social spaces: lessons from radical architects

64
SOCIAL SPACES ONLINE AND OFF Lessons from Radical Architects

Upload: christina-wodtke

Post on 17-Aug-2014

15.664 views

Category:

Design


8 download

DESCRIPTION

While Information Architecture took its name from architecture, it took very little else. This is not surprising, as the early days of the web were about making sites that supported the interaction between people and data. The obvious model back then was a library; a library is a space for humans to receive knowledge. But with the rise of social networks, and the integration of community into almost all online experiences, more architecture practices are directly transferable to design. Online spaces are no longer just about findability, but about falling in love, getting your work done, goofing around, reconnecting with old friends, staving off loneliness... humans doing human things.As an early Information Architect who had been working in the search field, I found very little but entertainment from phenomenology's Gaston Bachelard or innovator Frank Gehry. But once I began working on social spaces, it all changed. We all know Christopher Alexander from his pattern-language approach to codifying design solutions, but if you go beyond the mere structure you find that in those patterns lies the answers to tricky privacy issues and the cold-start problem. Architects of buildings can help us form a new approach to the architecture of human spaces online. Poetics will go down easy with plenty of real world examples from current websites, shanty villages, air apps and cityscapes.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

SOCIAL SPACES ONLINE AND OFF

Lessons from Radical Architects

Page 2: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

B=f(P+E)

- Lewin’s Equation

Behavior is a function of a Person and his Environment

You can’t control the person, but you can design the environment to change behavior

Page 3: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

The New Third Place?

“All great societies provide informal meeting places, like the Forum in ancient Rome or a contemporary English pub. But since World War II, America has ceased doing so. The neighborhood tavern hasn't followed the middle class out to the suburbs...” -- Ray Oldenburg

Page 4: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

A SHORT HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

Page 5: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Cave

Page 6: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects
Page 7: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Hut

Page 8: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects
Page 9: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Stone Age City

Page 10: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects
Page 11: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

VITRUVIUS

firmitas, utilitas, venustas : : durability, convenience, beauty 

Page 12: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Durability

“Durability will be assured when foundations are carried down to the solid ground and materials wisely and liberally selected” Vitruvius

Page 13: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel, Japan, survived an earthquakeThe reflecting pool provided a source of water for fire-fighting;Cantilevered floors and balconies provided extra support for the floors;A copper roof, cannot fall on people below the way a tile roof can;Seismic separation joints, located about every 20 m along the building;Tapered walls, thicker on lower floors, increasing their strength;Suspended piping and wiring, instead of being encased in concrete, smooth curves, making them more resistant to fracture.

Page 14: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Technical EarthquakesSlow loading javascript fails on low bandwidth, and can cause users to accidently search for the label inside your search box. Is your site designed to be robust when things break (for example, filter out the label from the query. Or don’t place labels in fields; it reduces usage anyhow.)

I’m searching for “my architect, not

“movies, directors, actors”

Page 15: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Social Earthquakes

If people post jobs in discussion areas, any user can

move them to job board

If people use connection invites to spam/market, they

can be reported.

Page 16: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Prepare for

Technical Tremors Execution Maintenance Scale Bandwidth

Social Faultlines Innocents/Idiots Trolls Spammers Criminals

Page 17: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Convenience

“When the arrangement of the apartments is faultless and presents no hindrance to use, and when each class of building is assigned to its suitable and appropriate exposure” Vitruvius

Sound familiar? We’re talking

usability!

Page 18: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

“Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change.” Frank Lloyd Wright

Usonian houses were beautiful, human scaled.. And didn’t have closet space. Should we choose beauty over usability sometimes?

Page 19: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Human

Human

The Facebook Inbox is chock full of annoying non-human mails, despite the fact they know who is human and who I am connected to. Not convenient.

Page 20: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Bilbao did not leak. I was so proud.

Page 21: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

I call it the "Then What?" Okay, you solved all the problems, you did all the stuff, you made nice, you loved your clients, you loved the materials, you loved the city, you're a good guy, you're a good person... and then what? What do you bring to it?

See his great TED talk http://www.ted.com/talks/frank_gehry_asks_then_what.html

Page 22: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Beauty (delight)

“when the appearance of the work is pleasing and in good taste, and when its members are in due proportion according to correct principles of symmetry.” Vitrvius

Page 23: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

“Less is more.” ~ Mies

Page 24: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

SEAGRAM BUILDING (Philip Johnson did interiors, 1957)

This logical and elegant 38-story skyscraper (525' H) has alternating horizontal bands of bronze plating and bronze-tinted glass and decorative bronze I-beams which emphasize its verticality. Placed to the rear of its site and set back from Park Avenue, it incorporates a large plaza in the front as part of the design--thus avoiding the need for set-backs. It uses granite pillars at the base and has a two-story glass-enclosed lobby.

Seagram Building

New York City

1957

Is this Beautiful?

Page 25: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

“Less is a bore.” ~ Venturi

Page 26: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Is this Beautiful?

Page 27: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Do we dictate what is beautiful by constraining

user choice?

Page 28: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Or support passionate use that may not meet our

aesthetic standards?

Page 29: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Beautiful

ConvenientDurable

Page 30: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

THE LESSON THAT WASN’TNot everyone is as user-centered as Christopher Alexander

Page 31: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

205 Structure Follows Social Spaces

ConflictNo building ever feels right to the people in it unless the physical spaces (defined by columns, walls, and ceilings) are congruent with the social spaces (defined by activities and human groups).

ResolutionA first principle of construction; on no account allow the engineering to dictate the building's form. Place the load bearing elements- the columns and the walls and floors- according to the social spaces of the building; never modify the social spaces to conform to the engineering structure of the building.

Applies directly to Linkedin, Facebook, Mysapce, etc

Page 32: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

36. Degrees of publicness

Conflict: People are different, and the way they want to place their houses in a neighborhood is one of the most basic kinds of difference.

Resolution: Make a clear distinction between three kinds of homes―those on quiet backwaters, those on busy streets, and those that are more or less in-between. Make sure that those on quiet backwaters are on twisting paths, and that these houses are themselves physically secluded; make sure that the more public houses are on busy streets with many people passing by all day long and that the houses themselves are exposed to the passers-by. The in-between houses may then be located on the paths halfway between the other two. Give every neighborhood about an equal number of these three kinds of homes.Applies directly to Linkedin, Facebook, Mysapce, etc

Page 33: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Most Architects are Artists

Five Principles for a New Architecture:

1. Pilotis elevating the building.2. Free plan

3. Free façade4. Long horizontal windows

5. Roof garden

Le courbusier

What do we do with that?

Page 34: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

LESSONSRadical architects and their

Page 35: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Space

You don’t design space, you design objects that then shape the nature of the space

Page 36: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Identity

Activity Relationships

SocialSpace

Sign-

upInvitations

Distribution (Viral)

Page 37: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Humans don’t like empty spaces. Create starter objects – newsfeeds can be good.

Page 38: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Site

Site

Page 39: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Julia Morgan

First Bay Tradition• Natural material

from site• Traditional Craft• Integrate in

surrounds• Each building a

unique work of art

Page 40: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Site=Context

Facebook- Personal LinkedIN - Professional

Page 41: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

StructureAnd if you think of Brick, for

instance,and you say to Brick,"What do you want Brick?"And Brick says to you"I like an Arch."And if you say to Brick"Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lintel over you. What do you think of that?""Brick?"Brick says:"... I like an Arch"”

Page 42: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Email this

Consumer

Broadcaster

Structure of the social network sharing tools affects both reach and relevance. Email is work for user, so value tends to be higher.

Page 43: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Newsfeed, Network Updates

Consumer

Consumer Consumer

Consumer

Consumer

Broadcaster

Sharing with your symetrical network has lower relevance but greater reach

Page 44: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Groups, Asymmetric Follow

spark

Sharing with your asymetrical network is broadcasting; less relevant still but great reach

Page 45: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

‘I do not like ducts; I do not like pipes. I hate them really thoroughly, but because I hate them so thoroughly, I feel they have to be given their place. If I just hated them and took no care, I think they would invade the building and completely destroy it.’

The Notebooks and Drawings of Louis I. Kahn, 1962

Servant and Served Spaces

Page 46: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Services (settings, in this case) are

separated from served)

Page 47: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Services intergraded with served is easier to comprehend and

use

Page 48: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Centre Pompidou was designed with services revealed rather than hidden

Page 49: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Revealing things usually only available to employees, such as statistics can provide interest and beauty inherit to the product.

Page 50: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Views

Hey, it’s the Arc de

Triomphe!

Corbu’s surrealist apartment obscured views, rather than framed them to create interest

Page 51: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Views into people’s lives

Page 52: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Views into the service before

you sign up

Page 53: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Proportion

The Key Word is: Proportion. … Relative size, not over-all size, is the factor in determining guidelines which will satisfactorily influence attractive appearance.

Page 54: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Ad out of proportion to content

Page 55: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Ads reflect same sizes and shapes

used in design

Page 56: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Speed

25mph5 mph 60mph

Medieval architecture designed to be walked by, prairie houses to drive by slowly at suburban speeds, and the strip for freeway speeds

Page 57: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Speed

25mph 5 mph60mph

Consider speed of use in design; do not slow interface with details upon sign up, richer interface for where people linger and socialize

Page 58: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Movement

Gehry designed a static building to feel like it’s moving, inspired by dance

Page 59: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Why are our compositions so static? How should the eye move through this?

Page 60: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Games provide hints to new compositions, metaphors for information spaces

Page 61: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Gehry has been inspired recently by fish. What would a website be if it was a fish?

Page 62: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Twistori’s live stream of data reveals and intrigues. Do you need actual movement to engage?

Page 63: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

“Modern Systems! Yes indeed! To approach everything in a strictly methodical manner and not to waver a hair’s breath from preconceived patterns, until genius has been strangled to death and joie de vivre stifled by the system– that is the sign of our time.” Camillo Sitte

Page 64: Social Spaces: Lessons from Radical Architects

Page about Christina

Ideas?