Virtual World - What is Virtual

Living in a virtual era;

• What does 'virtual' really consist of?
• How does a built element become virtual?
• What is the meaning of virtual?

To me, virtual consist of another world, not necessarily out of this world, but it is in coexistence with our everyday lives. As time goes on, technology becomes are much larger part of our life, there is less and less face to face interaction between people, and a much heavier reliance on technology to do our daily tasks.

In terms of architecture and the built environment, we are relying more and more on computers to not just help design and build, but also documentation / correspondance / presentations / and every day tasks that need to be done. We design and construct virtual 3d models and renderings before a project gets past the sketch design phase.

Some extraordinary examples of virtual models are some Zaha Hadid's work.

These types of rendering are now seen everywhere within the entire design industry, and elsewhere. However creating virtual models of designs is not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to virtual / virtual reality / virtual function within a building.

Could this assignment be about blurring the line between virtual and real life even more then it already is?

I believe that this task has more to do with defining an architectural solution to replace or enhance one or more specific functions within parliament, or at least a hypothetical situation of parliament. A goal for me is to present a strategy that will be supportive of all four solutions, as they all tie in so closely, there is considerations that must be taken to ensure that they are all responsive and enabled within the design.

Any adaptation must be for reason of function, not simply fun. Change and adaptation of a building for the reason of a new or improved function not for the sake of it, or simply because we are given the opportunity...

Centre Pompidou: Paris

By Renzo Piano & Richard Rogers 1977

"The Centre Pompidou is something of a victim of its own success. It was much criticized for requiring temporary closure for a major renovation after only twenty years' service, but this is at least mitigated by the volume of people it has been required to host: over 25,000 per day, compared with the 5,000 anticipated. And if its massive, brightly colored, maverick form looks less radical today, that's because of how much its revolutionary hi-tech construction has been copied and extended."

ref: http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/pompidou/index.htm

Want more? Follow the above link.

After briefly looking at the Pompidou Centre, we can see loads and loads of flexibility, with fantastic function and order. There has been no obvious loss of function due to its enhance flexibility feature.