The Internet of People for a Post-Oil World

Paperback
6″ x 9″, 67 pages
Color

Available as a print-on-demand book from lulu.com. Available here as a free download.

The Situated Technologies Pamphlets series explores the implications of ubiquitous computing for architecture and urbanism. How is our experience of the city and the choices we make in it affected by mobile communications, pervasive media, ambient informatics, and other “situated” technologies? How will the ability to design increasingly responsive environments alter the way architects conceive of space? What do architects need to know about urban computing, and what do technologists need to know about cities? Situated Technologies Pamphlets will be published in nine issues and will be edited by a rotating list of leading researchers and practitioners from architecture, art, philosophy of technology, comparative media study, performance studies, and engineering.

In Situated Technologies Pamphlets 8, Christian Nold and Rob van Kranenburg articulate the foundations of a future manifesto for an Internet of Things in the public interest. Nold and Kranenburg propose tangible design interventions that challenge an internet dominated by commercial tools and systems, emphasizing that people from all walks of life have to be at the table when we talk about alternate possibilities for ubiquitous computing. Through horizontally scaling grass roots efforts along with establishing social standards for governments and companies to allow cooperation, Nold and Kranenberg argue for transforming the Internet of Things into an Internet of People.

Series Editors
Omar Khan, Trebor Scholz, Mark Shepard

For more information, go to www.situatedtechnologies.net.

Sentient City: Ubiquitous Computing, Architecture, and the Future of Urban Space
Paola Antonelli and Hadas Steiner in conversation with Mark Shepard
Friday, February 11, 2011
7:00 p.m.
McNally Jackson Books
52 Prince Street
1.0 CEUs
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To mark the publication of Sentient City: Ubiquitous Computing, Architecture, and the Future of Urban Space (The Architectural League/MIT Press), a book of case studies and essays based on the League’s fall 2009 exhibition, Paola Antonelli and Hadas Steiner join the book’s editor and exhibition curator Mark Shepard for a conversation on the history and future of architecture and design exhibitions. How have exhibitions helped shape the future imaginary of architecture and design? What agency, if any, does the exhibition have as a mode of design practice? How has both the role of the curator and the nature of curatorial practice evolved vis-a-vis new methods for the production and dissemination of architectural media? The conversation will address the exhibition’s historical relation to architectural production and its influence on contemporary design discourse.

Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art. One of the foremost design curators in the world, Antonelli has organized numerous exhibitions, most recently “Design and the Elastic Mind” and “Safe: Design Takes on Risk.”  Her upcoming exhibition, “Talk to Me” (summer 2011), explores the communication between people and things.

Mark Shepard is an artist, architect, and researcher whose work addresses new social spaces and signifying structures of contemporary network cultures.  He is an editor of the Situated Technologies Pamphlets Series (The Architectural League) and co-author of “Urban Computing and Its Discontents,” with Adam Greenfield.  Shepard is Assistant Professor of Architecture and Media Study at the University at Buffalo, where he co-directs the Center for Architecture and Situated Technologies.

Hadas Steiner is an architectural historian whose research concentrates on the cross-pollinations of technological and cultural aspects of architectural fabrication in the postwar period.  She is the author of Beyond Archigram: The Structure of Circulation (Routledge, 2007).  Steiner is Associate Professor of Architecture at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

This program is free and open to all. Seating first-come, first-served.

Co-sponsored by The Architectural League of New York and McNally Jackson Books.

For more information about the book, click here.

Image: Heat responsive cover of Sentient City: Ubiquitous Computing, Architecture, and the Future of Urban Space (The Architectural League/MIT Press)

A panel discussion to launch the latest Situated Technologies Pamphlet
Featuring Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Laura Y. Liu, Trebor Scholz, and Neil Smith
Monday, November 1, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Cabinet
300 Nevins Street (between Union and Sackett)
Brooklyn, New York
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Cabinet is conveniently located near the F, G, and R lines and there is often free street parking nearby. View map. For detailed directions, click here.

For information about how to purchase or download a copy of Situated Technologies Pamphlets 7, click here.

To listen to a podcast conversation between the authors, click here.

Please join us for this panel discussion on the relationship between labor and technology in urban space, in a context where communication, attention, and physical movement generate financial value for a small number of private stakeholders. We begin with the question: How does the intertwining of labor and play complicate our understanding of exploitation and “the urban”? The conversation will look at urban spaces of technology through the lens of digital and not-digital work in terms of those less visible sites and forms of work such as homework, care work, interactivity on social networking sites, life energy spent contributing to corporate crowd sourcing projects, and other unpaid work. In examining the shift of labor markets to the Internet, we tease out the ways that traditional sweatshop economies continue to structure the urban environment. What happens when we are not only “on” the Social Web, we are becoming it–no matter where we are–¬and when Internet users are ever more vulnerable to novel enticements, conveniences, and marketing approaches. Commercial and government surveillance are sure to escalate as new generations become increasingly equipped with mobile platforms, interacting with “networked things.” Panelists will also suggest tangible alternatives. We need public debate about contemporary forms of exploitation. Attention must be focused on social action and, while always in need of scrutiny, state regulation and policy.

The Panelists
Ruth Wilson Gilmore is Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, The Graduate Center, CUNY and President, American Studies Association.  She examined how political and economic forces produced California’s prison boom in Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California (University of California Press, 2007), which was recognized by ASA with its Lora Romero First Book Award.

Laura Y. Liu is Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at Eugene Lang College, The New School. Her research focuses on community organizing and urban social justice; the socio-spatial dynamics of immigrant communities; race, gender, and labor politics; and the relationship between methodology and epistemology in activism. She is writing a book called Sweatshop City, which looks at the continuing relevance of the sweatshop metaphorically and materially within Chinatown and other immigrant communities, and throughout New York City.

Trebor Scholz is a writer, conference organizer, Assistant Professor of Media & Culture, and Director of the conference series The Politics of Digital Culture at The New School in NYC. He also founded the Institute for Distributed Creativity that is known for its online discussions of critical Internet culture, specifically the ruthless casualization of digital labor, ludocapitalism, distributed politics, digital media and learning, radical media activism, and micro-histories of media art. Trebor is co-editor The Art of Free Cooperation, a book about online collaboration, and editor of “The Internet as Playground and Factory,” forthcoming from Routledge. He holds a PhD in Media Theory and a grant from the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. His forthcoming monograph from Polity Press offers a history of the Social Web and its Orwellian economies.

Neil Smith is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Earth & Environmental Sciences at The Graduate Center, CUNY.  His  research explores the broad intersection between space, nature, social theory and history, with long-term research on gentrification, including empirical work in North America and Europe and a series of theoretical papers emphasizing the importance of patterns of investment and disinvestment in the real estate market.  He was Director of the Center for Place Culture and Politics at the Graduate Center from 2000-2008 and is now on its Advisory Board.

Tickets are required for admission to League programs. Tickets are free for League members and students; $10 for non-members. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing: rsvp@archleague.org. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program.  Non-members may purchase tickets in advance here.

About the Series
The Situated Technologies Pamphlets Series explores the implications of ubiquitous computing for architecture and urbanism: how our experience of space and the choices we make within it are affected by a range of mobile, pervasive, embedded, or otherwise “situated” technologies. Published three times a year over three years, the series is structured as a succession of nine “conversations” between researchers, writers, and other practitioners from architecture, art, philosophy of technology, comparative media studies, performance studies, and engineering.

This program was made possible in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Situated Technologies Pamphlets 7 cover. Image: Film still from Sleep Dealer, courtesy of Alex Rivera, www.alexrivera.com.

From Mobile Playgrounds to Sweatshop City

Paperback
6″ x 9″,  78 pages
Color
$24.50

Available as a print-on-demand book from lulu.com. Click here to order. Available here as a free download.

Join us at the panel discussion celebrating the publication of this issue on November 1, with Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Neil Smith, and the authors.  Click here for more information.

The Situated Technologies Pamphlets series explores the implications of ubiquitous computing for architecture and urbanism. How is our experience of the city and the choices we make in it affected by mobile communications, pervasive media, ambient informatics, and other “situated” technologies? How will the ability to design increasingly
responsive environments alter the way architects conceive of
space? What do architects need to know about urban computing, and
what do technologists need to know about cities? Situated Technologies
Pamphlets will be published in nine issues and will be edited by a
rotating list of leading researchers and practitioners from architecture,
art, philosophy of technology, comparative media study, performance studies, and engineering.

In Situated Technologies Pamphlets 7, Trebor Scholz and Laura Y. Liu reflect on the relationship between labor and technology in urban space where communication, attention, and physical movement generate financial value for a small number of private stakeholders. Online and off, Internet users are increasingly wielded as a resource for economic amelioration, for private capture, and the channels of communication are becoming increasingly inscrutable. Liu and Scholz ask: How does the intertwining of labor and play complicate our understanding of exploitation?

Series Editors
Omar Khan, Trebor Scholz, Mark Shepard

For more information, go to www.situatedtechnologies.net.

MicroPublicPlaces

Paperback
6″ x 9″, 58 pages
Color
$19.95

Available as a print-on-demand book from lulu.com. Click here to order.
Available as a free download here.

The Situated Technologies Pamphlets series explores the implications
of ubiquitous computing for architecture and urbanism. How is
our experience of the city and the choices we make in it affected by
mobile communications, pervasive media, ambient informatics, and
other “situated” technologies? How will the ability to design increasingly
responsive environments alter the way architects conceive of
space? What do architects need to know about urban computing, and
what do technologists need to know about cities? Situated Technologies
Pamphlets will be published in nine issues and will be edited by a
rotating list of leading researchers and practitioners from architecture,
art, philosophy of technology, comparative media study, performance
studies, and engineering.

In response to two strong global vectors: the rise of pervasive information
technologies and the privatization of the public sphere, Marc Böhlen
and Hans Frei propose hybrid architectural programs called Micro Public
Places (mpps). mpps combine insights from ambient intelligence, human
computing, architecture, social engineering and urbanism to initiate ways
to re-animate public life in contemporary societies. They offer access to
things that are or should be available to all: air, water, medicine, books,
etc. and combine machine procedures with subjective human intuition
to develop joint forms of observing and knowing that neither system is
capable of on its own.

Series Editors
Omar Khan, Trebor Scholz, Mark Shepard

For more information, go to www.situatedtechnologies.net.

Click here to subscribe to League podcasts on iTunes.

Presented as part of the public program series organized in conjunction with the Architectural League’s fall 2009 exhibition Toward the Sentient City.

Working in collaboration with Cisco Systems, Kohn Pedersen Fox is currently master-planning two new cities — New Songdo City, South Korea and Meixi Lake, Hunan Province, China — in which all information systems — residential, medical, business — will be linked. Organized around eight “tracks,” the systems will be designed to provide smart and connected solutions for real estate, safety and security, transportation, utilities, government, education, health care, and sports. James von Klemperer, design principal, and Relina Bulchandani, Director, Connected Real Estate Practice, discuss the major challenges of planning for the “ubiquitous city,” or u-city.

BIO
James von Klemperer has been responsible for the design of major commissions throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His recent and current projects include the U.S. Ambassador’s residence, Nicosia, Cyprus; Plaza 66, Shanghai; ZhongGuanCun West, Beijing; the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, New York City; the Institute for International Economics, Washington D.C.; 640 Fifth Avenue, New York City; and the Mohegan Sun Resort hotel, casino, and arena in northern Connecticut. He received a Bachelor of Art from Harvard University, Master of Architecture from Trinity College, Cambridge, and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University.

Relina Bulchandani is a director in the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group Connected Real Estate Practice. She focuses on real estate solutions, technologies, and systems for the real estate sector, helping companies transform the user experience, streamline design/build processes, and create enivronmental sustainability. Prior to joining Cisco, she was senior vice president of strategic projects at Forest City Enterprises. She holds an MSE in technology managment from the Wharton School and the School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania.

Paperback
6″ x 9″, 45 pages
Color
$19.95

Available as a print-on-demand book from lulu.com.  Click here to order.
Available as a free download here.

The Situated Technologies Pamphlets series, published by the Architectural League, explores the implications of ubiquitous computing for architecture and urbanism. How are our experience of the city and the choices we make in it affected by mobile communications, pervasive media, ambient informatics and other “situated” technologies? How will the ability to design increasingly responsive environments alter the way architects conceive of space? What do architects need to know about urban computing and what do technologists need to know about cities?

In the last five years, the urban computing field has featured an impressive emphasis on the so-called “real-time, database-enabled city” with its synchronized Internet of Things.   In Situated Technologies Pamphlets 5,  Julian Bleecker and Nicholas Nova argue to invert this common perspective and speculate on the existence of an “asynchronous city.” Through a discussion of objects that blog, they forecast situated technologies based on weak signals that show the importance of time on human practices. They imagine the emergence of truly social technologies that through thoughtful provocation can invert and disrupt common perspective.

Situated Technologies Pamphlets will be published in nine issues over three years and will be edited by a rotating list of leading researchers and practitioners from architecture, art, philosophy of technology, comparative media studies, performance studies, and engineering.

Series Editors
Omar Khan, Trebor Scholz, Mark Shepard

For more information, go to www.situatedtechnologies.net.

Project Presentation: Breakout!
Laura Forlano, Sean Savage, Antonina Simeti, Dana Spiegel, and Anthony Townsend
Introduction by Mark Shepard
Recorded: September 25, 2009
Running time: 48:00

Click here to subscribe to League podcasts on iTunes.

Presented as part of the public program series organized in conjunction with the Architectural League’s fall 2009 exhibition Toward the Sentient City.

Laura Forlano, Dana Spiegel, Antonina Simeti, and Anthony Townsend discuss the inspirations, design, and initial experiences behind “Breakout!,” their experiment of mobile work organized for the League’s exhibition Toward the Sentient City. “Breakout!” is a festival of work in the city that explores the dynamic possibilities of a single question: what if the entire city were your office?

BIOS
Laura Forlano received her Ph.D. in Communications from Columbia University, where she explored the intersection between organizations and technology and the role of place in communication, collaboration and innovation. She is an Adjunct Faculty member in Design and Management at Parsons and in the Graduate Programs in International Affairs and Media Studies at The New School.

Sean Savage has ten years of experience in user research and experience design, with a focus on digital design for physical spaces. He co-founded PariSoMa, a co-working space in San Francisco. He also invented and served as CEO of PlaceSite, a location-based digital service that enhances offline social interaction in cafes and other work spaces.

Antonina Simeti is a consultant at DEGW, where she explores her interest in applying urban economic and planning principles to corporate workplace and learning environments. She has a special interest in knowledge industries, and specifically spaces in which innovation happens. She has experience in urban planning, public policy research, and environmental review.

Dana Spiegel is a Software and Product Development Consultant and the President of sociableDESIGN, a company that helps start-ups create and refine their online software and services. He is also Executive Director of NYCwireless, a non-profit that creates free, public Wi-Fi hotspots in New York City.

Anthony Townsend is Research Director in the Technology Horizons Program of the Institute for the Future, an independent research group based in Silicon Valley. He has authored over 20 journal articles and book chapters on the role of telecommunications in urban development and design.

Project Presentation: Natural Fuse
Usman Haque
Introduction by Mark Shepard
Recorded: September 18, 2009
Running time: 1:02:07

Click here to subscribe to League podcasts on iTunes.

Presented as part of the public program series organized in conjunction with the Architectural League’s fall 2009 exhibition Toward the Sentient City.

For many of us these days, “home” is an idea constructed from several places–we live in social environments and neighborhoods composed of networked fragments that bridge huge geographical distances. Usman Haque talks about such architectural issues with specific reference to “Natural Fuse,” his project for the League’s exhibition Toward the Sentient City.  “Natural Fuse” is a city-wide network of electronically-assisted plants that act both as energy providers and and as a shared “carbon sink” resource.  The project encourages collective cooperation in regulating energy consumption through a network of “circuit breakers” distributed throughout the city.

BIO
Usman Haque has created responsive environments, interactive installations, digital interface devices and massparticipation performances. His skills include the design of both physical spaces and the software and systems that bring them to life. As well as directing the work of Haque Design + Research he was until 2005 a teacher in the Interactive Architecture Workshop at the Bartlett School of Architecture, London.

Curated by Mark Shepard and organized by the Architectural League
September 17–November 7, 2009
The Urban Center
457 Madison Avenue

Exhibition Design: Thumb Projects

Exhibition website

Toward the Sentient City is made possible with support from the J. Clawson Mills Fund of the Architectural League and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Additional support has been provided by the University at Buffalo.

A major exhibition of five newly commissioned projects and installations by teams of architects, artists and technologists that imagine alternative trajectories for how various mobile, embedded, networked, and distributed forms of communication systems might inform the architecture of urban space and/or influence our behavior within it.

Toward the Sentient City is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.