Recombinant Architecture, by William Mitchell

1. Mitchell goes through a number of typologies and societal programs/functions, theorizing how each of them would eventually be transformed by the onset of pervasive computing. But central to each of his hypotheses is the idea that everything could essentially be done remotely as a result of our growing connectivity to networks, and most of the typologies he describes, if not all, could be completely done away with in the physical sense. One example that stuck out the most in my mind was that of the traditional Bank. My question deals with the importance of the Home in a society where everything can be done remotely; how crucial does the Home become? If everything can be done from the comfort of our living rooms, why leave at all? Where would we go? He touches upon this idea when he says “The domestic living room is emerging as a major site at which digitally displaced activities are recombining and re-grounding themselves in the physical world.”

The Computer for the 21st Century, by Mark Weiser

1. When describing the concept of ubiquitous computing, Mark Weiser discusses three types of  devices that serve to facilitate the merging of technology into every day life, and says “The real power of the concept comes not from any one of these devices – it emerges from the interaction of all of them. The hundreds of processors and displays are not a “user interface” like a mouse and windows, just a pleasant and effective “place” to get things done.” This quote reminds me of the idea of code/space from Rob Kitchin and Martin Dodge’s essay, which describes a space that is mutually constituted with its software or technology, meaning that they each are produced through one another and one can’t exist without the other. My question is in a world where the network defines the functionality of a space, and a space can take on multiple functions at once, how does the relationship between space and program change? If a living room can potentially be the “space” in which work and play (and potentially many other functions) take place, does it still maintain a relationship between its function and its design?

The Electronic as Post-Optimal Object, Anthony Dunne

1. I found it interesting when Anthony Dunne recognizes that, from a material culture’s perspective, the concept of dematerialization can never completely dismiss the physical, because “Behind every outward image or symbol lies mechanical support…” This quote makes me think of a projector projecting an image: while the image may be “immaterial” it is still produced through a material process inside the projector. So what does this mean for ubiquitous computing, if the goal is to hide or integrate technology into every day material objects? Or is the idea of ubiquitous computing more oriented toward the idea of “designing without an object,” in which technology becomes so pervasive that it disassociates itself from any material object? But to what extent is this possible if we agree that every technology is a result of a physical process?