision of this year’s winners at the Future City Mobility competition for designers to envision how London’s transportation could look in 2030.

Marten Wallgren, a Swede studying at the Royal College of Art and with three collegues, won the SeymourPowell award for their concept dubbed, “London Garden”. The scheme incorporates a

network of electric buses, taxis, and scooter-bikes, all of which interconnect to make London Garden a car-free zone.

The concept of London Garden includes special bicycles that operate in three modes. The first mode is the cruising option with the possible addition of regenerative braking. The second mode is a rigorous bicycling, where additional resistance is supplied to generate and store electricity. The third mode cashes in on stored power and turns the bike into an electric scooter. These bicycles are foldable, and are stored for community use in tall, treelike structures that double as bus stops. The bike racks themselves are meant to generate power from rainwater, sun, and even kinetically from the wind as its swooping arms away.

The bicycles also work as modular components within the urban environment where they can be folded and carried on-board electric buses and taxis. Once docked inside, they double as seats and the stored energy that was generated during pedaling is now transferred into the vehicle and even credited as currency towards your fare.

http://www.psfk.com/2009/08/future-city-mobility-bicycle-transportation-via-folding-scooters-electric-buses-and-bike-trees.html

HUMERA ...

Social Mobility!

(original post)

Social mobility is the degree to which an individual's family or group's social status can change throughout the course of their life through a system of social hierarchy or stratification. Subsequently, it is also the degree to which an individual's or group's descendants move up and down the class system. The individual or family can move up or down the social classes based on achievements or factors beyond their control.

The video below illustrates social mobility to some sort of degree and how people from different ethnics and backgrounds can reach there desired top level of professionalism!

Well Done Ajay Bhatt!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqLPHrCQr2I

Mobilities- Amandeep

That picture of obese women is disgusting! Jess that a good point- will our door width change? I personally think that they won’t, maybe obese people will have houses tailored to their needs. I also think there will be an increase in the types of technology allowing them to travel more easily.

The Government are trying to decrease the amount of obesity by changing advertising and try to imply the consequence, but I don’t think its having a massive effect.

On another topic, I’ve been reading a few books and found some really interesting points. In ‘Mobilities’, John Urry compares the virtual and physical world, looking at them as two sides of the same coin.

The physical world is owned by no- one, and as the population of people increases within that area, their individual responsibility for it decreases. Urry says the more the population there is in the area, and the more diverse the people in the area, the more informal we tend to act within it; our behaviour changes as we feel more safe (e.g. a crowded train). Also the more we travel on the same type of transport/ take the same route, we become less formal to it. I can say this is true for me, as I’ve become very informal on trains after travelling on them for many years.

Urry mentions that mobile systems within a city are organised around processes that circulate people (e.g. structured roads, route ways, and cycle/rail tracks). The wealthy countries are likely to have more organised circulation within their cities (e.g. Singapore), than Third World Countries (e.g. Africa).

The reason we travel is due to a desire to gain something, our emotions ultimately motivate us to travel (e.g. seeing a loved one in another country). Therefore I think that we will always have some sort of physical mobility.

He compares this to the virtual which is much more informal as this is usually done individually and (usually) in place of comfort (home), and as Floraine mentioned, we feel safe from danger. We delve into a bubble world away from the physical and into a comfortable zone we create for ourselves. It can be seen as a non- place, but also a shared space, and is not owned by anyone. It can be seen as a tool to communicate, a place used for its convenience. If you look at the mobile phone, it has allowed us all types of communication (i.e. phone, email, sms) all in the palm of our hand. It is a revolutionary tool that has changed how society behaves. Adverts selling ringtones, software downloaded via text and many more functions are used, as this allows convenience to both seller and user.

Our Dying World

Transport and the effects on our environment!
There has been a massive push for a reduction in our carbon footprint, and in many ways we are succeeding however in transportation, emmissons are still rising!

Having accessiblity to different modes of transport, can depend on a numebr of things, the distance you intend to travel, but even if the distance is short, still people will chose to drive instead of walk, I know I am guilty of this on a lazy day.
If we couldnt aford to drive however, we would be forced to walk or to catch public transport so in essance having a reduced carbon foot print is related to amount of money you have?
Aviation accounts for a lot of transport pollution, but once again you can only fly if you can afford it!
IS there a way to make people take action and reduce their carbon foot print?
Making the public transport better?

I may seem a bit sceptical but I think it would be a very hard job getting people out of the comfortable cars, and onto a bus!

Immobility

Physical Immobility

When does obesity become disablity?

Our nation is getting bigger and bigger! When does the standard width of a door way get bigger?

As architects of the future, how are the disablities of today physically going to effect the way we design everyday things?



About 46% of men in England and 32% of women are overweight
an additional 17% of men and 21% of women are obese!!!

Overweight and obesity are increasing.
The percentage of adults who are obese has roughly doubled since the mid-1980's.

I think that it wont be long before legislation is passed, in which to alow the mobility of our MASSIVE population to be accounted for.

Niel's & Floraine's post- Amandeep

As Neil mentioned, I also think Floraine’s blog entries have been very insightful, and have helped me understand mobility from another perspective. She mentioned the transfer from the physical world to a more digital world which I think is the way we’re heading. Here’s a great video I found on one of the other blogs about gaming that shows human design development:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZM4_2cuZwA

Niel also picked up on a lot of good points, as well as how banks are trying to reduce staff to so that more can be done online. This got me thinking- What will happen to the more physical jobs, will they be replaced by more virtual/ computer jobs?

When I think of a physical job , the bus comes to mind, as it’s a very old fashioned way of travel which may in the future be replaced. We as a society are striving towards a more efficient, faster and cheaper transport; if you look at canals they are not used as a method of transport anymore, but more of a social place.

The poster shows how the council are advertising the canal, as a place to socialise, look how much it’s changed from its original purpose.

This may mean that our transport systems we know of today (i.e. buses, trains), may become obsolete and replaced with newer technology that is more efficient. Does this mean that jobs linked to physical travel will reduce (e.g. Buses becoming obsolete and replaced with newer technology)? But then does this mean we may have an increase in virtual jobs (e.g. computing, programming etc.)? I believe the end of this digital revolution is limitless...

Social Mobility/Virtual Mobility

"The intensity and the expansion of the mobility depends of the capacity of technical systems to satisfied them"
Wikipedia about mobility

My point about mobility is that it’s a social notion, because when you move, like the electron around an atom, you create interactions, meetings, energy. It can be a virtual or a physical encounter. Anyways, if nothing moves, there are no interactions, no exchanges. Indeed, travelling is one of the best ways to socialize, change the mind and have new experiences.
But I am interested by virtual mobility, for I think it’s fairer. Physical travelling is most of the time expensive, everybody can’t access to it. On the contrary, virtual travelling is cheap and one can go wherever one wants. Everybody can access information, communicate all over the world, to be open-minded and be aware of what happens in the world. Internet offers a new form of public space which everybody can access, gives opinions and debate.

The new media like internet bring a new vision of mobility. The improvements of different systems allows to move physically faster and farer. But the revolution of the informatics networks offers mobility all over the world quickly without physical movement. The distribution of information in real time offers a new conception of the world. The world is shrinking and ended we knows every part of it, there is nothing to discover anymore. It gives also a new vision of time and distances. It’s easy to travel by virtual means. As a consequence physical mobility that improved to be faster seems now slow and long.

But we can’t say that physical and virtual mobility are equal. In the reality the movement is a physical experience, the body can feel it, it is involved in the movement. It can be in architecture or in transportations. These experience needs to use senses, to live physical meetings, interactions that can be felt as a danger. In opposition the virtual mobility is a movement by collecting information, readings, pictures, films and virtual interactions are made by online games, social network. The body is not involved that’s why it offers feeling of safety. It is possible to hide, to choose interactions.

For my part there are two reasons of the success of the virtual mobility.
First, it offers fair accessibility, so lot of people can use it. Everybody can access information, because it’s cheap. It also allows to move far, fast and to be in different place in the same time. As I already said it shrinks the world, one can speak to someone very far as he is just close by. Internet reduces the world and the distances. It allows meeting people, share, and create a network all over the world. In opposition of physical mobility, where the body is involved in a movement, a process, virtual movement can be stopped when you choose to stop it.
I think the second reason of the success is that virtual mobility balances physical complexes and social frustrations. It reduces physical contact, direct interactions leading to safety feeling. There is the possibility to hide, be someone else or find a new world where people are not frustrated like in second life or in videogames. These are others world to be involved, and create social contact. Internet is also a tool for self promotion more efficient than others in a bigger scale.

My point is that real and virtual world are connected one has consequences on the other. But I think there is two kind of mobility, the real one with body involvement, a process to go to place to place where the movement is an experience. The second one doesn’t involve senses but the brain to collect information. This is a new time of travelling, instantaneous and wider, where people can be in different place in the same time. But I think internet is a transfer of the real world in the virtual world, you can find every services of the real world and more. By new scale of time and distances it creates a new geography of the world, because it’s an infinite space not restricted by physical rules. So in a period we can see the frontier of the real world, we can travel in an unlimited virtual space.

World of warcraft

I would like to give an example of how the virtual mobility is wide and how it can change the vision of the real world. Before I came in Birmingham I made some research to know how was the city, so I went on internet and I found pictures about Birmingham. But I used Google earth and saw the city in 3D, I saw the city in its global nature, of course I didn’t felt the atmosphere of the city, but with street view I actually was in the city. When I came in Birmingham I didn’t discovered the city but I recognized it, particularly places like the bullring, the symphony hall or the Institute of Art and Design. In a way I came in Birmingham long time before my physical presence in the city.

My project is to show how there is two scale of mobility, represented two spheres, the little one is the real world with physical connection and another sphere around much bigger is the virtual world, much connected than the real world and continuing to extend. Strings will represent connections (social, business, culture…)

I don’t know if it’s a good idea but with some explanations, my point will be clear. These are my references, the friend wheel of facebook and other social map and the real world with physical end.

Electronic Wealth Transfer

The virtual world that we have created affects not just our ability to share photos and gossip, news and information, goods and services, but also wealth and stock! Whether it be through electronic banking or the virtual arm of the global stock marketplace, the ‘World Wide Web’ allows for vast sums of money and stock (which hold a monetary value) to be exchanged. Now although these two transactions in themselves are very different they both, in their most primitive form facilitate the transfer/exchange of wealth. Although they do both have the more traditional physical presence as well, eg. High street bank, their usefulness and popularity are ever growing.

NASDAQ (the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is the largest electronic based stock exchange service available in the United States and processes more trading volume per hour than any other stock exchange in the world. This example helps to illustrate just how large a place this electronic market has taken within the world market of stock and trading. This can ad no doubt will only get bigger as technology advances and the market for such a service become greater and greater. It allows for the marketplace to be taken out from the physical restraints of the traditional method, which placed all of the buyers and sellers in one geographical location. This allows for remote trading from anywhere in the US or the world, depending upon which market you are trading within. NASDAQ has four different internal markets:

- NASDAQ Capital Market

- NASDAQ Global Market

- NASDAQ Global Select Market

- NASDAQ PORTAL Market

Internet banking has grown largely over the last few years and has played a large place in how at least the British banking system operates and how banks want to develop in the future. Modern commercial banks are all trying to make the move into the virtual world so to cut down on the number of customers attending their high street banks for reasons that can be sorted out automatically on the internet. This save them money through having less staff in the bank and can give better customer accessibility to their own account information and money transfer options. This point of accessibility is a main contributing factor to the term mobility (as discussed in Floraine’s previous blog entry) and so where a customer can have ease of accessibility to there own financial information and service then there is a definite increase in mobility.

The general point that I am wishing to make here is that the virtual world of the ‘World Wide Web’ has made these two forms of money transfer possible and thus has created a ‘virtual mobility of wealth’.

Floraine's posts

I have been anticipating this large collection of information since last Friday and I must say that I am impressed with what you have come up with. You have taken a broad view of the concept of mobility and definitely give me an insight into the meaning of the word from a less specific viewpoint. The four notions of mobility that you discussed really help to break it down in another way to that which was discussed in studio. I have been struggling to look at it in any other terms than physical, political, virtual and social until now. This gives my understanding of the word another angle to work from.

On another note, the Australian design for the rotating space is brilliant. Although the concept may not be entirely fresh, the way that they have executed the design is most impressive. The thought of living within such a small space that can be altered through mobility is a great area to touch on. Not sure how comfortable it would be mind, but I would love to give it a go!

Neil

Individual piece- Amandeep

Regarding my 3D/2D representation of mobility, I have decided that i am going to base it on my 'Life Timeline' page that i posted on the blog a while ago. I was planning on doing it on the idea of modernisation, and how we as a society have grown over time, as I tried to incorporate everything.

But I showed my idea to Mike, and he told me to simplify it to one idea, to focus it to one main idea (e.g. physical- social/ social- virtual etc). I have always thought mobility was about physical- social link so I'm going back to that, and Mike also said it helps to relate it to your self, but its not crucial. He then said keep it simple and straight forward and I should be fine.

Haven't got a clue what its going to be so I'm kinda stressing!!

Hope this helps, and hope everyone's having better luck than me :)

Mobility Flexibility

This is informations I found in a book called " Flexible Architecture that responds to change" written by Robert Kronenburg (Lawrence King publishing, 2007, London).

It's very interesting, it says that mobility is connected to 4 other notions
Mobility - adaptability

- transformation
- movability

- interaction

Flexible architecture refers to buildings that are designed to respond easily to change thoughout their lifetime. They get advantages of technical innovation, are economically and ecologically viable.

ADAPTABILITY: buildings that are designed to adjust to different functions, users, climate change

TRANSFORMATION: buildings that change shape, space, form or appearance by the physical alteration of their structures, skin or internal surfaces. Architecture that opens, closes, expands and contracts

MOVABILITY: buildings that relocate from place to place in order to fulfil their function better. Architecture that rolls, floats or flies

INTERACTION: Buildings that respond to user's requirements in automatic or intuitive ways.

I have different examples for those notions
Adaptability

Park Bench House is abench by day and a bed by night. It's a rudimentary shelter for people who sleep rough in public spaces.

Transformation

With the free floors, the Pompidou centre's interior is completly movable

Movability

Mobile ICHIJYO/1 and Mobile ICHIJYO/2 are portable tea rooms that pack away in a aluminum case. The roof is suspended from above by a series of cables hooked on to nearby supports. A translucente curtain creates an intimate room for quiet contemplation.

Interaction

Rotor House, Luigi Coliani, 2004, tube with a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, you can switch from one to another by rolling the tube

Amandeep

Hey Floraine- I think your brain storm is really good as it picks out the main points that we've discussed about mobility over the blog.

I think in terms of architecture, I would say adaptability is the one of the most desirable traits we as architects are striving to build within our designs.

I think another good point you mentioned was the idea of the internet being a portal for share and debate, which maybe one of the reasons its so successful...

I would agree that mobility is all those things mentioned, and maybe the idea of mobility will evolve even more in the future..

I Love your sketches!! Really Cool! And I agree with you on the idea of home changes due to type of culture and people are occupying that area. I also think there maybe other things that create differences between cultures, such as location, language and technology available at the time and many more..

Mobility and humain being

As I want to be an architect and I think the most important thing is the people who will inhabit the place, that's why I made a (rapid) research about the nomadic existences, the populations who need to move, most of the time to survive.

During the old times, the human existence was based on our capacity for movement and adaptability, to hunt, find food, in a word to survive. Every population found a way to be adapted to their environment, every time they are using local materials to build their home and find a way to design something light weight, easy to dismantle and to carry.

With these populations the notion of home is very different of our sedentary culture. Place making is a subjective sensation, in certain culture it's more flexible and ephemeral than in our.

For example in japanese culture it is an act of binding a place, encercling trees, rocks. And the japanese house is modular place, because one room can be a social space, private retreat or a sleeping place, furnitures are moved to change the meaning of the space.

In the Aboriginal australian culture, a place can be defined by travelling along a route that has been recounted in a story, the act of making the home is along a way.

The occidental culture is in opposition of the mobility,in the modern life we used to be static, standardized, working and living in static. When we are travelling, we are moving from a place as a point of reference, we see the world from where were are belonging.


But mobility is the capacity to accommodate change, and in the present society it is also economic effiency, substainbility performances, accessibility.


Now technological, social, and economics changes can lead to a new form of nomadic existence based on global market, world wide web and cheap, fast transportation.




Flexible architecture is not a new phenomenon, but a form of buildings that evolved alongside human being 's developping creative skills.

An old gypsy wagon

Airstream Clipper, designed in 1931 and manufactured at Airstream's first Californian plant in 1932

Silver Cloud Model Airstream, 1936

The improvement of cars and the possibility to be on holidays had been increased the design of touring boxes

Appearance of mobile homes

Research around mOBILITY

Hi I waited long time before I share my work by it's here now!

Above there is the connections between mobility and the other ideas as adaptability and accessibility which are in my opinion the most interesting aspects of mobility. These two notions are connected to the social, because people can interact if the way meeting is fair and adapted to everyone.
If everybody can access to a form of mobility, share, debate, it garantees a general success as internet.

That's why I will work around the social aspect of mobility, both physical and virtual but more virtual I think.

The Electric Car- Amandeep

Most of my blog entries are about social and physical mobility, so I’ve decided to look at political and environmental issues that I think are important to us in terms of physical, social, and virtual mobility, and found that the electric car was a good example of where society saw/sees the future.

The idea came about in 1996, around the time we became aware of climate change and its effect on our atmosphere. It was an experiment done by GM to produce a car of the future that would use a renewable fuel.

The design brought about many advantages such as no noise, lightweight, no toxic emission, cost less than using petrol, can be built at large scale cheaply and many more. It draws motive power from a batter that provides 4 kilowatts per hour and can even be charged from home overnight. But after a 4 year trial it was eventually scrapped due to political and economical matter.

Wally Rippel (car developer) explains the idea of the electric car was abandoned as this would result in oil companies losing profit in the oil sales and auto companies were afraid of losses over the next six months of EV production. GM began negative marketing and eventually discontinued their range. Though the idea has not been publicly released, the concept is still wandering in the air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsJAlrYjGz8

But fortunately, many other companies have been designing hybrid electric cars over the last decade, that may even be released within the next 10-20 years. Maybe the future does hold a better, faster and more efficient environment through the use of new technology?

Another example is the electric scooter which is available now that allows travel for individuals and can even reach speeds of up to 50 mph! They can mainly be seen used by the police force nowadays all over the world, but will they eventually be owned by every household?? Will travel be even faster?

Jess's model idea

In relation to Jess's post about her mobile idea, I like where it is going and you seem to have a clear idea upon where you want to take this. I agree with what Amandeep suggests about what to take from the piece and after giving it some thought I came up with a theory of my own.

Judging from that image that you have posted up on your blog, I have taken it to be illustrating mobility, chronologically, in terms of physical movement globally. Starting at the smaller scaled end of the sculpture which represents human mobility in say, the early few centuries of our existence and as the sculpture changes in scale it shows a timeline of how humanity has covered large distances over the globe until you reach the present day. This is at the very largest end of the sculpture which shows a large amount of movement as a result of the motor car, plane and modern ships. The arm then going off to the right with the yellow tip (which may be the support by which the model is hung) then represents looking into our future, and the unknown.

In terms of my own individual work, I have come to no conclusion as of yet. I intend to focus on gaining some inspiration in the next few days.

Neil

globalization - spatial city - a global city in the trees

(stolen blog)

Globalization is the effect of the current epoch that is characterised by the more frequent and more rapid movement from one place to the other and it involves a greater number of people traversing ever greater distances. And not only people but goods and ideas move from one place to another as well. The rapid exchange of materials and knowledge have make architecture to redefine its form, function, process and value as we pass from the mass-production system to the flexible production system. The transmission of the masses of population and in the same time of different cultures, social statues and variable need in the big cities with the connection of the development of electronic communication and information systems caused the variety and flexibility in architectural styles. Architecture is trend to be practically individualized and sustainable in the same time. On account of the variety of the contemporary cities and the fact that the space is not a result of static volumes and masses, but consist of visible and invisible forces, we should emphasize on relations instead of mass in architecture, that would achieve the harmonious coexistence of individual styles.

Spatial city

Yona Friedman (1999) proposed the construction of a "spatial city" consisting of several elevated tiers of lightweight "space-defining elements" superimposed over existing cities. Inhabitants get the opportunity to adapt their dwellings themselves to the needs of the moment. Not only would the interior walls of Friedman' s "spatial city" be moveable, but also its exterior walls, floors and ceilings. In addition, services such as water and power supply, and garbage disposal, would be easily reconfigured in order to promote greater freedom of movement for residents.

A Global City in the Trees

In the 22nd Century, underground ultra-high speed conduits carry people, goods and resources throughout the world. Atlanta secures construction of the first Mega-Hub and to get anywhere, everyone "must go through Atlanta." Economic growth, infusion of a world population and the city's rich existing character make Atlanta a world destination.

Along with advancements of a global transit system, new architecture of organic material and kinetic structure is developed. Atlanta, acknowledging its possibilities but respecting its past, freezes most development through its historic neighbourhoods. The in-between spaces, forgotten fabric and obsolete infrastructure are designated as high-density districts bridging once-divided neighbourhoods. In exchange for neighbourhood preserves, Atlanta utilizes organic, kinetic architecture to create the "new city" poised between the terminals of the world transit system

Amandeep

Hey jess- i think your sculptor idea sounds great! I remember you saying your sculptor was inspired by the children's toy, which sounds like an exciting way to represent communication/ travel. I love the idea of it being a 'mobile' lol; I think you're using the wire to represent a mixture of virtual and physical movement through space?? maybe using different colour to differentiate? or small/ larger wires to represent different social classes? Am I right? are you going to be using beads or something else?

The idea of the child's toy coils reminded me of the Guggenheim museum by Frank Lloyd Wright, but more on a vertical axis.

Its an art museum that has been layed out to control the movement of the public and how they view the art on display. The floor plan is of one big coil where the public enter a lift upon entry. Here they are taken to the top, where they walk the distance round/ down the coil, whilst viewing the art work displayed on the walls- its quite ingenious!! This means that they don't miss any artwork, have the chance to interact with others, and also enjoy the view. This incorporates the idea of motion within the heart of the building. And is easily accessible to disabled too.

Maybe you could incorporate the idea of a coil(s) within your sculptor, as the coil itself implies motion.....

Representing Mobility!

We clearly are all looking at mobility in very different ways. Some of us in a physical sence and others in virtual sences and other things.


Here is an image of a sculpture By Alexander Calder, and where i am taking lots of inspiration in making my idea of mobility visual.


The idea originated from the wire childs toy, and then into wire sculpture and mobility art. I looked at a few different artist before stumbling accross Alexander Calder.


His work is like hanging momuments. And I love that as they are hanging from the ceiling and arent completely fixed they move with a breeze of wind.


I wont tell you what the reasoning behind to choses i will make when making the sculture and which wire represnt what as i would like you to make up you own mind! As it will mean something very different to you as it will to me.

Has anyone decided what or how they intend to represent MOBILITY to you?

Jess