Lectures on Virtual Spaces: From the Past to the Future
Space can be seen in many different ways.
When an architect and a computer scientist look
at Space they see very different things and yet
sometimes they make surprisingly similar discoveries.
As a computer scientist with strong research interests in
visual languages I
learned many things from the theory and practice of architecture.
This series of lectures on virtual spaces is motivated
by a desire to share these findings and to stimulate a healthy dialog
between the computer scientists and the architects.
We begin by discussing the origins of architectural pleasure and how the space of a
dwelling can be divided into refuge and prospect according to Grant Hildebrand. This decomposition of space leads us naturally to consider spatial relations and patterns. On the pragmatic
side we illustrate patterns by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright. On the theoretical side we
consider Christopher Alexander's theory of pattterns and its relationship to the theory of visual languages. After a discussion of William Mitchell's
e-topia as an example of the V-topia, the virtual cities of the past, the present and the future are
surveyed. An important ingredient of the virtual city is the interactive map. We can make
an interactive map even more powerful by introducing the the concept of the sentient map.
Augmenting the lectures,
students will form small groups to work on an integrated project.
Lecture 1. The Origins of Architectural Pleasure
Lecture 2. Spatial Relations and Patterns
Lecture 3. V-Topia
Lecture 4. Sentient Map