No description available.

No description available.

Computer technology has advanced to the point where it has invaded our lives and become embedded in our environment. The problem with this is that not everyone has it, can use it, understands it or finds value in it. This requires an innovative solution that couples technology use in a communal and public space that provides both free access to technology and technology that is meaningful. Interactive architecture suggest new modes of interacting and interfacing between users and their environments offering the potential for richer and more intuitive dialogues between users, each other and our wider environments. Harnessed in a sustainable platform like a supermarket, it can become a manageable grassroots solution that serves the civic, cultural and social needs of a community. If developed in line with the goals of facilitating public information exchange and discourse in the built environment the application of interactive environments to its context seems well suited to contribute towards encouraging active user participation, social interaction and personal empowerment.

The north and north-western quadrants of Pretoria have been identified as requiring attention for rejuvenation. The framework looks at “connectivity through activity” and the site ties into the creative industries, heritage route and pedestrian walkway proposed for the area. It is realised that in this day and age the ideal is often impossible to achieve. Paradoxically too it is often in the more densely populated areas, where land values are highest that there is the greatest need for ample space for children, whose probable home is a cramped flat, with no garden in which to run about and play freely. With the proposal to increase housing in the framework for Pretoria's city and, in a bid to densify the urban centre, comes the added responsibility to accommodate the youngest generations of city dwellers. It is with this in mind that the design proposal looks at the creation of a pre-primary school and public playground connected to a pedestrianised inter-block walkway. A new revolutionary approach to educational buildings has to be investigated in terms of “learning through play” by “extending the field of play” and incorporating design techniques of both architecture and landscape architecture to create a holistic design precedent that will stimulate young minds. AFRIKAANS : Die Noorde en Noord-Westelike kwadrante van Pretoria word ge-identifiseer as wat aandag vir verjonging vereis. Die raamwerk kyk na "konnektiwiteit deur aktiwiteit" en die terreine bind die skeppende nywerhede, erfenis roete en voetganger paadjie [voorgestel vir die gebied] va. Daar word besef dat deesdae die ideale dikwels onmoontlik word om te bereik. Ook is dit dikwels in die meer digbevolkte gebiede, waar die grond waarde die hoogste is, dat daar 'n nodigheid vir genoeg ruimte vir kinders word. Hierdie kinders se waarskynlike huise is 'n beknopte woonstel met geen tuine om in rond te loop of te speel nie. Met die voorstelling om behuising in die raamwerk vir Pretoria se stad te vermeerder en om die stedelike sentrum digtheid te verhoog, kom ekstra verantwoordelikheid om die jongste generasies van die stede te akkommodeer. Met hierdie gedagte moet die ontwerp voorstelling na die skepping van 'n pre-primere skool kyk. Ook moet daar 'n openbare speelgrond gekoppel aan 'n voetgangers interblok loopvlak wees. 'n Nuwe revolusionêre benadering tot opvoedkundige geboue moet ondersoek word in terme van "leer deur te speel" deur "uitbreiding die veld van speel" en die integrasie van ontwerp tegnieke van beide argitektuur en landskap argitektuur om 'n holistiese ontwerp presedent te skep sodat die jong gees gestimuleer sal word. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Architecture / unrestricted

The way people inhabit a built space is being challenged in the Information Era. This thesis examines how interaction design could provide alternative ways of addressing the needs and activities of users of a built space that is traditionally in the domain of architecture. Through theoretical analysis and close examination of related contemporary practical examples, it re-examines interactive architecture and how it could support the exploratory activities of visitors of public buildings. Sketching, prototyping and contextual design methods are used to iterate between different possibilities of the physical and digital materiality and also to examine the experience of the users in the proposed context. Critical reflections between different phases of the design process lead to the development of Juncture, a design concept of an interactive architectural artefact that allows users to explore the physical space of a library.

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There is a growing trend to design buildings with colourful and dynamic outer skins through the integration of digital media tools, particularly Led Emitting Diode (LED) systems, and the use of innovative technology. This integration has been discussed in recent conferences under the term &ldquo / media fa&ccedil / ade&rdquo / as a new research field. Discussing the intersection of media, technology, art, and architecture, this field introduces a new form of communication platform, urban space and public perception, which can be viewed through the perspective of Guy Debord&rsquo / s &ldquo / The Society of the Spectacle&rdquo / and Jean Baudrillard&rsquo / s &ldquo / sign value&rdquo / concept. Proceeding from the idea that a fa&ccedil / ade is a communication tool, the thesis compares what Adolf Behne in the early 20th century termed as Reklamearchitektur (advertising architecture) with the current &ldquo / media fa&ccedil / ade&rdquo / . Venturi&rsquo / s comparison of Gothic cathedrals to billboards of the Las Vegas Strip in the 1970s applies today to the &ldquo / Media Building&rdquo / in Paul Virilio&rsquo / s discussion of the digital age, where the information is active and interactive. This study considers the fa&ccedil / ades with attached signs, signboards and billboards as a continuation of advertising architecture, in contrast to the media fa&ccedil / ade examples with integrated digital media tools that are inbuilt to the design. Among the cases presented, three are selected (BIX, GreenPix and Digital Water Pavilion) for discussing the advantages and disadvantages of media fa&ccedil / ades, under the following titles: communication, ornamentation, flexibility, ephemerality, sustainability, and location. It is observed that the new relation between digital media and architecture not only initiates a new kind of communication platform, but also indicates the emergence and proliferation of a potential propaganda tool. To this end, the guidance of a social control mechanism for the applications of media fa&ccedil / ades is suggested.

Este trabalho trata da relação entre arquitetura e tecnologia digital, a partir da constatação de que a capacidade de processamento digital de informações está se espalhando não apenas pela adoção e uso de aparatos computacionais pelas pessoas, mas também por meio de sua inserção em objetos e lugares. Neste contexto, fornece bases para o entendimento e o design da arquitetura interativa, um tipo de espaço físico que pressupõe a implementação de interações viabilizadas por processadores de informação digital. Para tal, o trabalho é dividido em três partes: contexto, fundamentos e design. Na primeira, fornece chaves de leitura para o entendimento de instâncias com as quais a arquitetura interativa dialoga, colocando-­a, não como uma consequência do desenvolvimento tecnológico e, sim, parte de um contexto maior, complexo e conectado. Especificamente, aborda a interrelação entre os contextos ideológico, tecnológico e sócioespacial. Na segunda parte, explora a arquitetura interativa enquanto consequência da incorporação da tecnologia no produto arquitetônico, para depois analisar aspectos que conferem coerência a ela enquanto uma forma particular de intervenção e de manifestação. A terceira parte aborda as principais questões motivadoras desta pesquisa, a saber: o design da arquitetura interativa e as contribuições que o design de interação pode fornecer a esse tipo de prática. Por fim, são esboçados parâmetros -­- elementos conceituais passíveis de serem manipulados -­- para guiar o design da arquitetura interativa. Entre outras utilidades, a função desses parâmetros é ampliar o vocabulário e os modos de trabalho da arquitetura como um todo. No geral, a aproximação realizada foi um meio de explorar e entender um pouco mais o mundo tecnológico que vivemos. Assim, a motivação de entender o que é necessário para projetar a arquitetura interativa, ou seja, para incluir a tecnologia em seu produto, pressupõe discussões que alargam o campo da arquitetura. Inclui nele, a possibilidade e necessidade de que arquitetos atuem, além de consumidores dessa tecnologia, como protagonistas ativos em sua conformação. / This work delas with the relation between architecture and technology, from the observation that, the potential of digital information processing is spreading, not only through the adoption and use of computing devices by people, but also, their addition on objects and places. Within this context, this study provides basis for the understanding and design of interactive architecture, a type of physical space that compels the implementation of interactions, enabled by digital information processors. To achieve this, the work is divided into three parts: context, fundamentals and design. At the first part, Reading keys to understand instances with which the interactive architecture dialogues are provided. This type of spaces is understood, not as a consequence of technological development, but as part of a bigger, complex and connected context. Specifically, it adresses the interrelation between the ideological, technological and socio-­-spatial contexts. The second part, explores the topic of interactive architecture, as a result of technology introduction into the architectural product, and then, analyzes some aspects that give coherence to it as a specific form of intervention and expression. The third part, adresses the main issues that motivated this research, namely the design process of interactive architecture and the contributions that interaction design can provide this type of practice. Finally, nine parameters -­- conceptual elements capable of being manipulated -­- are outlined to guide the design of interactive architecture. Among other uses, the function of these parameters is to expand the vocabular and methods of architecture practice as a whole. Overall, the approach adopted is a means to explore and understand more about the technological world we live. The motivation to understand what is required to design the interactive architecture, that is, to include the technology in the final product, presupposes discussions that broaden the architectural field. It includes within it, the possibility and need for architects to act, beyond consumers of this technology, as active protagonists in their conformation.

Este trabalho trata da relação entre arquitetura e tecnologia digital, a partir da constatação de que a capacidade de processamento digital de informações está se espalhando não apenas pela adoção e uso de aparatos computacionais pelas pessoas, mas também por meio de sua inserção em objetos e lugares. Neste contexto, fornece bases para o entendimento e o design da arquitetura interativa, um tipo de espaço físico que pressupõe a implementação de interações viabilizadas por processadores de informação digital. Para tal, o trabalho é dividido em três partes: contexto, fundamentos e design. Na primeira, fornece chaves de leitura para o entendimento de instâncias com as quais a arquitetura interativa dialoga, colocando-­a, não como uma consequência do desenvolvimento tecnológico e, sim, parte de um contexto maior, complexo e conectado. Especificamente, aborda a interrelação entre os contextos ideológico, tecnológico e sócioespacial. Na segunda parte, explora a arquitetura interativa enquanto consequência da incorporação da tecnologia no produto arquitetônico, para depois analisar aspectos que conferem coerência a ela enquanto uma forma particular de intervenção e de manifestação. A terceira parte aborda as principais questões motivadoras desta pesquisa, a saber: o design da arquitetura interativa e as contribuições que o design de interação pode fornecer a esse tipo de prática. Por fim, são esboçados parâmetros -­- elementos conceituais passíveis de serem manipulados -­- para guiar o design da arquitetura interativa. Entre outras utilidades, a função desses parâmetros é ampliar o vocabulário e os modos de trabalho da arquitetura como um todo. No geral, a aproximação realizada foi um meio de explorar e entender um pouco mais o mundo tecnológico que vivemos. Assim, a motivação de entender o que é necessário para projetar a arquitetura interativa, ou seja, para incluir a tecnologia em seu produto, pressupõe discussões que alargam o campo da arquitetura. Inclui nele, a possibilidade e necessidade de que arquitetos atuem, além de consumidores dessa tecnologia, como protagonistas ativos em sua conformação. / This work delas with the relation between architecture and technology, from the observation that, the potential of digital information processing is spreading, not only through the adoption and use of computing devices by people, but also, their addition on objects and places. Within this context, this study provides basis for the understanding and design of interactive architecture, a type of physical space that compels the implementation of interactions, enabled by digital information processors. To achieve this, the work is divided into three parts: context, fundamentals and design. At the first part, Reading keys to understand instances with which the interactive architecture dialogues are provided. This type of spaces is understood, not as a consequence of technological development, but as part of a bigger, complex and connected context. Specifically, it adresses the interrelation between the ideological, technological and socio-­-spatial contexts. The second part, explores the topic of interactive architecture, as a result of technology introduction into the architectural product, and then, analyzes some aspects that give coherence to it as a specific form of intervention and expression. The third part, adresses the main issues that motivated this research, namely the design process of interactive architecture and the contributions that interaction design can provide this type of practice. Finally, nine parameters -­- conceptual elements capable of being manipulated -­- are outlined to guide the design of interactive architecture. Among other uses, the function of these parameters is to expand the vocabular and methods of architecture practice as a whole. Overall, the approach adopted is a means to explore and understand more about the technological world we live. The motivation to understand what is required to design the interactive architecture, that is, to include the technology in the final product, presupposes discussions that broaden the architectural field. It includes within it, the possibility and need for architects to act, beyond consumers of this technology, as active protagonists in their conformation.