"Multidimensional Dialogue Through Architecture | An Exploration of the" by Fengqi Li

Architecture Senior Theses

Title

Multidimensional Dialogue Through Architecture | An Exploration of the Possible Dialogue Between Humans and Walls

Author(s)/Creator(s)

Fengqi Li

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.ARCH I

Date

Spring 5-2016

Keywords

architecture, interactive, wall, responsive

Language

English

Disciplines

Architectural Engineering | Architectural Technology | Construction Engineering | Other Architecture

Description/Abstract

This thesis proposes that architectural design no longer has to be primarily static, but rather it can be dynamically responsive to multiple information streams and conditions.

Multidimensional Dialogue Through Architecture is developed from the understanding of human factors and ergonomics. The dispersed works on research and inference are different ways to explore the interaction between the discipline of architecture and the other fields, such as psychology, engineering, bio-mechanics, physiology, cognitive science, and anthropomorphic. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is not to design a specific building that works perfectly in particular conditions but rather to use architectural elements to mediate among different fields.

This thesis focuses on one of the most important architectural elements, the wall, as the parameter to explore the possibilities that interact with different field. The wall as a fundamental architectural element works as an intermediary between human and machine intelligence. By exploring different conversation in the dialogue, the result of this integration is that the wall can intelligently interact with humans.

This type of holistic thinking methodology is inspired by Gordon Pask's "conversational theory". Pask's theory is a framework for deign thinking, that seeks to re-frame the problem in a new and interesting way rather than solve it. This "thinking by doing" process allows communication be more adaptive and iterative. Iterations involved in this conversation are a series of hypotheses which are based on empirical data analysis and practical experiments. As prototypes provide different plausible solutions to transform the design progress and create new knowledge for conversational dialogue. Therefore, the goal of this research is to reinforce the dialogue by assimilating the conversational idiosyncrasies from each species and asking the wall to be a predictive model that responds to human behavior.

Recommended Citation

Li, Fengqi, "Multidimensional Dialogue Through Architecture | An Exploration of the Possible Dialogue Between Humans and Walls" (2016). Architecture Senior Theses. 367.
https://surface.syr.edu/architecture_theses/367