Placement Day 2, 3 & 4: Visualising the Social Architecture of DCA

First off, a bit of plugging:-

http://www.dca.org.uk/whats-on/projects/visualising-the-social-architecture-of-dca.html

I'm now almost a month in to my day-a-week placement with SerenA, based in the VRC. It has been, challenging, to say the least. My understanding of space syntax is a little further forward, despite the complexities surrounding the theory. I find myself struggling more and more to describe space syntax beyond a rudimentary understanding of the term itself for fear of misrepresenting the theories behind it. This makes it even more difficult to apply it to my own data collection, as, I'm not sure what information I'm looking for use with space syntax. So, I'm taking a step back and attempting to develop my own methodologies for data collection, that may or may not be similar to those used in space syntax theory.

I've got to continually remind my self of the main focus, which is to "map" the social interactions within the VRC and by extension the DCA. Even this is more complex than it may sound. The ambiguity of the term "social interactions", needs refining, for example, giving certain importance to different types interaction, from the banal "Hello, how are you?" to a conversation that influences your work.

Speaking of conversations that influence my work. I have begun to speak with those who work/ study in the VRC day-to-day, and this further highlights the complex relationship "users" have internally with the space, and beyond this, the, as yet, undefined (in my opinion), relationship between the VRC and DCA. People create a minefield of various factors which effect space use, and by extension, social interaction. So, how do I move forward?

Keep it simple. During March I plan to run a few studies intended to collect data I wish to use. One thing, I can't get out of my head right now, is hide-and-seek, discussed by Hillier and Hanson (1984) which brings together the arrangement of space and the individual. In describing hide-and-seek, they explain: "the head predominates over the physical structure of the environment, which it uses actively and creatively."

There's something in this that I want to use, something I don't fully understand. I think, on a basic level, I like the notion of random exploration of space for the purpose of hiding. What would a map of hiding places in the VRC look like? Would it correlate with areas under-utilised? I'm not sure, but it's an idea I intend to refine.

Other studies I am considering for the VRC, and perhaps the DCA, are (but not limited to):-

• Diary maps - capturing social interactions.
• Observation of movement within space - in person, and via CCTV.
• Get a game of hide-and-seek.

I'm almost deliberately out of my depth with the project, and that's what makes it so challenging and interesting. Once I've formulated a more rigid programme of surveys I will update.

The Dreaded New Years Blog Entry

So, I've put off long enough, it's time for my gargantuan post-Christmas Break/ New Year blog update. As you would imagine, a lot has happened in the (almost) month I've been back at university. I have been working, just not blogging, and as a result getting into a self-destructive cycle of daily accumulating more blog-worthy information but still putting off actually blogging it. The ironic thing is, I do find blogging useful, as it charts my thought process during Masters, but like that coffee (or tea in my case) you were meant to have with that old friend, you can so easily put it off - "I know we were supposed to meet up but...": "I have a hand-in due"; "I've got to go to the moon"; etc. There's no excuse, so here we are, updating my blog, which is a step towards actually meeting up for that cup of tea.

Ok, so now we're back on track, I will try and give as brief a possible overview I've undertaken since the last post, and where my practice is going.

St. Bride's and Magnificent Modernism

The modelling of St. Bride's coming along nicely, albeit slower than I would like. I'm spending time trying to capture the sculptural details which were (in my opinion) of critical importance to Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's visual language they developed for what I like to call The New Catholic Church. I'm moving towards projection tests of the model by the end of the month, which give me a feel for how I want to take the concept of Virtual Modernism forward. The delay has primarily been caused by a new focus of work I intend to undertake this semester, in short, the understanding of the modern social interactions present day users have with modernist structures.

Space Syntax

One thing my previous work lacked, was the social impact of modernist buildings on those who used them (who I will rather cleverly refer to as "users"). This was in part due to my regard of the social issues surrounding modernism giving birth to the stigmatism that often surrounds the movement, but it also was not knowing how to address the sticky goo that is human interaction with space. Space syntax may provide the answer to my woes. Understanding how a space is currently used, will allow me to compare and contrast the architects vision against the reality. Obviously the modernist utopia did not come to fruition, but there are still tangible ideas within modernist spaces that are often overlooked when the movement is shrugged off as a "failure".

I'm still in my very early days of research into space syntax, but I have been afforded the opportunity of a placement on the SerenA Project, based in the VRC, at Dundee Contemporary Arts. In effect I intend to use the DCA as test-bed for the theories of space syntax, and attempt to visual the outcomes in a conceptual manner. Like with St. Bride's, I intend to create a work that enters into a conversation with the viewer. In the case of the DCA, the viewer of any outcome may also be the user of the space, and as such the connection between the work and viewer becomes more profound.

Space syntax is a very well research area, and I'm not attempting to bring new theory, but instead, at the very least, enhance the visualisation possibilities of current space syntax visualisation. I would like to marry the ideas formulated from my concept of Virtual Modernism, and perhaps use more immersive installation based work to present space syntax data.

I'm equally fortunate (through involvement with SerenA) to have the opportunity to interact with Space Group, University College London (a leading voice in space syntax theory), who will no doubt will have a profound impact on my own artistic practice.

Now, I'm back on the blogging band wagon I intend more frequent updates with a greater focus on specifics. Right now, this is a general overview of where I am, and where I am going. No doubt over the coming weeks I will back-reference anything I've missed, and expand on anything I've not made clear.