IFD:SpaceIsThePlace

Fachmodul
Space Is The Place: From Simulation to Hyperreality
Instructor: Jason Reizner
Credits: 6 ECTS, 4 SWS
Capacity: max. 15 students
Language: English
Date: Dienstag/Tuesday, 13:30-16:45
Location: Marienstr. 7b, Room 104
First Meeting: 16 October 2017

Description

Today abstraction is no longer that of the map, the double, the mirror or the concept. Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal.
     –Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation

As applications and user experiences continue to evolve past the boundaries of the device and melt into the fabric of the world at large, the jobs of architects and interface designers are becoming ever more entangled and indistinguishable. In a world where traditional epistemological distinctions between 'rendered' and 'real' become increasingly irrelevant, a considered awareness of space and place is mandatory for the practitioners who mediate the environments where application states intersect states of mind. This course exposes participants to the philosophical and sociological discourse underpinning hyperreality, while exploring contemporary off-screen interfaces and ambient interaction in the rest of the universe, outside of the device. Reflecting on the physics and psychology of space, participants will consider the theoretical and technical foundations of tangible, pervasive and ubiquitous computing, as well as future directions for emerging technologies including Mixed Realities and the Web of Everything. Successful candidates will apply their experimentation in support of the development of a relevant semester project, scaffolded by targeted readings, discussion sessions and workshops.

Admission requirements

Concurrent enrollment in another IFD course offering, or with instructor permission.

Registration procedure

Candidates from Media Art and Design MFA Program:
Preliminary registration will take place at the faculty-wide enrollment event on Tuesday, 10. October from 11:00 until 13:00 in the Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 7.

Candidates from MediaArchitecture or other programs:
Preliminary registration is conducted by sending an email with your name, matriculation number and a statement outlining your motivation for taking this module, as well as your background, technical competences and current areas of research, to jason.reizner [ät] uni [minus] weimar.de

All candidates:
Formal registration will take place at the close of the first class meeting. In the event there are more interested participants than available capacity, candidates will be selected on the basis of their technical, aesthetic and conceptual aptitude.

Evaluation

Successful completion of the course is dependent on regular attendance, active participation, completion of weekly assignments and delivery of a relevant semester project. Please refer to the Evaluation Rubric for more details.

Eligible participants

Fachmodul:
MFA Medienkunst/-gestaltung, MFA Media Art and Design, MSc MediaArchitecture

Syllabus (subject to change)

17 October 2017
Week 1
Introduction
Course Organization
Administrative Housekeeping

Assignment: Read the linked article titled "Jean Baudrillard: Simulacra and Simulations"


24 October 2017
Week 2
Physics of Space
Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, Einstein

Sources and Links from the Lecture

Assignment: Read the linked article titled "Kant's Views on Space and Time"
Begin production of your Motion Analysis Videos


31 October 2017
Week 3
No Class - Reformation Day

Assignment: Finish production of your Motion Analysis Videos in advance of next week's workshop


7 November 2017
Week 4
Philosophy of Space
Plato, Kant, Heidegger

Motion Analysis Workshop

Sources and Links from the Lecture

Assignment: Read the linked article titled "Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias" from Michel Foucault
and develop your speculative model of an Heterotopia


14 November 2017
Week 5
Form, Space and Order
Operative (and Conditional) Design

Sources and Links from the Lecture

Assignment: Review the entirety of Operative Design from Anthony Di Mari and Nora Yoo
and come to our next meeting with an object or form you that you can describe using the spatial verbs presented in the reading


21 November 2017
Week 6
Human Perception and Psychology of Space
Human-scale Design
Proximetrics

Sources and Links from the Lecture

Assignment: Finish preparing your Midterm Presentations and be prepared to discuss your project for 10-15 next week.
For our meeting in two weeks, please review "Equilibrium Theory Revisited: Mutual Gaze and Personal Space in Virtual Environments" from Bailensen et al., as well as "Distance Matters" from Olson and Olson


28 November 2017
Week 7
Midterm Presentations


5 December 2017
Week 8
Code/Space vs. Network/Globalisation
Holes?!


12 December 2017
Week 9
Situationism and Context-based Computing


19 December 2017
Week 10
Independent Project Work


09 January 2017
Week 11
Mapping and Physical Representation
Location Services


16 January 2017
Week 12
Milgram und Co.: Mixed Realities


23 January 2017
Week 13
Debugging Lab


30 January 2017
Week 14
Final Presentations