on Herzian Tales
Herzian Tales elaborates on the idea that we should forget about new and thrilling innovations used in architecture for a second. Instead we should take a look into something that has been there long before we started applying new concepts to architecture — radio.
Through radio, we can observe that radio waves were creating the architecture around us. Although we couldn't observe it, it creates an architecture that is no longer bound to the ground but rather to the sky (Dunne 102), creating a new space on its own — electrosphere.
And while Dunne explores and speculates how we could use this electrical architecture to challenge the design, I wonder when will we start to change the design accordingly.
Such an abstract architecture demands us to take it into count while designing spaces. Although we can't see it, it does interact with us. We might not be able to tell how it is touching us, it might be in a way that it goes through us or reflects on our skin and goes back. Either way, this might create a need to escape from this constant digital architecture. Maybe we will start designing buildings as tunnels of this electrospehe, as Dunne mentions the faraday's cage, our houses might get designed in a way we create a signal vacuum. This might became an opposing alternative to smart houses that are intertwined with all kinds of data radars both receiving and sending signals. Especially if we start to see these radio signals are affecting our health. Then it becomes a choice we will be presented with: Do we want to protect your health by eradicating harmful signals in our spaces or do we want smart houses and offices to better understand your nutrition, sleep and work habits to improve them.
Taking radio signals into account when it comes to architecture is important, but the next logical step would be to think on how data around us create a “datasphere” and data-architecture. This might be a bit challenging since we have to create a definition based on which we will choose the data, otherwise everything could be a data architecture. But we might be able to start creating small hybrid environments (e.g. TIWWA for example) that are implementing various data sources to represent the potential data-architecture they create around us without us noticing. With rapid technology development we might implementing and combining both radio signals and data streams into architecture in general. We're doing so already. The only question I'm asking is if there is something that will prevent this. Will we be reflective enough to slow the development down or prevent it in certain areas?
