07.01.2004 

introduction

• topic: course overview
• assignment one:
  • buy the required texts
  • put up a home page on the web;
  • subscribe to the course list: <fdm171d-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>
  • do the reading for next wednesday (listed immediately below)
  • using ideas from the readings, do the following design exercise: assignment one: rhizomes of the amazon: map out a portion of amazon.com...more
• reading
  • danyel fisher, "studying social information spaces," in from usenet to cowebs: interacting with social information spaces, pp. 3-18.
  • munro, hook, and benyon, "footprints in the snow," in social navigation of information space, pp. 1-14.
  • dourish, "where the footprints lead: tracking down other roles for social navigation," in social navigation of information space, pp. 15-32.
  • cacm "recommender systems" by paul resnick and hal varian. communications of the acm, volume 40 , no. 3 (march 1997)

14.01.2004 

social navigation

• due: assignment one
• reading (required)
  • guy debord, "theory of the derive"
  • henri lefevre & kristin ross, interview with henri lefevre
  • bernard tschumi, the manhattan transcripts
• reading (recommended)
  • henri lefevre, "the production of space"
  • whyte, "the social life of small urban spaces" and "city: rediscovering the center," in the essential william h. whyte, pp. 247-317 (in the reader)
• assignment two: social navigation of physical space perform a derive...more

21.01.2004 

social navigation of physical space

• due: assignment two
• screening 1/2: william whyte, the social life of small urban spaces
• screening 2/2: guy debord, the society of the spectacle
• readings:
  • kevin lynch, "the image of the environment" and "three cities," in the image of the city, pp. 1-45
• assignment three: asking directions: how "legible" is the university campus?...more

28.01.2004 

legibility / remembering spaces

• due: assignment three
• reading:
  • maglio and matlock, "the conceptual structure of information space," in social navigation of information space, pp. 155-171
  • dodge and kitchin, "spatial cognition of cyberspace," in mapping cyberspace, pp. 166-181.
• assignment four: mapping newsgroups: how well do lynch's methods work in cyberspace?...more

04.02.2004 

legibility / understanding spaces

• due: assignment four
• reading:
  • metadesign, dusseldorf airport project: overview of airport signage; have a look at their website too: www.metadesign.com
  • venturi, scott brown, and izenour, "a significance for a&p parking lots, or learning from las vegas," in learning from las vegas, pp. 3-73.
  • benway and lane, "banner blindness: web searchers often miss "obvious" links." internetworking: itg newsletter, 1.3 (dec. 1998)
• assignment five: reading the street what kind of "literature" are street signs?...more

11.02.2004 

geometry and topology of physical spaces

• due: assignment five
• reading
  • alexander, "a city is not a tree"
  • hillier and hansen, "buildings and their genotypes," in the social logic of space, pp.143-175.
• assignment six: social logic interface maps how do people flow in a cafe?...more

18.02.2004 

geometry and topology of information spaces

• due: assignment six
• reading:
  • chalmers, "informatics, architecture and language," social navigation of information space, pp. 55-79.
  • dodge and kitchin, "mapping synchronous social spaces," in mapping cyberspace, pp. 142-165.
• assignment seven: an email thread is not a tree how is the architecture of cyberspace comparable to physical architecture?...more

25.02.2004 

pattern languages for physical architecture

• due: assignment seven
• reading:
  • alexander, a pattern language (excepts)
• assignment eight: patterns of cafe design return to your cafe to look for patterns of design....more

03.03.2004 

pattern languages for information architecture

• due: assignment eight
• reading
  • tom erickson, "lingua francas for design: sacred places and pattern languages"
  • doug schuler et al.,"shaping the network society: patterns for participation, action, and change"
    see, especially, the page on author advice and also the page on patterns which lists and links to various examples.
• assignment nine: patterns of interaction in e-space look for patterns of interaction in an online space....more

10.03.2004 

final review

• due:
  • assignment ten
  • an improved course webpage
  • a poster for the final review
  • an oral presentation for visiting critics