Re: Beyond The Beyond

Wade Cherrington (Wade_c@uniserve.com)
Sun, 8 Dec 1996 17:52:13 -0800 (PST)


>I think it is essential to multitrack when designing such an extropic space.
>
>>Here are some ideas for possible "areas" or "locales"-
>>- General background setting - cryogenic vaults, parkland walks, office
>>"buildings"
>
>Office buildings are becoming antiquated. Future offices will be anywhere,
>anytime. Designing a skyscraper office building probably will not be
>realistic.

Good point. But a sleek, futuristic glass and steel
skyscraper could still add to the atmosphere, and
represent a symbolic connection with business and commerce.

>Another area that we will see falling by the wayside are art galleries or
>museums, as known today. A museum could house a look at past cultures - art
>history. Because art has been changing its "form," artefacts to hang on the
>wall will not be the art of the future. Art such as 3-D images or
>holograms, VR interfaces or liquid mobile sculptures will appear at anytime,
>anywhere.

Yes I agree. But buildings themselves will probably not become totally
obsolete...they will however change there shape to suit what new uses they
will be put to.
When I talk about libraries, museums, institutes, office
buildings, I'm speaking in the loosest possible sense,
architecturally. The reason I included physical structures is to convey a
sense of time and place; a library for example will in the future probably
come to play a more symbolic than functional role; in a virtual space like
the one proposed, since everything is by definition symbolic anyways, the
library is the place whose entrance you click on to get to some hypertext
links, and as
such it should be recognizable as a library. Of course that doesn't mean we
should design it like libraries of the past,
just that we shouldn't dispense altogether with having it there.

I totally agree with your point about fluidity and anytime,
anywhere. We should plan from the outset in ways of animating
things, building the principles of dynamism and change into
everything thing we can...the place should positively
glow with life, information, possibility, extropy...

One idea would be having "Wild-Areas" just outside the main area, where the
landscape, objects, and features are always shifting, where artificial
lifeforms and evolutionary art-entities breed and mutate and fractal
tidepools swirl...

>>that are holding us back are faster physical connections to Internet ...
>
>Just start drafting an idea.

I shall...I'm already amazed at the great responses
both the criticisms and the general comments have
been constructive and enthusiastic...

- Wade Cherrington
(wade_c@uniserve.com)

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"The human will to immortality is a natural extension of
the animal will to life"
Turchin, The Principia Cybernetica
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