Space Informant: Responsible Environments of Information Exchange

Abstract

Information is the base unit of control in our culture. Self-empowerment is dependent on knowledge and therefore dependent on accessibility to information. Social classes are no longer solely defined by monetary wealth, but the ability to access information. Mere access is not sufficient in itself; information can be plentiful and overwhelming, the ability to use it effectively and navigate within it makes it useful. Information navigation should make the abundant manageable and the obscure accessible. Assisted navigation inevitably involves some filtering, the goal is to put user completely control of the filtering. If surrender of some control is necessary for information to be effectively processed into knowledge, who is doing the controlling? The beauty of information in the digital age is that it does not require physicality for existence, residing in the bit instead of the atom1 . It allows itself to be transferred easily without geographical distance having much if any effect on its efficiency. Bodies of information can be condensed to a negligible size, so why are specific spaces needed to be dedicated for information access? What if reference information were as ubiquitous as water and electricity in most built spaces? How then, do we explain the trend in that some of the grandest libraries even built are being built in the information age?2 The human condition is one of being senoral perceivers in our interaction with the world. While this type of quick reference may have its place, a physical gathering space is still required for sharing, researching and processing of information. Libraries/media centers exist to educate the public; they are places that allow knowledge to become tangible. Built centers dedicated to information exchange can also be tailored to suit the needs for specific communities and the information processing needs of their microcultures. The learning process is more efficient with tactile physical involvement of the digestion of received information; a physical information center has the opportunity to direct the methods of information transfer. An institution that allows self-education is essential to any civilized and progressive society. It is impossible to ignore the continual integration of virtual space into the built environment. The built environment must facilitate an intuitive media-human interface. This interface should be unobtrusive and remain in the background. Contemporary theory on Human Computer Interface states that the key to its success lies in distributing its control systems, essentially allowing software to make decisions for itself.3 There is also a realization in the computer interface design community that emotional response must be considered. The goal is to reverse the hierarchy of interface design, making the digital respond to the human.4 The necessity of physical spaces for knowledge development will not be eliminated by information distribution technologies, but rather reaffirmed by them. Like the software that serves it, the built environment must be looked at as a complex adaptive systems.