LECTURE:
Information Landscapes: Data as Architecture
Dr. Karen Lewis, The Knowlton School of Architecture, Ohio State University
Friday, March 6, 2015, 3:00-4:15 PM, 121 West HallThe constructed world is replete with information that governs and controls its organization. From railroads to highways, building codes to zoning regulations, the design and development of the contemporary environment is managed by strategies of physical and visual organization. Architects’ interest in this globally networked environment is reflective of an increasing awareness and attention to the multi-variant world, one invested in infrastructural systems that support productivity in lieu of pictures and is reflective of a new global and electronic economy based on intangibles – ideas, information and relationships. The effects of these systems, once only theorized and simulated through abstract models, is given attention via the measurement, collection and processing of their effects. How does information inform architecture? What are the ways we read data constructions within the landscape? And how is information – the building material of the 21st century – visualized, theorized and designed?
Dr. Lewis’ design research examines architecture as a manifestation of information, networks and complex systems. Lewis’s teaching and design work expands upon her professional background as a museum exhibition designer and information designer, focusing on the visual representation of information as a way to synthesize architectural practice. See some of her work at www.karenlewisdesign.com
Sponsored by: School of Media and Communication, School of Cultural and Critical Studies, Department of Geography, and Department of Telecommunications. Part of the School of Media and Communication Research Colloquia.