Search results

1 – 10 of 176
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 July 2001

Cedric Price

The author and Gordon Pask first met at Cambridge. Later, they worked together on Joan Littlewood’s Fun Palace project. Here are some memories of those days.

386

Abstract

The author and Gordon Pask first met at Cambridge. Later, they worked together on Joan Littlewood’s Fun Palace project. Here are some memories of those days.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 30 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 7 August 2009

Gonçalo Miguel Furtado Cardoso Lopes

The purpose of this paper is to study a series of exchanges between cybernetics and the arts, focusing on Pask's lifelong envisioning of the so‐called information environment…

1165

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study a series of exchanges between cybernetics and the arts, focusing on Pask's lifelong envisioning of the so‐called information environment (I.E). It follows the author's previous PhD dissertation which was concerned with the exchanges between systems research and architecture; Gordon Pask et al.; and a couple of outstanding architectural projects related to systems and computation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper was mainly supported by archival research of Gordon Pask's Archive (held at the time by his daughter) and Cedric Price's Archive (held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture); supplemented with interviews and bibliographical research (research was made possible by a FCT grant – POCI 2010).

Findings

The paper details and discusses exchanges between the fields of cybernetics and the arts; and it focuses on Pask's lifelong exchange with architecture and the manifestation of his ideas in this field. One highlights, among others, Pask's exchanges within the British milieu and the AMG during the 1960s and 1970s; the seminal manifestations of his main C2 achievement – the Conversation Theory – in the field of architecture; and his later architectural performance.

Research limitations/implications

The previous primary archival research conducted at Pask's daughter house, is being expanded by the author through use of new material.

Originality/value

This paper is intended for historians of sciences and the arts. It briefly overviews Pask's well‐known main works and, in addition, it includes reference to some rare little‐known materials.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 38 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 23 October 2007

Anja Pratschke

This paper aims to draw on current research in public policy, and more specifically about a collaborative design process for a poor suburban community in São Paulo, Brazil and its…

519

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to draw on current research in public policy, and more specifically about a collaborative design process for a poor suburban community in São Paulo, Brazil and its relation to social cybernetics as the “science of effective organization.” The research project in public policy, online‐communities, has been financed by the state‐sponsored agency FAPESP since 2003, and involves four research groups from the Architecture and Computer Science Departments at the University of São Paulo, and various public and non‐governmental organizations under the coordination of Nomads.usp Research Center (Center for Studies on Interactive Living, www.eesc.usp.br/nomads).

Design/methodology/approach

The design methodology includes three premises: an organization of the team which considers multidisciplinary and multicultural aspects; the involvement of potential users as creators of the virtual community and of its concrete space; and the concern that the process will be organized so that autonomy and evolution take place.

Findings

Special interest in the comparison of architectural methods and cybernetics is to understand how information and communication are dealt with using a design process to promote active exchange of knowledge and competences, and to improve interaction and conversation in a local context of large social differences, affected by lack of opportunities and regulating structures.

Practical implications

Owing to its constant questioning of viability, adaptability and recursion, cybernetics should be able to make the designer team constantly revise the proposal to change conditions during its process of implementation and later autonomy.

Originality/value

The paper discusses the actual relevance of the use of the cybernetic theory as a way to improve information and communication between designers and the population in poor communities.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 36 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Mateus van Stralen

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate possibilities for a more intersubjective digital design process that amplifies the potential for novelty to arise.

248

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate possibilities for a more intersubjective digital design process that amplifies the potential for novelty to arise.

Design/methodology/approach

First the author will explore the metaphorical concept of the house as a machine in two different contexts, the industrial age, and conversational age, discussing how each concept can generate variety in the built environment. Second, the author presents some examples of conversational customization in architecture along with the Woka, an ongoing research project that attempts to create a more conversational design process. Finally, the author will discuss the possibility of conversational customization in design as a possible solution to a more open and intersubjective process in design.

Findings

The author finds that a possible way to reach a true paradigm shift in the process of production of architectural space is to use conversation as a design approach, from design to use, shifting the focus from the object to the process, amplifying variety and the potential for novelty to arise.

Practical implications

The objective is to offer designers a new way of thinking about design that focusses on conversation and intersubjective processes.

Originality/value

The notion of conversational customization may offer a conceptual base for architects to explore conversation in design.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 44 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 23 October 2007

Jose dos Santos Cabral Filho

This paper seeks to describe an experiment carried out in the 1980s by a small practice called Céu do 3o. Mundo (C3M) relating to the application of cybernetics principles to a…

535

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to describe an experiment carried out in the 1980s by a small practice called Céu do 3o. Mundo (C3M) relating to the application of cybernetics principles to a design process with special regard to house design in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

After discussing the peculiarities of architectural practice in Brazil, the paper presents C3M's design methodology, which is based on the creation of three models (“conceptual model”, “analogical model”, and “scale model”); a case study is presented and the results of the application of the methodology to several projects are discussed.

Findings

The paper shows that cybernetics principles are relevant for dealing with the Brazilian housing shortage, especially because it is an adequate framework to deal with the Brazilian culture, known for its informality, its social plasticity and its playful nature.

Originality/value

The correlation of cybernetics principles to the design of affordable houses is articulated through the concept of “indeterminate project,” intended as a project that would allow for flexibility, interpretation and adaptation.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 36 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 July 2001

John Hamilton Frazer

Discusses the relation between cybernetics and architecture and pays tribute to Gordon Pask’s role and influence. Indicates Pask’s contribution to an increasingly environmentally…

1516

Abstract

Discusses the relation between cybernetics and architecture and pays tribute to Gordon Pask’s role and influence. Indicates Pask’s contribution to an increasingly environmentally responsive architectural theory that may lead to a more humane and ecologically conscious environment.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 30 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Christiane M. Herr

The purpose of this paper is to identify two ways of conceptualizing cellular automata (CA) systems: a utility-focussed approach focussed on modeling, simulation and prediction as…

216

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify two ways of conceptualizing cellular automata (CA) systems: a utility-focussed approach focussed on modeling, simulation and prediction as typically found in science-based disciplines, and a second, exploration and speculation-focussed approach typically found in design-related contexts. These two approaches to CA are linked to first-order cybernetics and second-order cybernetics, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

The author illustrate and support the argument made by showing in a review of earlier work as well as three case studies of CA use in architectural design work how linear, science-based “first-order CA” cannot adequately support design processes. In such contexts, CA are typically adapted to allow for circular, conversational processes and to take involved observers into account.

Findings

The analysis of the three case studies shows that design-oriented approaches to CA aimed at generating novelty require “second-order CA” – CA that are based on second-order cybernetic principles.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations of this paper arise from the limited number of reported and analyzed case studies as well as from a necessary simplification and generalization of observations for the sake of brevity.

Originality/value

Findings resulting from the investigation emphasize and extend early experimental approaches to CA in design-related contexts that conceived CA systems as part of conversational design processes. The transition from first-order to second-order CA is necessary to allow for speculative and explorative design conversations that support designers in generating novelty in conversational settings.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 44 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 8 November 2019

Peter Raisbeck

Abstract

Details

Architecture as a Global System: Scavengers, Tribes, Warlords and Megafirms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-655-1

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 16 November 2022

Peter Raisbeck

Abstract

Details

Architects, Sustainability and the Climate Emergency
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-292-1

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 October 2001

James M. Bradburne

Here I recall fondly times spent with Gordon and acknowledge his influence on my ideas and work.

91

Abstract

Here I recall fondly times spent with Gordon and acknowledge his influence on my ideas and work.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 30 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

1 – 10 of 176
Per page
102050