Borderline University

1

BORDERLINE UNIVERSITYRyan LeeRPI CLOUD Thesis Group 2010-11

2

Ryan LeeRPI CLOUD Thesis Group 2010-11

TRANSVERCITY::::the CLOUD InstitutionInstructor: Carla Leitao

Committee Member: Ted Krueger

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix

Dean Den Charrette

Bibliography

Figure Citations

Group Research Learning/Information Exchange (universities) Ryan Lee + Rachel Guillot + Christine Lois

IntroductionPrecis-Thesis Statement

Research Genealogy

Final Project

Research Framework Information Exchange Through Virtual Space and Information Visualization

Design Investigations

Design Tests

Proposal

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9

28

384854

687576

6

INTRODUCTION

7

PRECIS + THESIS STATEMENT

RYAN LEE

TRANSVERCITY::::the CLOUD Institution

The CLOUD Thesis explores the architectural, social, and ecological opportunities afforded by advanced material sensitivity, future methods of information extraction and archiving, and local and global sensitivities offered by networked protocols within the context of the year 2048. The program of investigation is the archive/library and education/learning. This studio asks how architects can engage and structure the triad of material sensitivity, archiving, and networked protocols to structure the design of education and archiving institutions using the model of the CLOUD; an entity that shifts, adapts, stores and distributes with local sensitivity within a global context.As new materials become available, it has become possible to push the limits of the performance of buildings. As the everyday objects which we interface with become more intelligent, it is necessary for architectural objects to become more intelligent. In the article Shaping Things, science-fiction author, Bruce Sterling, proposed the creation of the Spime: intelligent objects with the ability of self-awareness, communica-tion, self-assembly, self-disassembly, and self-recycling. As these objects become reality they are changing how we engage the architectural environment (whether through virtual or augmented reality) one to one interaction, or new communication channels. The potential for these materials and objects to gather, archive, and distribute information has radically shifted the ways in which humanity educates and archives. These two programs have become increasingly interconnected.

POINT OF INSERTION :::: the borderline university

The Borderline University is a new type of bi-national university that operates within a fractured border condition. This university acts as a mediator between border entities by tackling spatial and socioeconomic issues through the use of distributed educational protocols and a merger of the university’s educational archives with local commercial interests. Within a bi-national educational context, the project will incorpo-rate local and global commerce as a means to stimulate growth and education along the border. The borderline of investigation is the United States and Mexico border. The Borderline University attempts to re-qualify the current divisive and isolationist policies along this border by creating a bi-national attitude promoting investment and growth, leading to reform. The project envisions a widening of the border to achieve these goals. The installation of a university, within the widened border, will test the abilities of university incubator programs to promote continuous education, distributed learning, and information exchange. Installed within the Sister Cities along the US-Mexico border, the Borderline University bridges the rigid landscapes of national security, immigration, and employment/education. The Border-line University will distribute itself, and grow through the use of flexible material specifications which allow the university to adopt multiple forms according to local conditions by tapping into educational needs along the border.

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RESEARCH GENEALOGY

FP1::::RESEARCH PHASE

9

GROUP RESEARCH

RYAN LEE + CHRISTINE LOIS + RACHEL GUILLOT

Research Genealogy

Learning/Information Exchange (universities)

Within the context of the CLOUD Institution, educa-tion and learning play a central role in the process of gathering and distributing the archive. The spread of information from instructor to student, from student to student, university to university, etc generate large databases of information that can be tapped into to allow information to spread even further. The paradigm shifts of the 21st century have given universities a large virtual presence, making distance learning and distrib-uted education possible. The progressive educational reforms of the early 20th century encouraged students to take a larger role in their education by providing greater freedom in the choice of curriculum(1). Today (despite the influence of standardization(2)) many progressive forms of educa-tion still exist. Home schooling and remote learning have expanded the applications of progressive principles. Both take advantage the power of distributed learning, allowing students to access education material remotely and to interact with students, educators, and profession-als in their studies. The non-centralization of information has allowed educational networks to link, edit, and combine information. Progressive education provides an alternative to the strict regimentation of standardized education systems.

Distributed networks provide an opportunity to expand education beyond the classroom, generating overlaps between primary education, secondary educa-tion, employment, and community. Instead of the typical primary school to employment progression, open source archiving allows continual education where those who are marginalized by educational instutions have access and the ability to learn. Programs such as the Hole-In-the-Wall Education Program have demon-strated the ability of these systems to en-courage information exchange and group learning. Primary education has become increasingly concerned with providing access to secondary and higher education. University incubators have blurred the lines between campus, community, and employment by providing opportunities for investment and through outreach programs. University programs such as design-build and residencies create community involvement.

The CLOUD university encourages inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research and information overlap. The new global university has redrawn physical and virtual campus borders. The case study of New York University demonstrates the influence universities have not only on the cities that they occupy but on global information exchange.

The research done in this section of the book was done collaboratively for the benefit of the entire studio.

1. Led by John Dewey, (1859- 1952) progressive education reform looked to establish a democratic form of education in which the interests and experiences of the student were taken into account.

2. In response to the increased specialization of education, Mark C . Taylor writes, in The End of the University as We Know It, “The division-of-labor model of separate departments is obsolete and must be replaced with a curr iculum structured like a web or complex adaptive network. Responsible teaching and scholarship must become cross-disciplinar y and cross-cultural.”

10

RESEARCH GENEALOGY

Primary Education

Secondary Education

Employm

ent

Comm

unity

INDUSTRIAL ERACOLD W

AR ERAPROGRESSIVE ERA

INFORMATION AGE

Primary Education

Secondary Education

Employm

ent

Comm

unity

Corporate Funded Lab

Develop/Design/BuildApprentice /Protege

Church Model

Comm

unal Reform

Fast Food Model

Comm

unity Outreach

Mass Production M

odel

1850

1900

1950

1990

Darwin’s Origin of Species is published

US Department of Education is created

John Dewey’s Democracy and Education is published

Gestalt TheorySAT is �rst administered

GI Bill

BF Skinner’s Science and Human Behavior is published - operant conditioning

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

E-Book is invented

University of Phoenix establishes the �rst online campus

Massachusetts Education Reform Act - common curriculum and statewide tests

No Child Left Behind is passed

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive DevelopmentStock Market Crash

Thorndike’s Law of E�ect

Rise of McCarthyism

Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act is passed

First standardized tests of intelligence

Racial Integration

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GROUP RESEARCH


INDUSTRIAL ERA

PROGRESSIVE ERA

COLD WAR ERA

INFORMATION AGE

CHURCH MODEL

COMMUNAL REFORM

MASS PRODUCTION MODEL

FAST FOOD MODEL

During the industrial era structured education was considered a luxury. The church established and ran most schools. Most schools were boys only schools. Girls and boys were given separate curriculums. The boarding school became popular due to the large distance between schools.

Higher Education was not important during this era as employment was a larger concern. Informal education was extremely important during this time. Apprenticeships were the main form of education. Primary education stopped around the age of twelve, allowing children to begin their working careers with apprenticeships at this time. Apprenticeships took place in the trades. After completing their training, apprentices would often spend time as a journeyman.

The goal of progressive education was to make schools more effective agencies of a democratic society. This involved an active participation of all aspects of society. The two essential elements of a progressive education were respect for diversity and the development of a critical, socially engaged intelligence. The movement was driven by the desire to focus vocational training and by the expanding industrial economy.

The movement was led by John Dewey. Dewey opposed the growing movement that advocated using scientific techniques (such as intelligence testing) and cost-benefit analysis to drive education reform. Dewey believed in an open curriculum where students should take part in their own learning.

The cold war period was a time of anxiety and cultural conservatism, leading to the repudiation of the progressive education model. During this time the education system became increasingly bureaucratic and standardized. Control moved away from the school board and towards the federal and state levels. The curriculum becomes standardized and hierarchical.

Behaviorism and cognitive learning compete to establish influence over education. Secondary education increases in importance as the economy moves from manufactur-ing to service industries.

Education becomes increasingly standardized and hierarchical as school performance (and funding) is determined by achievement standards. The passage of No Child Left Behind Act provides penalties to schools that do not make adequate yearly progress according to the goals of the act.

Forms of new technology find their way into the classroom. Primary education becomes increasingly linked to secondary education through early credit opportunities and scholarships. More students than ever go on to study in college leading to increased specialization.

EDUCATIONAL MODELS ACROSS TIME AND POLITICAL/CULTURAL TERRITORIES

CURRICULUM - standardized - linear - assimilation

ASSESSMENT - test

PEDAGOGY - informal - active

CURRICULUM - networked - open - creative

ASSESSMENT - diagnostic

PEDAGOGY - informal - passive

CURRICULUM - linear - hierarchial - standardized - assimilationASSESSMENT - test

PEDAGOGY - formal - passive

CURRICULUM - linear - hierarchial - sub-subjects- specializedASSESSMENT - diagnostic

PEDAGOGY - formal - passive

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RESEARCH GENEALOGY

DISTANCE LEARNING

Figure 01: Hole-in-the-Wall computer kiosk

PercentSources of curriculum or booksPublic l brary 77.9

76.968.759.649.236.526.022.616.8

Homeschooling organizationChurch, synagogue, or other religious organizationOther sourcesLocal public sc hool or districtPrivate school

Retail bookstore or other storeHomeschooling catalog, publisher, or individual specialist

Education publisher not affiliated with homeschooling

s

exible

CURRICULUMASSESSMENT

PEDAGOGY

State Determined Fl

Church

Parents

Apprenticeships

Progessional

Homeschooling Curriculum Sources

Alternative Education Models: Progressive Era Reforms

MINIMALLY INVASIVE EDUCATION

MIE describes how children learn in unsupervised environments. Many times these systems use technology as a means to access an archive of information. This structure of learning argues that learning is an active process. Homogenization and standardization is sacrificed for creativity and personal responsibility.

SUDBURY VALLEY SCHOOL MODEL

The Sudbury Valley School Model is an alternative approach to education in which students enjoy personal freedom and are responsible for their own education. Students do not follow a linear curriculum. Supporters of this method of teaching state that students do not suffer from learning disabilities due to the lack of intervention. The school uses peer to peer learning, technology, and a flexible faculty to facilitate learning. Feeding off of progressive education reforms, the school’s intent is to “provide a setting in which students are independent, are trusted, and are treated as respon-sible people; and a community in which students are exposed to the complexities of life in the framework of a participatory democracy.” To achieve this the school is also run by the students, who are allowed to make the administrative decisions of the school.

HOLE IN THE WALL EDUCATION PROGRAM

Established by Sugata Mitra, the Hole in the Wall Education program uses public access computers to teach children basic computing skills through peer learning. The project’s goal is to stimulate curiosity to facilitate learning. Mitra states, “The hole-in-the-wall experiments have given us a new, inexpensive, and reliable method for bringing computer literacy and primary education to areas where conventional schools are not functional. Such facilities are not meant to replace schools and teachers; they are meant to supplement, complement, and stand in for them.” Design is an important element of the project as design elements limit adult usage, abuse, and misuse.

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GROUP RESEARCH


States requiring no notice: No state requirement for parents to initiate any contact.

States with low regulation: State requires parental notification only.

States with moderate regulation: State requires parents to send notification, test scores, and/or professional evaluation of student progress. State with high regulation: State requires parents to send notification or achievement test scores and/or professional evaluation, plus other requirements (e.g. curriculum approval by the state, teacher qualification of parents, or home visits by state officials)

Legal under no conditions, or only registration Legal under regulating conditions, such as mandatory tests and checks Legal under restricting conditions, like a teaching certificate or permit Illegal No available data

Homeschooling Legality

Figure 02: Homeschooling legality by countr y

Figure 03: Homeschooling legality by state

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RESEARCH GENEALOGY

HOMESCHOOLINGDEMOGRAPHICS

There are many reasons a parent may choose to home-school their child. Religion is an important factor; however it is often looked at as the dominant factor. Nontraditional approaches, born out of the progressive movement are a growing factor in the decision to choose homeschooling. This can be seen in the use of partial school enrollment to supplement education.Homeschoolers stand out from other school children in some categories. They are predominately white, middle-class, parents are well educated, southern, and rural. The large religious influence is seen in these demo-graphics.

Inspirtation

CreativityLearning

Facilitation

Guidance

UNSCHOOLING

Unschooling is an educational philosophy within home-schooling that critiques the educational establishment. Unschooling encourages learning through life experi-ences. Unlike some homeschoolers, unschoolers do not believe in the recreation of the classroom at home. Instead many unschoolers choose to look outside of the home for sources for learning. This may include distance learning or collaboration with various institutions (local schools or libraries). The goal of the parent is to act as a facilitator and not an instructor. Often groups of unschoolers are formed through social media. The Not Back to School Camp is an annual gathering of unschoolers, ages 13 to 18, held annually.

Figure 04: Homeschooling enrollment status

Figure 05: Homeschooling reasons

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GROUP RESEARCH


OTHER SCHOOLING OPTIONS

The typical choice for school type is between private and public schools. It is seen that western areas and urban areas had the largest flexibility for school choices. The northeast and Midwest contain the most amount of students enrolled in private schools (by percentage), and the Midwest contained the most students that received their first choice school. The suburban lifestyle provides the most flexibility for moving in order to be near a desired school. From 1993 to 2007 the freedom to choose schools has increased across the states.

Public Private Charter Magnet

Funding

Regulations

Admission

Tuition

public

yes

yesopen

no

no

some

yes

public public

some

selectivesome

selective

yes

no no

Number (thousands)

Percent

Total, all occupations 15,273.9 01 0.1

First professional degree 352.6 17.6

Doctoral degree 345.4 16.6

Master's degree 64 18.3Bachelor's or higher degree, plus work experience

549.6 8.4

Bachelor's degree 1,084.8 01 6.6

Associate degree 1,167.8 01 9.1Postsecondary vocational award

1,164.1 01 3.2

Work experience in a related occupa tion

1,180.0 08 .1

Long-term on-the-job training

805.8 7.5

Moderate -term on-the-job training

1,962.6 08

Short-te rm on-the-job training

4,197.0 07 .7

Change, 2008 -18

Figure 06: Future change in education levels

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RESEARCH GENEALOGY

The university system, coupled with the current migration trends creates a cycle of information causing the population to disperse to receive their education. Following formal education, they disperse again to form their own migratory patterns.

Current circulation of information/migration

mapping

circulation of information

migration of humans

educational centers

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GROUP RESEARCH


Future model of migration, education and information dispersal

The interconnectivity of education, migration, and information dispersal is displayed in the diagram to the right. The more prestigious universities in the United States are located in the Northeast and in California but current migration patterns are driving people into the South and Southeast of the United States. This cyclical movement pattern means that students are moving into the Northeast and California regions to be educated, then migrating to the South after formal schooling. As they travel from their original location, to the education institutions, then to their career location, a circulation of information is created that allows for gathering and

dispersal of knowledge.

As virtual networks and online education become the norm for a variety of institutions, this circulation of information dispersal is disrupted. With online education institutions, the temporary migration of students to a new location to be educated is replaced with an ability to be educated in the location one lives. The sole migration occurs at the career level, decreasing

the informal information dispersal.

what goes in | the universityMIGRATION AND CYCLE OF INFORMATION

circulation of information

migration of humans

educational centers

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RESEARCH GENEALOGY

Universities are created with the mission to CREATE, PRESERVE, INTEGRATE, and APPLY knowledge.Homeschooling and interdisciplinary education call for a broad education model that allows the student to gain an overall understanding of various topics.

Proposals for university evolution:Adaptive learning systems that individualize to the

The Four Dimensions of Education and thier respective sections

The curr iculum breakdown of learning institutions

student, active learning in interactive features, collaborative systems [in groups toward a common goal].

A specialized education deals in models that allow each student to choose a concentration to focus upon. This creates a specialized individual with a strong knowledge base in one particular area. One example of this specialized education is found in an RPI education. The focus on math and science decreases the emphasis on reading and writing.

what goes in | the university4 DIMENSIONS OF EDUCATION

Specialized Education

Homeschool/Interdiciplinary Education

Reading Spelling Grammer Math Good Citizenship

Reading Grammer Good Citizenship

Spelling Math

INFR

AST

RUC

TURE

CO

NTE

NT

FORMAT PEDAGOGYorganizational perspective

curriculumsyllabusstaffing

educational perspectiveinstructional design

tech

nica

l per

spec

tive

hard

war

eso

ftwar

e

subj

ect-

orie

nted

per

spec

tive

subj

ect

know

ledg

e

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GROUP RESEARCH


Cycle of Learning Environments

The MIT Media Lab works in a similar manner by using an experimental approach and integration of technology and hands-on design to educate the student.

Future models are coming full circle to be focused once again upon an apprenticeship theme that uses hands-on experience and participation as a learning model. In the present model, the apprenticeships are generally sponsored by corporations and institutions. This new educational model has produced the incubator as a learning institution.

Learning environments began with apprenticeships, such as forge working in the pre-1900s, progressing to classroom instruction where a teacher lectures to a classroom of students. Distance learning and online instruction are increasingly becoming more common in order to combat issues of distance, affordability, and individualization. An example model of an integration between this and the classroom instruction is Davenport University, located in Michigan. A combination of online classrooms and physical classrooms are used to reach a broader student population and reach out to an older student population. Many more of these models are based in the Mid-West where is a larger distance to be traveled between institutions. The Reactable is an example of an element that uses technology as a means of providing instruction through interaction while the One Laptop Per Child program and technology uses the element as a way to instruct solely through the technology with no outside courses necessary.

what goes in | the universityCYCLES OF LEARNING

ttp://bardsley org uk/wp content/uploads/2007/06/reactable jpg

learning through

“Plug+Play”

[reactable]

apprenticeship[forge apprentice]

[MIT Media Lab]http://news.c t com/i/bto/ 468.jpg

classroom instruction

onlineinstructing

http://wwwport ac uk/media/Media 56069 en jpg

participationexperimentation

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/12/LaptopOLPC_b.jpg

[One Laptop per Child]

[distance learning_online classes]

[classroom learning]

cycle of learning environments

Figure 07: cycle of learning environments

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RESEARCH GENEALOGY

THE FUTURE UNIVERSITY focuses on the student’s needs and desires in a similar way that home-schooling and unschooling focus on the student rather than the system.

01. Grocock, Anne. “Universities in the Future”. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1279153/02. Coleman, Liz. Ted Talks.03. Taylor, Mark. “End the University as we know it”04. Western Governors University. www.wgu.com

The drivers of this change in the institution are: Te c h n o l o g y , D i s t a n c e , A f f o r d a b i l i t y , Individualization/Customization, and Research.

These drivers stem from political, economic, and research changes.

Exchange University

Bookless UniversityIntel Inside University

All Have Access University

MentorUniversity

Special Interest Group University

Holodeck University

Grasshopper University

Satellite/Distance Learning University

Multi-Mode University

No University

Multicultural University

Student_Led University

Technology

Affordability

Distance

Individualism/

FUTU

RE T

O P

RESE

NT

21

GROUP RESEARCH


Though many of the future universities are based upon ideas set in individualization/customization roots, university evolution according to Liz Coleman, [Bennington College president], should head in a direction that creates an individual with a holistic view of all disciplines. She argues the focus into a single field or expertise of a field narrows the student’s view. [02]

Another approach to the future university is tied back to the idea of interdisciplinary education and that there should be more collaboration between disciplines. A regulation and restructuring of the university would include:

A restructuring of the curriculum, creation of the web/complex network, increase collaboration between universities, problem-focused programs [not permanent departments], dissertation presentation [to be a project or interactive event], expansion of professional options for grad students, and abolishing tenure and establishing a 7-year contract plan. [03]

One example of a future education institution model is Western Governors University. A virtual university with online classes that makes it affordable [a few thousand per six-month term], convienent [offered everywhere], and customizable [one can take classes as slowly or as quickly as they please]. [04]

what goes in | the universityTHE FUTURE UNIVERSITY

No Bowl University

Lifelong Learning University

Star ProfUniversity

Continuous EducationUniversity

BusinessUniversity

No Calendar University

Experience University

Split Teaching/Research University

Corporate Owned Univer-sity

Customization

Research

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RESEARCH GENEALOGY

01. Business Incubators http://www.inc .com/magazine/20100501/the-best-business-incubators.html02. [NBIA] www.nbia.org03. [UCF] www.incubator.ucf.edu04. [SCI-Arc] http://www.sciarc .edu/05. [MIT] www.r le.mit.eduwww.r le.mit.edu

Incubators exist in a variety of forms, many are affiliated with a university, while others are affliated with corporations. In Seattle, Washington, Microsoft has an incubator that works with start-up companies involved in web-based software programs and offers up to $250,000 to companies that don’t need large upfront investments.

In Corvallis, Oregon, the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Center offers $250,000 to regional venture capitalists, while in Boulder, Colorado, TechStars gives 10 start-up companies up to $18,000 over a three month period in the summer for research and implementation of web-based software. [01]

University incubators provide opportunities that allow entrepreneurs, undergraduate, graduate students, and professors to be involved in a multidisciplinary facility and education so that they may develop business plans,

The graph to the left depicts the education cycle as it

exists presently

projects, and corporations to serve the population. Some university incubators are solely involved in the community as test subjects, others for investment, and more as potential members.

Incubators directly associated with universities provide access to university research and allow for an ongoing education and involvement with the school and with the community. The entrepreneurs with access to the program vary depending upon the institution, but can include students, alumni, and community members. Of the 800 business incubators in North America, 120-130 of them are affiliated with colleges and universities. [according to NBIA, the National Business Incubation Association] [02] The remaining incubation programs are government, non-profit, and for-profit. In 2009 there were 2,500 incubators across the world.

the university | what comes outTHE UNIVERSITY INCUBATOR

incu

bato

rs s

tart

new

incu

bato

rs c

reat

ed

RPI

incu

baba

tor

MIT

incu

bato

r

Goo

gleP

lex

1959

1980

1980

1985

1997

CAREER

PRIMARY SECONDARY UNIVERSITY

INCUBATOR

23

GROUP RESEARCH


The location of Sci-Arc is crucial to its involvement in the community

the university | what comes outINCUBATOR CASE STUDIES

Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]Research Laboratory of Electronics [RLE]

This group has led to the creation of many departments at MIT and research collaborations with other Universities and organizations.

64 of the 72 principal investigators are faculty members and the group is comprised of 300 graduate and undergraduate students. 1/3 of the collaborations come from outside of MIT. [05]

Sponsors:DOD [Department of Defense]NIH [National Institute of Health]NSH [National Science Founda.]

University of Central Florida [UCF]Business Incubation Program

Southern California Institute of Architecture [Sci-Arc]Undergraduate and Graduate

Sci-Arc is located in the arts district of down-town Los Angeles to enlarge the sphere of influence of the university and its research programs and projects. [04]

UCF Business Incubator

MarketingPRWebsitesBusiness CouselingFundingSuppliesInsuranceLegal Services TelecommunicationGovernment ContractsMediaReal EstateHR

[03]

24

RESEARCH GENEALOGY

01. [Rensselaer Incubation Program] www.incubator.com02. [MIT Media Lab] www.media.mit.edu

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [RPI]

Founded in 1980, it was the first incubator to be wholly owned and operated by a university.

RPI’s incubator has a greater than 85% survival rate and over 250 companies have graduated from the program with the majority staying in the capital region following graduation. It has created over 2,500 jobs and the annual sales of “graduates” is over $600 million.

Its mission is to:

Enrich the Academic EnvironmentPerform Technology TransferCreate Regional Economic Development

RPI’s Venture-B plan allows the companies that are part of the incubator to attend forums that gets them visibility within the community of investors.

International influence [01]

RPI’s incubator program has a counterpart located in Montpelier, France to expand its global reach.

The RPI incubator differs from those of other universities in that it consists of not only Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students but also faculty and community members.


wallet with a hinge that is programmed to how tight the

owner’s budget is at the current time

buzzing/vibrating wallet that lets the owner know when

money is being transacted in their bank account

New York [RPI]

France [Montpelier]

PROFESSORS STUDENTS COMMUNITY

incubator breakdown

25

GROUP RESEARCH


Local/Regional influence

peacock wallet that expands and contracts with the

amount of money in the owner’s bank account


Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]MIT Media Lab

The MIT Media Lab is a degree granting program in Media Arts and Sciences, combining with a research program focused on “inventing a better future through creative applications of innovative digital technologies”.

The Media Lab is a division of the School of Archi-tecture at MIT. Only graduate students are eligible to participate/obtain a degree from the Media Lab but it does offer programs for undergraduate students to spend some time in the lab helping on projects [UROP].There are 139 Graduate students currently at the Media Lab, 65 of which are Masters students and the other 74 are Doctoral students.

ALBANYALBANY

WATERVLIET

SCHENECTADY

COHOES

GREEN ISLANDTROY

TROY

TROY

RPI TROY

TROY

RPI TECHNOLOGY PARK

Over 60 sponsors help support the functioning of the lab and it has a $25 million a year budget. Sponsors, in return for their donation are given royalty-free use of the programs developed while all others must wait two years.

Sponsorship is divided into three mediums; consortium, corporate research, grad-fellow research, and directed research.

[Left] MIT Media Lab research project photos [02]

26

RESEARCH GENEALOGY

NYU Global

27

GROUP RESEARCH


NYU Campuses Major Hubs NYU Presence

Global Network University

“NYU has embarked on the project of becoming a Global Network University, a university that challenges the idea that a university can only deliver education at a single home campus. Theyhave created a structure that allows students and faculty to gather in a set of key locales around the globe to forge new ideas, advance the questions we ask about the world, and create solutions for the problems that beset us all.This Global Network University model has emerged as a natural and logical extension of

from their eco-systemic relation to New York City, the diversity of thought represented by all of our schools, colleges, and programs and ourinternationally connected and collaborative faculty. Students and faculty interact with their urban environment in countless meaningful and essential ways, using these locations as a major asset.”

28

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN INFOR-MATION AND KNOWLEDGE: The Role of Information Visual-ization and Virtual Space in Learning

Looking forward towards the year 2048, this project will investigate how architecture can engage societal, institutional, physical, and virtual landscapes to facilitate information exchange. To facilitate information exchange careful attention will be payed to border conditions were overlap occurs between people, infrastructural needs, and cultures. The treatment of the border will look at the diagram of the cloud (an entity that can respond and adapt to different border conditions) to explore how boundaries can be crossed both phyiscally and virtually through the use of distributed and non-centralized information exchange and adaptable architecture.

Non-centralized learning uses a network of information and resources to promote self-education. Programs such as Hole-In-the-Wall Education and One Laptop per Child use principles of minimally invasive education to encour-age children to engage in collective learning. While information exchange has become non-centralized, it is important for the campus to directly engage its context. Within the university campus, the border condition between the campus and city provides opportunities for overlap between education, employment, learning, entertainment, and community. University incubators, residency programs, university apartments, public libraries, and sports facilities are situated along this border. These programs provide opportunities to create links and connections between the campus and city.

The non-centralization of learning and mobilization of place provide opportunities to promote information exchange beyond the direct campus context. Virtual space has the power to cross boarders without physically penetrating them. New virtual borders, or openings, have emerged between universities and cities. The exchange of archives from school to school or from school to city has allowed for the overlap and exchange of information. Information does not become intelligent until it is overlapped and combined.

The virtual and physical exchange of information between campuses and between campuses and cities provides architecture with an opportunity to actively intervene in the process of learning by providing sites (physical and virtual) for the exchange to take place. At these sites new connections and associations must be established to generate the emergence of new conditions. Architecture needs to engage the entire life-cycle of the campus. Architecture must switch its focus from space towards spacetime. Meta-materials have made this shift. Meta-materials have the ability to recognize the patten making of virtual (or Hertzian) space.

RESEARCH GENEALOGY

29

RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

RYAN LEE

Haque

Massumi

Usman Haque is the director of Haque Design + Research Ltd and CEO of Connected Environ-ments Ltd. Haque is interested in creating respon-sive environments, interactive installations, digital interface devices, and mass-participation perfor-mances. His designs question how physical spaces can be brought to life through software.

Brian Massumi is a political philosopher and social theorist whose projects and writings span the fields of art, architecture, and political theory. His studies include how art and architecture can engage virtual and Hertzian space and engage and inform society and culture.

Manovich

VarnelisNovak

Lev Manovich is an artist, author, and designer. Manovich has explored the ways media and the database has impacted culture, art, and design. His interests include how through the use of the database new media can become interactive and participatory, and mathematical.

Kazys Varnelis is the director of the Network Architecture Lab at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture. Varnelis is an architecture historian, and is interested in how the public can engage network culture.

Marcos Novak is the founder of the research facility transLAB. TransLAB ‘s mission is to “investigate how technology alters the relation between actual,transactivated, and virtual space in art and science.”

Legion of Designers

These theorists, artists, and designers are all deeply interested in the exchange and absorption of informa-tion within the virtual and physical environments.

Figures 08-12: Influential figures in the fields of information and virtual environments

30

RESEARCH GENEALOGY

Database Organization

Archive Types

Census Data:Levels of Specificity: Nation, Region, State, District, County

Topic: Population, Age, Race, Education, Employment, Income, etc...

Text Book

Theme 1Topic A

Sub-topicsTopic B

Sub-topicsTopic C

Sub-topics

Theme 2Topic A

Sub-topicsTopic B

Sub-topics

Theme 3

Topic CSub-topics

UPLOAD

DOWNLOADMODIFY PARSE

Reference Database:

Pedagogical Database:

FTP Database:

Domain Archives:

Dynamic Archives:

Linguistic Categories Selection

Anne Nigten, How Do We Make Art of Databases?

Multidisciplinary

Interdisciplinary

Non-linguistic Decision process by participant selection

Sampling v RecordingProblems of Size:

Manovich: Due to the new ability to store large amounts of information, it is no longer necessary to sample. It is now possible to record and represent reality.

Novak: Transmission of code rather than transmission of object

city planning becomes data structure design

EXTRACTION ABSORPTION

INFORMATION VISUALIZATION

INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE

31

RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

RYAN LEE

Virtual Space

MetadataManovich: Metadating the Image

1. New categorization 2. New interfaces 3. New types of images approaching the super-human scale of information (SPIMES) 4. New scale

Soft CinemaManovich’s project Soft Cinema uses metadated film clips to construct a movie. The software constructs the scenes of the film by choosing elements from the database. These elements are stored in the database according to where they were shot, their length, color composition, subject, etc. These elements are projected onto the screen and displayed in multiple screens.

Osman and Omar Khan: SEEN-Fruits of Our Labor

Kazys Varnelis: Windows on the World Usman Haque: Sky Ear

SEEN-Fruits of Our Labor displays the answers of people to the question ”What are the fruits of your labor?” on a 4’x8’ LED screen. However the text can only be seen through CCD display devices (such as digital cameras). The photographing of the screen revealed messages that were otherwise only visible in hertzian space. The project forces the viewer to engage with the object.

Kazys Varnelis’ Windows on the Word proposes the use of readily available video conferencing equipment to set up multiple portals in cities across the globe. Each portal would become a place of exchange. The creation of portals would be random to create chance encounters. The project is inspired by Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz’s project Hole in Space.

Sky Ear captures the Hertzian culture of the city by collecting data from electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere. Sky Ear is a cloud of helium balloons with censor circuits that respond to electromagnetic fields. When activated the censors cause colored LEDs to illuminate. During the installation, people on the ground are encouraged to call into the cloud (which contains phones) to activate the LEDs and to listen to the sounds of the sky.

Figure 13: Visualization of the Soft Cinema Database




Figure 14 Figure 16

Figure 15

32

RESEARCH GENEALOGY

Mobile Sense of Place

Idea of Self

The rise of the globalized city, non-places, and creation of mobile private virtual networks has created a mobile sense of place.

As we become more mobile our position (and sensation) changes. This condition makes it possible for the emergence of new landscapes.

Varnelis: In Networked Publics Varnelis states, “ network culture’s focus on the node’s position in a broader (technological and social) network has supplanted digital culture’s drive to abstract the world into discrete, computable elements.” This is seen in our tendency to see ourselves as extensions of our digital or virtual devices or presences (cell phones, web presence, avatars).

The Answer Engine

Wolfram Alpha is an alternative to the typical search engine. Developed by Wolfram Research, instead of retrieving web pages to a search query, WolframAlpha answers factual questions by computing the answer from a structured databases. The goal of the engine is to be capable of answering questions that may not be particularly found on the internet or to generate answers to new questions by cross-referencing its databases. (Figure 17)

Search Engine

Telecocooning in Public Space

Figure 18: Architecture: The Impossible Made Possible, Second Life

“Instead of whole individuals, we are constituted in multiple micropublics, inhabiting simultaneously overlapping telecocoons, sharing telepresence with intimates in whom we are in near-constant touch.”

Networked Publics, Varnelis

Body - (movement/sensation) - Change

Parables for the Virtual, Massumi




33

RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

RYAN LEE

Figure 19: 2001: A Space Odyssey Figure 20: Osman and Omar Khan:SEEN-Fruits of Our Labor

The Virtual: A Pardigm Shift in Architecture From Meaning to Pattern

Space TimeArchitecture Music

Space-timeArchi-music

Novak, Transmitting Architecture, The Transphysical City

As the discipline of architecture moves its focus from meaning to pattern it is necessary for architecture to engage virtual space. The data contained within the virtual city or campus becomes vital to understand the patterns of the city or campus. Only through these patterns can architecture deform and react to the campus-city. Architecture must not only shape space but understand how people shape space.

Sheila Kennedy’s Give Back Curtain exhibits how metamaterials can be used to generate patterns from data. The curtain responds to interaction with the fabric. Touching or bunching the fabric creates changes in the patterns of light emitted by the fabric.

Metamaterials

People Deforming Space : Students Deforming EducationEmergent Architecture : Emergent Education

Figure 21: Sheila Kennedy: Give Back Curtain

34

RESEARCH GENEALOGY

INFORMATION-VISUALIZATION MAPS: Distribution Necessitates Visualization Information Visualization: Non-Numerical Data - organized topologically

Scientific Visualization: Numerical Data

Media Visualization: Cultural Data (Does not reduce data to topology and geometry)

tag clouds

Information Design: Reference Data / Information

Direct Visualization

Manovich: VisualSenseCultural Analytics uses software to analyze and visualize patterns in large sets of visual data (such as films, animations, web sites, and prints).

Manovich’s VisualSense software program reveals cultural patterns and relationships from a dataset of images( in this case Time Magazine covers). The interface allows a direct visualization and interaction with the dataset.

Manovich: How to Read 1000000 Manga Pages?This project analyzes one million manga pages according to find continuities over various stylistic patterns and movements. The visualization forms a continuous field. This shows that cultural analytics avoids linguistic or cultural biases.

Information Visualization refers to the visual representation of large data sets. Info-vis is often used to represent forms of human-computer interaction or to represent large biological, cultural, or financial databases. Info-vis techniques are used to understand large amounts of data at once. The distribu-tion of information necessitates a universal strategy to allow for information absorption. The strategy of information visualization can be used to potentiate learning across different cultural sets within the condition of the borderline.

Figure 22

Figure 23

35

RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

RYAN LEE

Brendan Dawes project Cinema Redux allows for the visualization of an entire film within one image. Image are taken at one second intervals and arrayed. Each row contains sixty images (representing one minute of film). The project distills the film down to a human scale.

Brendan Dawes: Cinema Redux

Images

Data

Characteristics

Metadata

Visualization

Patterns

Software

Linguistic/NumericalCategorizations

Samples

Participation

Rosling’s Gap Minder visualization plots the life expectancy or birth rate of a country against the income per person over time. The program allows comparison of coun-tries between different times as well as showing how income correlates to health. The data shows the patterns as well as the diversity between and inside regions. Rosling hopes that Gap Minder is used to dispel myths and pre-conceptions between the developed and developing world.

Hans Rosling: Gap Minder

Figure 24

Figure 25

36

FP2::::DESIGN PHASE

DESIGN INVESTIGATIONS

37

PROPOSAL

RYAN LEE

38

CAMPUS : REAL ESTATE

Campus City : Real Estate

AcademicBuildings

ResidencyPrograms

Academics Housing Entertainment Support

Apartments

Dormitories

Incubators

PEOPLE AS CO-OCCURRENCES WITH SPACE: The architecture will not only engage space, but instead space-time. Architecture will not only engage with the life-cycle of the building, but also with the life-cycle and patterns of its users.

MOBILE SENSE OF PLACE: Decentralization and mobility are vital to the spread of information and knowledge. Within the border condition an architec-ture that can engage multiple places at different scales is vital to create informa-tion exchange and social overlap.

CONTINUITY OF TRANSFORMATION: The fluid transition of information to knowledge, campus to city, extraction to absorption of information, and landscape to architecture will be encouraged to occur continuously and simultaneously according to users needs. This will require the architecture to fragment, dissolve, grow, cultivate, and consume.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT:Through pattern recognition and an engagement in the hertzian space of the campus and city architecture and materials have begun to be able to adapt and modify according to the information flows of public space. This project will look towards the scenario of 2048 to project how architecture may be able to respond further.

Political/Cultural Territories

Virtual Space

Archi-Music

Distributio

DESIGN CRITERIADESIGN INVESTIGATIONS

39

PROPOSAL

RYAN LEE

CAMPUS BUILDING LIFE CYCLE: TIME CLOUD

DESIG

N

CONSTRUCTION OPERATION

DECONSTR

UCTIO

N/R

ECYC

LING

RECONSTRUCTIONOperation

DwellingLookingEnergy UseHertzian Influences

CampusWireless Networks

FTPUniversity Digital Presence

Student WorkMovement

CommunicationPhoneWeb

Thoughts

THE BORDERLINE UNIVERSITY:

The Borderline University consists of a series of initiatives designed to mend fractured border conditions by promoting education, commerce, and security as a bi-national initiative. The context of the US/Mexico border provides an optimal testing ground for the potential for the Borderline University to act as a mediator due to the disparity that exists between the two countries. Despite the many issues that polarize this border, the Sister Cities located along the border maintain strong connections. As border issues become politicized by each nation’s national governments it is often left up to local organizations to solve problems (the Minuteman Project- US volunteer border watchers, Humane Borders- an organization that provides drinking stations for illegal immigrants to prevent deaths). To further understand the flows between US/Mexico Sister Cities as study was under-taken on the easternmost pair, Brownsville and Matamoros.

The city of Brownsville is one of twenty-six border crossings into Mexico and throughout history has maintained a strong connection with its sister city, Matamoros. Brownsville contains a historical fort (Fort Brown) that was used in the Mexican-American War and many wildlife preserves. Recently the construction of the US border fence has cut of access to many of these preserves and the Rio Grande. The construction of the fence has generated a large backlash within the city. While Brownsville has remained an area of illegal immigration, trafficking, and drug related violence.

OVERLAP: Information does not become intelligent until it is overlapped and combined. This project will look to create contact zones within a border condition to facilitate information exchange and social overlap.

s (Borderlines)

Alternate Education Models

Information Exchange

Information Visualization

Extraction Absorption

n/Non-centralization

40


WHAT IS (a) BORDERLINE UNIVERSITY?- An Alternate Education Model

-A Mediator for a Fractured Border

BI-N

AT

ION

AL

ZO

NE Extended Security

Extended TradeImmigration BufferEnhanced Health

INFRASTRUCTURE

PEOPLE (WORKERS + STUDENTS)

MATERIALS

GOODS

EDUCATION

PROFITS

INSTITUTE EMPLOYER

EDUCATION

Classroom InstructionResearch

New Knowledge New Products

Experience/CollaborationApprenticeship

Figure 01: James Corner: To Build a Fence Figure 02: Enrique Norten: To Build a Fence

The Borderline University is not only a mediator for a fractured border, but is also, according to its alternative reading, an institution that operates on the edge of a university, open to different flows around and across the border, illustrated by figures 01-03. Figure 01, James Corner’s entry into the To Build a Fence compe-tition utilizes the flows of commerce across the border to provide connection and protection. Enrique Norten’s entry (Figure 02) uses infrastructure, while Fernando Romero’s proposed museum (Figure 03) uses culture as a link.

41

PROPOSAL

RYAN LEE

Figure 03: Fernando Romero/LAR: Museum linking El Paso to Ciudad Juarez

Bi-National Education Opportunities

Diversion to Migration

“Latino poverty will not be remedied by the wel-fare-to-work programs that are now virtually the sole focus of US social policy, and it will not be fixed by trying to close the nation to further immigration. The Latino poor are here and they are not going to go away. Unless new avenues of upward mobility open up for Latino immigrants and their children, the size of America’s underclass will quickly double and in the course of a generation it will double again.”

Robert Suro, director of Pew Hispanic Center

Development of border cities may mitigate the desire of workers to cross the border illegally as jobs are created within the bi-national areas. Jobs are created as the students from the Borderline University are encouraged to stay and work within the region.

Latino Americans are half as likely to finish Undergraduate education in the US.

By 2050 Hispanics will represent twenty-nine percent of the US population.

“No country, no matter how big, can solve its own internal problems before solving the problems threatening the global system”

Currently 12 million people reside in the Mexican border cities, by 2020 that figure is

expected to double.

USA Today

11.5 11.310

7.3 6.1 4.9 4.4 4.2 4.1 3.7

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6.8 6.5 6.4 6.1 5.7 5.4 4.8Immigration (millions of people)

Emigration (millions of people)

US

Donetta and Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers,and William Behrens, The Limits of Growth

Collaboration Incentives

Fernando Romero, Hyper-border

42


Production5 Billion Pesos

Maquiladoras

Brownsville/Matamoros

Maquila Industry

1970 1980 1990 2000

Number of Maquiladora Employees

1,200,000 employees

Bracero Program

NAFTA

US Economic Recession

1960

43

Figure 04: gap caused by fence construction

PROPOSAL

RYAN LEE

Recently the construction of the US border fence in Browsville has cut of access to many areas along the Rio Grande, including farmland, parks, and natural preserves. The construction of the fence has generated a large backlash within the city.

The gap generated by the fence and official border at the river provides an interesting testing ground for the thesis. The gap provides an anchoring point from which the Borderline University can expand or contract from, functioning as an arbiter between the two sides of the border.

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Gulf Cartel and Federation

Tijuana Cartel

Federation

The borderline cities have become staginggrounds of illegal activity.

Matamoros contains 125 maquiladoras which employ 54,547 workers. Maquiladoras refer to manufacturing that takes place in a country that is not the client’s. Recently the local college, UTB/TSC, entered an agreement to admit maquiladora professionals to pursue degrees at UTB/TSC in exchange for the placement of graduates at maquilas in Matamoros.

As maquiladoras are finding in harder to compete with Asian markets for textile goods, they are beginning to shift their production to more technical fields. Recently built, the Silicon Border Project in Mexicali, Mexico provides many opportunities for graduates and students in nearby colleges, such as UTEP. This shift signals an intersection point between the border, commerce, and education.

44


FieldsHard Border

Edges

FenceUS/Mexico Border

Districts, Neighborhoods

Vectors

Trade, Transportation, Movement (Flows)

Institutional

Residential

City Core

1 2 3

1. Residential/Institutional: Employment/Educational/Consumer/Regulatory Dependence

2. Institutional/City Center: Revenue(Goods)/Support Dependence

3. City Center/Residential: Cultural Dependence

Brownsville/Matamoros Fields

The following studies ex-plore the capacity for cellu-lar automata to break down, or put up boundaries within various field conditions ac-cording to different rule sets

45

Performance/Sensing MechanismsConditionsautomata transformation

Permeability

Brownsville City Center

Matamoros City Center

University Campus

Automata Transformations

origional condition

Performance/Sensing MechanismsConditionsAutomata Transformations

origional condition automata transformationBorder Crossings

Maquilas

Border Fence/Gap

PROPOSAL

RYAN LEE

Why CA?-Interaction is local and simple-Incorporation of the conditions at complicated boundaries is easily achieved

-Nonlinearities are a natural component of the CAmodel

-Rapid changes, such as large concentration/pressuregradients are handled easily

-Quick evaluation of the parameter space and structure can be conducted without the need forextreme accuracy

Lafe: Cellular Automata Transforms

46

Fields as Filters

Hard Border

Node

International Borders

Fence

Maquiladoras

Distribution Points

Education Facilities

Border Crossing

District

Institutional

Residential

Cultural

Vector

Information Exchange (Education)

Employment

Revenues

Goods

Illegal Trafficking

Fields Filter Technique

PERMEATE

THICKEN

SWELL

CONSUME

INFEST

HYBRIDIZE

DIVIDE/TAPER


47

Automata Model Emergent Properties

TRANSITORY PATHS

SECURITY

INFRASTRUCTURE (DISTRICTS/NODES)

OPEN PATHS

OPEN SPACE/DISTANCING

MOBILE CLUSTERS

UNIFICATION

PROPOSAL

RYAN LEE

48


This is an early study on how the incubator and maquiladoras could intersect using cellular automata logic.

The Maquila/Incubator is designed as a hybrid typology between the manufacturing plant and the university incubator. Educational clusters form around the maquila factory providing labs or classrooms to facilitate the development of new products and ideas that are later realized within the maquila factory.

The design failed to address its larger border context.

Maquila/Incubator Preliminary Proposal

49

DESIGN TESTS

RYAN LEE

PULSE

Protocols Frames

EXPAND/CONNECT

INFEST

CLUSTER


Midterm Investigation

Born: 3 Live Neighbours

Survives: 2/3 Live Neighbours

-Underpopulation: less than two neighbours=death

-Overpopulation: more than three neighbours=death

Conway’s Game of Life

Stable

Common Configurations

Blinkers (Two Period)

Borderline Cellular Automata

2)Permanent Cell1)Dead Cell 3)Live Cell-Comes to life with 3 neighbours

-Remains Alive underall conditions-Acts as an anchor

-Survives with 2/3live neighbours-Acts as a constructor

Cells are Configured according to initial Borderline ConfigurationOR born from a pulse.

-need for a new educational/trade center-need to spur development

10 11 12 13 14

For this investigation the rule set was changed to those of Conway’s game of life. This rule set is famous for producing stable, semi-stable, repeatable, and sometimes random outcomes. To augment the game permanent cells were added within the border fence gap to act as anchors for the production of live cells. The game was played out and components assembled according to the length of time each cell was on. The rigid structure of the grid was found to be too limiting.

DESIGN TESTS

RYAN LEE

50 FT

Connections Due to Proximity

15 16 17 18 19 20

organization on the interior of cells

52


CONFIGURATION OF STABLE ELEMENTS

ODD FLOOR EVEN FLOOR

PLANS

53

DESIGN TESTS

RYAN LEE

Distribution of Flows Around Components -Cross border traffic (Trade, Vehicles, Pedestrian)

Distribution of Flows Between Components -Security, Educational Archives Communication Links

Distribution of Flows Around Components -Inner Campus Distribution

220 FT40

0 FT

LEVEL 1:

LEVEL 2:

LEVEL 3:

Timeline of Deployment

54


OUR GOVERNMENTS TREAT US LIKE A THIRD COUNTRY, SO WE MAY AS WELL ACT LIKE ONE.

Borderline Alterations1. Static Border

2. Association/Dissociation

3. New Zone

WE DON’T NEED A BORDER FENCE. WE NEED A BORDER PRESENCE TO DETER ILLEGAL ACTIVITY.

DID YOU HEAR THAT EXPLOSION IN MATAMOROS LAST NIGHT?

Condition: Typical, Relaxed, Divisive, PackedProgram: Border WallStimuli: Authorized/Unauthorized Presence Action: Scanning

Condition: Atypical, Alert, Divisive, PackedProgram: Border Patrol, Port, BufferStimuli: Strong Authorized/Unauthorized Presence, Strong Affiliations Action: Shift Location, Deploy Buffer, Deploy Folds

Condition: Atypical, Alert, Connective, UnpackedProgram: Educational, Manufacturing/DistributionStimuli: Authorized/Unauthorized Presence, University Presence Action: Unfolding

FINAL PROJECT

55

FINAL PROJECT

RYAN LEE

Established University

Maquila Industry

Avoidance Points

Addition of incubator program to university

Deployment at midpoints between university and industry

Research idea

Research idea

Deployment based on programs/presences along borderl ne

Deployment based on distances between curves

Deployment based on programmatic needsENCLOSURE

UNPACKING

LATERAL UNDULATION

Instead of using cellular automata rules, this iteration uses distances and adjacencies to generate the same local sensitivity of the automata models. When an appropriate program or a threat is sensed, instead of switching on, the project opens and deploys itself to create either a safety buffer or a usable space.

Coil: 3 Revolutions/100ftDeployment

Zone

As deployment zone increases tightness increases

Coiling of individual strands

STRUCTURAL TUBES

DEPLOYABLE FOLDS

20’

RYAN LEE

The project deploys uncoiling itself and stretch-ing to enclose space. The structure consists of six strands which contain material to form enclosure. These enclosures could be used as temporary shelter for border patrol or deployed permanently on a university campus. Once the six individual strands are recoiled the structure forms a wall. This wall is capable of manoeuvring itself, like a snake, towards any desirable location, away from a dangerous one, or between to provide protection.

The amount of tension of the structure indexes the conditions along the border.

58


59

FINAL PROJECT

RYAN LEE

60


DEPLOYMENT TYPE: BUFFER

61

FINAL PROJECT

RYAN LEE

62


63

FINAL PROJECT

RYAN LEE

DEPLOYMENT TYPE: CAMPUS

64


The Borderline University is a new type of binational university that operates within

a fractured border condition This university acts as a mediator between border entities by

tackling spatial and socioeconomic issues through the use of distr buted educational protocols. Within a binational educational context the project will incorporate local and global commerce as a means to stimulate growth and education along the border The borderline of investigation is the United

States and Mexico border The Borderline University attempts to re-qua ify the current divisive and isolationist policies along this border by creating a binational attitude promoting investment and growth leading to reform The project envisions a

Brownsville/Matamoros

ua ez C r el

Gu f C rtel a d Fede at on

Ti uana C rtel

edera ion

The borderline cit es have become staginggrounds of i legal activity

11 5 11 310

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Emigration (m ll ons of people)

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sorie

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1970 1980 1990 2000

Number of Maqu ladora Employees

1 200 000 emp o ees

Bracero Program

NAFT

S Econom c Recession

1960

By 2050 Hispanics will represent twenty-nine percent of the US population

By 2050 eleven percent of all Mexicanswill be living in the United States

Currently 12 m ll on people res de n the Mexican border cit es by 2020 that f gure is

expected to double

USA Today

Fe nando Romero Hype border

BORDERLINE UN“No country, no matter how big, can solve its

own internal problems before solving the problems threatening the global system”

Donetta and Dennis Meadows Jorgen Randers and William Behrens The Limits of G owth

Production5 B llion Pesos

Scenario A: WALL

Deployment: COILING

Scenario B: CAMPUS

OUR GOV RNMENTS TRE T US L KE A TH RD COUNT Y SO WE MAY AS W LL ACT L KE ONE

Maquiladoras

Borderline Alterations1 Static Border

2 Association/D ssoc ation

3 New Zone

WE DON T NEED A BORDER FENCE WE N ED A BORDER PRES NCE TO D TER L EGAL ACTIV TY

D D YOU HEAR THAT EX LO ION IN MA AMOROS AST N GH ?

STRUCTURAL TUBES

DEPLOYABLE FOLDS

20

Coil 3 Revolut ons/ 00ftDeploymen

Zone

As deployment zone increases tightness ncreases

James Corner To Build a Fence Enr que Norten To Bui d a Fence Fernando Romero/LAR Museum linking El Paso to C udad Juarez T TRADE INFRASTRUCTURE CULTURE/EDUCATION

Established Univers ty

Maquila Industry

Avoidance Points

Add tion of incubator program to un versity

D ployment at midpoints between un versity and industry

Research dea

Res arch dea

Cond t on Typ cal Rela ed D v s ve Pa kedProgram Border Wa lS imu i Au hor zed/Unau hor zed P esence Act on Scann ng

Cond t on A yp cal Alert Div s ve P ckedProgram Border Pa rol Port Buf erS imu i Strong Autho iz d/Unauthor zed Pre ence S rong Af i i t ons Act on Sh ft Loca ion Dep oy Bu er Dep oy Fo ds

Cond t on A yp cal Alert Connect ve Unpa kedProgram Educa ional Manu actu in /Dis r but onS imu i Au hor zed/Unau hor zed P esence Un vers ty Pre ence Act on U fo ding

Lateral Undulation

A B

65

FINAL PROJECT

RYAN LEE

Deployment based on programs/presences along borderline

Deployment based on distances between curves

Deployment based on programmatic needs

widening of the border to achieve these goals The installation of a university within the widened

border will test the ab lities of university incubator programs to promote continuous education

distr buted learning and information exchange Installed within the Sister Cities along the US-Mexico border the Borderline University bridges the rigid landscapes of national security immigration and employment/education By tapping into educational needs and sensing economic flows across the border the Borderline University will distribute itself and grow according to economic and educational needs and trends the project wi l infest the fabric of the sister cities consuming cultivating and rebuilding parts of the cities healing the cracked and divided fabric

r ma y E uc t on

S co da y E uc t on

mp oym nt

Comm n ty

INDUSTRIAL ERACOLD WAR ERA PROGRESS VE ERANFORMAT ON AGE

r m Ed c t one o a y du a o

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C r o a e un ed ab

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Education Timeline Incubator Model US/Mexico Border Fence Gap

CO L ZONE (W

ALL)

LEVEL 1 UNRAVELLIN

G

LEVEL 2 UNRAVELLIN

G

ENCLOSURE DEPLOYMENT

ENCLOSURE

UNPACKING

LATERAL UNDULATION

Scenario C: BUFFER

IVERSITY:

a new border type

Deployment: UNFOLDING

t

Coiling of nd v dual strands

Teddy Cruz Pa saje urbano Tijuana MILITARIZATION OF BORDER DISSOLUTION OF BORDERIsrael Palestine Wall Korean DMZ Arch tecture The Impossible Made Poss ble Second L fe

Net M gration Map

Classroom

Meeting Area

Workshop/Studio

N

66

CONCLUSION

The thesis of using a distributed system of learning within a fractured border context to act as a mediator was well received at the final review. Systems such as this do not only have the capability to create, generate, and store new knowledge, but to facilitate exchange and learning between different cultures. Whatever is done within the US – Mexico border within the near future it must be mutually beneficial for both parties and active in providing protection and connection. This is an area that I believe that the project could have pushed harder. The concept of coiling and uncoiling was an attempt to create a way in which the Borderline University could distribute itself, at times in a welcoming way while at others in a threating way. Any intervention must be able to do both to thrive within this context.


67

FINAL PROJECT

RYAN LEE

68

APPENDIX

Done at the beginning of the 2010 Fall semester, the Dean Den exercise is an initial attempt to define the role of the archive within the context of the university. Set in the year 2029 within the site of the RPI architec-ture building, the proposal called for a new design of the dean's office. The goal was to create an environment that generated information exchange between RPI and other universities, between the different schools within the Rensselaer campus, and between students and the dean.The materials (in this case digital) were used as a means of communication between the parties, generat-ing a flexible system to display and absorb information.

A

B

CB1

1

A1

THE DEAN DEN

69

DEAN DEN CHARRETTE

RYAN LEE + ESTHER KANG

A ARCH

B ENGINEERING

C BIO

Students , ProfessorsExhibitions/Lectures

Space: Gallery

Archives / LecturesSpace: Labs


a1 LRC


Students , Professors

Students , Professors

Students, Professors, Professionals

b1 MATERIALS LAB

Archives / LecturesSpace: LabsSt

udents, Professors, Professionals

1 EMPAC

Archives / LecturesSpace: GalleryPr

ofessors, Professionals, Artists

2 UNION

Campus Events

Space: Public

Students

A

B

C

a1

b1

1

2

Professionals, Students

Interdisciplines

Labs, Gallery


Interdisciplines

Labs, Gallery


Interdisciplines

Labs, Gallery


Interdisciplines

Labs, Gallery


Interdisciplines


Interdisciplines

Students

Areas of campus and their capacity to act as transmit-

ters and receivers

70

APPENDIX

This project uses the Dean Den to establish a dialogue between the External Institutional CLOUD archive (consisting of the information and histories of institu-tions outside of the RPI ARCH department) and the ARCH internal archive. The goal is to create a system that increases collaboration and the spread of informa-tion throughout the RPI Architecture building and across institutions and disciplines.

The ARCH internal archive catalogues the thoughts and work of the ARCH student body. Curated by the Dean, the External archive is gathered through the connec-tions of the dean. These connections are compiled and exhibited in periodic displays. Using the ARCH internal

archive as a feedback system, the Dean can respond appropriately by observing reactions and trends of the student body, allowing him to curate and exhibit the external archive according to the needs and desires of the student body. We are looking to expand the Dean’s role as an ambassador for the School of Architecture.

A system of screens is used to display information between students, the dean, faculty, and foreign parties. The position and display of these screens is used to generate connections between the individual work of the students and other individuals (or institutions) inside and outside the ARCH building.

71

DEAN DEN CHARRETTE


Meeting with Dean

Review

Pin up

Exhibition

Meeting with Dean

Private Studios

Aug

May

Review Pin up Exhibition Meeting with Dean Private Studios

Gallery Studio Dean’s office Offices

THE VERSITAL GALLERY

72

APPENDIX

Feedback

Input

Reaction

Feed

back Loop

Dean’s O�ce

Gallery

Research Lab

Spac

es

Curate

Prim

ary F

unctions

Search

Exhibit

Contact

Observe

Compare

Collaborate

Display

Engage

Assemble

Seco

ndar

y Functio

ns

CompareOrganize Collect

Record

Calls

InputInputFeedback

Input

ProfessionalsOther Universities/Schools

Students/Faculty

Students/FacultyContacts

Lectures

ExhibitionsPublications

Contacts

Input

ProfessionalsOther Universities/Schools

Input

Student WorkLibrary Archives

Students/Faculty

Student WorkOther Universities/Schools

Students/Faculty

LecturesExhibitionsPublicationsContacts

Trends

Event

External Archive --> Professionals, Other Universities/Schools --> Lectures, Exhibitions, Publications, Contacts

Internal Archive --> Students/Faculty, Student Work, Library Archives --> Lectures, Exhibitions, Trends, Catalogues

ConditionsGallery Screen

The gallery screens recieve direct input from the dean’s external archive. These screens are under the dean’s discretion. Collaborations across disciplines and cultures occur within this space.

InputClosed Conference

Screen records confernce to archive for future refrence.

Open Exhibition/Discussion

Acts as a chatroom, displaying and recording information toarchive actively or using telepresence.

O

Inactive

EX ERNAL ARCHIVE

Work from gallery exhibitions is displayed and browsed.

73

DEAN DEN CHARRETTE


Conditions

Closed Critique

S WO

E DBA K SYSReview is projected onto the screen allowing passerbys

to leave feedback (likes/dislikes)Open Think Tank

ACT VE WORKEDBACK SYSTE

User has the option to post active work on the screenor to leave blank. Feedback is optional.

RCH VED WO K

Inactive

FEEDBACK SYSTEMWork from the ungoing semester is displayed allowing

for feedback (likes/dislikes).

ARCH V D WORK

Entry/Facade Screen

The entry and facade system perfroms di�erently according to the conditions of the research lab/gallery. Di�erences in the objects displayed, transparency, wall positions, and interactivity are determined by use groups.

Reaction

ConditionsInteractive Screen

The interactive screens are used to provide feedback to the dean. This feedback includes the value judgements of students on the Dean’s exhibitions, current trends among the student body, and the student’s current studio progress. These screens are also used by students to access the external and internal archives.

Feedback

Research Lab

This con�guration is for researching th external archiveand is open to instant feedback.

Design Lab

This con�guration is open to studio or research groups.Research can be conducted along with design and modeling

K

Think Tank

The think tank accesses the external archive through interactive screen and uses it for brainstorming sessions.

74

APPENDIX

75

BIBLIOGRAPHY

RYAN LEE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Architectural

Haque, Usman. “Invisible Topographies,” Reciever, 2004.Massumi, Brian. “Sensing the Virtual, Building the Insensible,” Architectural Design (Profile no. 133), vol 68, no 5/6, May/June 1998, pp 16-24.Novak, Marcos. Transmitting Architecture, the Transphysical City.Romero, Fernando. HYPER-BORDER: The Contemporary U.S. – Mexico Border and its Future. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.Reinhold, Martin. Organizational Complex: Architecture, Media, and Corporate Space. Cambridge, Mass : MIT Press. 2003.Varnelis, Kazys. “Architecture for Hertzian Space,” http://varnelis.net/articles/architecture_for_hertzian_space.Varnelis, Kazys. Networked Publics. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2008.

Virtual Space

Markussen, Thomas and Birch, Thomas. “Transforming Digital Architecture from Virtual to Neuro: An Interview with Brian Massumi,” interview.massumi.markussen_birch.03.Massumi, Brian. “Navigating Movements,” http://www.brianmassumi.com/interviews/NAVIGATING%20MOVEMENTS.pdf.Massumi, Brian. Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect. Sensation. London: Duke University Press, 2002.Massumi, Brian. The Politics of Everyday Fear. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993.

Education

Ball, Stephen J. Foucault and Education. New York: Routledge.,1991.Greenberg, Daniel. Turning Learning Right Side Up. New Jersey: Wharton School Pub, 2008.Taylor, Mark. “The End of the University as we Know It,” The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html

Archives/Databases/Objects

Derrida, Jacques. Archive Fever. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.Manovich, Lev. The Language of New Media. Cambridge: The MIT Press. 2001.Manovich, Lev. “What is Visualization?,” http://manovich.net/2010/10/25/new-article-what-is- visualization/ .Sterling, Bruce. Shaping Things. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005.

Other

Kelly, Kevin. Out of Control. Cambridge: Perseus Books, 1994.Lafe, Olu. Cellular Automata Transformations: Theory and Application. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.

76

FIGURE CITATIONS

Research Genealogy

01. Trucano, Michael. “Searching for India’s Hole in the Wall.” blogs.worldbank.org. <http:// blogs.worldbank.org/category/tags/minimally-invasive-education>.

02. “Homeschooling: Is it Legal?” Wikia. <http://homeschooling.wikia.com/wiki/Is_it_legal%3F>.

03. “State Laws.” Home School Legal Defense Association. <http://www.hslda.org/laws/ default.asp>.

04. “Office of Non-Public Education.” U.S. Department of Education. <http://www2.ed.gov/ about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/statistics.html>.

05. “Office of Non-Public Education.” U.S. Department of Education. <http://www2.ed.gov/ about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/statistics.html>.

06. “Overview of the 2008-18 Projections.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. <http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm>.

07. http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/12/LaptopOLPC_b.jpg>.

Foo, Juniper. “MIT’s 6th Sense Device Could Trump Apple’s Multitouch.” CNET. <http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20090209/interface_610x468.jpg>.

“Image Reactable.” Cosos Things and Life. <http://bardsley.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/ 2007/06/reactable.jpg>.

08. “A Visit From the Designer!-Usman Haque-.” T-1 World Cup. <http://www.t- 1.cc/2nd/e/news/ p=129>.

09. “Brian Massumi.” Facebook. <http://www.facebook.com/group.php?g id=86322982936>.

10. “Lev Manovich.” Manovich.net. <http://www.manovich.net/bio_000.html>.

11. “Transverge! Marcos Novak Responds to ‘Architects in Cyberspace, or Not.” ArchVirtual. <http://archvirtual.com/?p=2756>.

12. “Blue Monday: AUDC.org Explores Empire.” Archinect. <http://archinect.com/features/ article/60873/blue-monday-audc-org-explores-empire>.

13. “Ambient Narrative.” Soft Cinema. <http://www.softcinema.net/form.htm#>.

14. “Review Research // Part 8.” Undecided. <http://territorialboundaries.blogspot.com>.


16. Haque, Usman. Sky Ear. <http://www.haque.co.uk/skyear/images-040915.html>.

17. www.google.com http://www.wolframalpha.com/

APPENDIX

77

FIGURE CITATIONS

RYAN LEE

18. Brouchoud, Jon. “Architecture: The Impossible Made Possible.” Flickr. <http:// www.flickr.com/photos/crescendo/3662603027/in/photostream>.

19. Reiner-Roth, Shane. “The Inside-Out City and the Question of Nature.” Blogspot. <http:// differencedifferance.wordpress.com/>.


21. Whiteman, Hilary. “Capture Solar Power With Your Curtains.” CNN. <http:// edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/01/solar.textiles/index.html>.

22. “Research: Lev Manovich Coins the Term ‘Media Visualization.’” Information Aesthetics. <http://infosthetics.com/archives/2010/10/lev_manovich_media_ visualization.html>.

23. “How to Read 1,000,000 Manga Pages: Visualizing Patterns in Art, Cinema, TV, Animation, Games, Comics, User-Generation Content and Mass Media.” UCSD. <http://va- grad.ucsd.edu/~drupal/node/1482>.

24. Dawes, Brendan. “Cinema Redux.” Brendan Dawes. <http://www.brendandawes.com/ project/cinema-redux/>.

25. “The Evolution of Social Action.” Internet.Artizans. <http://www.internetartizans.co.uk/ blogtags/nptech>.

Design Investigations

01. “A Fence With More Beauty, Fewer Barbs.” The New York Times. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/weekinreview/18hamilton.html>.

02. “A Fence With More Beauty, Fewer Barbs.” The New York Times. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/weekinreview/18hamilton.html>.

03. “Museum Bridge” FREE. <http://www.fr-ee.org/?page_id=222>.

Borderline University

Documents

Transcript of Borderline University