Designing for and from digital narratives

Abstract

What would it look like if architecture more deeply valued the perspectives of the average people whose lives unfold upon it every day? Architecture exists within a public environment and in urban areas, the effect of both the architectural objects and ideas should be understood to be a part of the cultural commons. In doing so, the impact of architecture can be understood by the ways the average individual appropriates spaces. Social media can lend insight into how average groups of people interpret spaces. Documenting urban environments in this way is a method of interpreting these spaces. In this process, individuals are participating in a dialogue about how they see or want ot be seen in space. By orienting focus on this narrative, designers can develop spaces that are sensitive to this facet of the publics use of space. The first step is the anchoring of the conversation within the community in a spatial framewrok. The goal of this thesis is to develop a system that mirrors the process of interpretation that can be deployed thoughout a city which can be capable of revealing to individuals how they are implicated in the process of remaking the city.