[overview]
Against Program in ME++ by Mitchell J. Williams
The article Against Program written by William J. Mitchell is one of the twelve chapters in his book, ME++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City, published in 2003. Me++ [pronounced as “me plus plus”, as in C++, “cee plus plus”] is also considered as the last book in his trilogy series related immensely to information technology and changes of the cities. The first book is called “City of Bits” (1996) and follows by “e-topia” (1999) as a second one. These trilogy series were published during his serving as a dean at MIT School of Architecture and as a director of the MIT Media Lab. So, the contents are aimed and involved architecture, urban design and our being [digitals] in the 21st century cities.
In this article, Against Program, Mitchell discusses the changes within wireless life in four sections. The first section called “Electronomadic Spatial Practices” illustrates how a new way of our using of space has been presence in digital environments. Secondly, the “Decline and Fall of the Architectural program” section supports the changes in digital relationship of human and space. For the third section, “Electronic Non-Place,” Mitchell contrasts and questions the ideas between a space required in the past and the space offering currently, including how the space are being controlled. The last section, “Extreme Electronomadic,” Mitchell extends his impossible possibility novel of our human, identity, and its experience for how it can be saved, downloaded or encoded for further use.
Hi Sorachi I agree with your critique, but I also missed the socioeconimical perspective.Specifically how big corporations are affecting space, virtual and non virtual. While reading about the no-plan proposition I thought about the impracticality of the prinicipal because it presupposes that individuals in a community have the same power of decision making.With coporations owning more and more space both on and off-line I do not think we can leave them out of the equation.
Your presentation and perspective about digital world and architecture is very interesting. It brought new contexts to the class.
Your example about “Form Follows Function”, and “Why do we need big meeting rooms in the office?” are strong evidences to support that we are (in many circumstances) living in cyber space, and we do not realize we are living.
Last summer, I visited my friend who works with a digital firm in Silicon Valley. I was amazed by the interior design of his house. Since he mostly works from home. His small office (in his house) has been equipped by ICT and office supplies, supporting him to work from home. This small room looks bigger with the space of virtual world. And it possibly substitutes many square feet from the office at Silicon Valley.
I am interested to see how people see and live in their homes (together with cyber world). It must be fun.
This was a very interesting article to choose Sor. With the introduction of wireless technologies we became more mobile than ever, yet still in touch with each other no matter where we’re on the map. So in a sense it’s true that we’re digital nomads.
The new technologies always raises questions about their affordances and I agree with the author that designers should start rethinking what’s made available for us through these new technologies and how it can be utilized in their designs. These technologies not only changed how we interact with each other and it also changed how we interact with our environment, therefore I agree that it’s very important for designers to step back and rethink. As you mentioned in your critique the author is not talking about the users emotions, but I don’t think it’s a disregard, I believe it can be a topic for another paper or chapter in the book. After all we have seen during bauhaus how the use or absence of use of color and form can also have a dehumanizing effect on people. (Wolfe, 1981) And it’s important to take emotions into consideration when designing.