Monday, March 31, 2008

Lecture, 29.04.08

NETWORKS

KEYWORDS

Archigram (1960's)
Superstudio
New Babylon
Archizoom
Marshal McLuhan

Networks as horizontality vs verticality

Open source software
Mash Ups (Danger Mouse)
Paul Slocum (Dot Matrix Synth)
Culture Jamming (Alex Villar)
Collage

Belated Bibliography

Cervero, R. (2001) Walk-and-Ride: factors influencing pedestrian access to transit. J. Pub. Trans. 3(4): 1-25

Kemper, S. (2003) Code Name Ginger; the story behind segway and Dean Kamen's quest to invent a new world. Harvard Business School Press, Boston

Mau, B. (2004) Massive Change. Phaidon Press, London

Newman, P & Kenworthy, J. (2006) Urban Design to Reduce Automobile
Dependence. Opolis 2(1)

Saelens, B.E. et al (2003) Environmental Correlates of Walking and Cycling: Findings From the Transportation, Urban Design, and Planning Literatures. Annals of Behav. Med. 25(2): 80-91

Shabeen, S.A. & R. Finson (2003) Bridging the last mile: a study of the behavioral, institutional, and economic potential of the segway human transporter. transportation Research Board Paper 03-4470. Transport Research Board Conference Paper, Jan 2003

Monday, March 17, 2008

Thesis Proposal

I Hate the Segway but I Also Hate Seeing One Person in a Two Tonne Car

In this essay I am concerned with the plethora of means that we humans have used to move ourselves from one place to another. In many cultures the esteemed members such as royalty were carried from place to place by servants, where as the lower caste would always walk. This basic culture of wealthy excess has continued, but the development of the middle- and upper-middle class as a core consumer has prompted new concerns.
It has been said that the age of the car is equally the age of the absence of the horse. Technologies evolve and what has been, steps aside for the new. Since the basic design of the car was put into production there have been few fundamental changes in direction.
This is in stark contrast to how cities and the urban environment in general have changed. There has always been a steady migration of people from the country to the city but it is only recently that city design has considered the ebb and flow of a cities inhabitants.
The old adage “Horses for Courses” is quite apt for my thesis. Since the advent of the car there has been few fundamental shifts is the scale and purpose of the vehicle. Cities simply have limited street space and the environment can’t burden any more pollution. Planes are great for long distance, cars superb for medium distance. It is the short distances that we struggle with. Dean Kamen’s Segway is a well know vehicle that claims to fill the gap between the car and walking.
In this essay I will broadly investigate developments in personnel mobility and the design and social consequences.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Atari 2600 Console


test

just need to see how it looks...