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Posthumanism, Cyborgs
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Interconnected Bodies

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Skeleton of Redemption : Chi Song : An artificial injection programmatically penetrates the remaining farmland (of Detroit), gaining energy while providing the basic nutrients for the growth of new infrastructure and revitalized accommodations.

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Posthumanism Cyborgs, and Interconnected Bodies

Jon Bailey

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Chapter 1 Post + Trans: Humanism Theory

Chapter 2 Precedents: Visionary Architecture Chapter 3 Interconnected Bodies: Ecophysiological Landscapes

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Transhumanist Theory Architectural Connection Self-Constructing Architecture Responsive Landscapes Augmented Atmospheres Psychological Connections Physiological Connections Ecophysiological Landscapes

Table of Contents

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Stelarcs Arm. Prosthetic third arm attached to sensors on the muscles of the thigh and stomach for locomotion.

The human skin is an artificial boundary: the world wanders into it, and the self wanders out of it, traffic is two-way and constant. - Donna Haraway

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Post + Trans: Humanism Theory

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Stelarc (Stelios Arkadiou) is a performance artist whose works focus heavily on extending the capabilities of the human body. His concepts center around the idea that the human body is obsolete, where idiosyncratic performances often involve robotics or other modern

technologies integrated with his body. His most notable performance is one in which he constructed a third arm, attached physically to one of his arms, but electronically hooked up to sensors on his stomach and thigh muscles. As he gained the ability to

control the muscles in these areas, he was able to control the locomotion of the artificial arm. His other performances involve an ear implanted into the skin of his arm as well as a pneumatic spider-like six-legged walking machine that allowed control through arm gestures.

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THE POSTHUMAN by definition is a speculative being that represents or seeks to enact a re-writing of what is generally conceived of as human, where human nature becomes a universal state from which the human being emerges; human nature is autonomous, rational, capable of free will, and unified in itself as the apex of existence. The post-human, for critical theorists of the subject, has an emergent ontology rather than a stable one; in other words, the post-human is not a singular, defined individual, but rather who can become or embody different identities and understand the world from multiple, heterogeneous perspectives. (Nichols) Transhumanism looks at Posthumanism through a slightly more technological discourse, where technologies are seen to evolve along with the human and cannot be separated from our evolution as they have become a part of defining being human; often associated with cyborgs, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as creature of fiction. (Haraway) According to transhumanist theologians, a Posthuman is a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards. (Dougal) This definition, however, becomes less clear as the bar for what is considered human is constantly shifting and we may never therefore feel other than ourselves being human, but this does fulfill the claim to some posthumanist theorists that we are in fact already in a state of posthumanity where our current state is different from previous generations of human ancestors. In describing the Posthuman habitat we must first look at what it means to be Posthuman and the coevolution of humans with technology. Im sure that most people when I say Posthuman,

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or cyborg, thinks of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Terminatoror perhaps Robin Williams as Bicentennial Man. But what about someone using a cell phone? Or a person writing on paper with a pencil? Or checking the time? Some psychologists, anthropologists, and other Posthuman theorists would claim that by these examples we are in fact already cyborgs and have been since our biological neural processes began to be offloaded onto non-biological props and aids, what Andy Clark [a psychologist from Washington University] calls scaffolds (Andy Clark). Scaffolding may include assistance with planning, organizing, doing matched to the learning needs and interests of the learner. (Clark) As seen with these technologies, however, they need not be skin-deep, for what is special about the human brain is its ability to enter into deep and complex relationships with nonbiological constructs, props, and aids (Clark). This ability does not depend on physical wire-and-implant-mergers; such mergers may be consummated without the intrusion of silicon and wire into flesh and blood. What matters is not the physical merger between flesh and machine (our traditional image of the cyborg), but the ubiquitous and invisible connection between mental processes which are offloaded onto non-biological scaffolds. Tools and technologies become extensions of our brains through ubiquitous feedback between the two. For example, the wristwatch; you may often be asked if you know the time, to which the typical response is yes, however, you probably do not actually know the time, but rather you look at a technological gadget which tells you the timeyet you still claim that you in fact know the time. Thus, the wristwatch becomes a scaffolding system where information is retained on a peripheral

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device accessible by ubiquitous mental awareness. Similar is the act of writing using pen and paper which reveals another instance where our brain is offloading mental tasks through pen and paper which could not otherwise be solves without assistance. For most of us, to solve complex mathematical equations, or even long
Emotiv is a headset that sensors around the

division, we write down the steps to store and formulate the answeran answer uses specifically placed

which could probably not have been found otherwise without the use of the scaf- circumference of the head folding systems to accompany the mental processes occurring. The brain is not Using an algorithm these necessarily good at performing these sorts of tasks, but our computational tools are, as a 2D pattern, where
ment, or emotion. For signals are then mapped

to read neural activity and patterns within the brain.

so it uses these non-biological scaffolds to break down and offload the tasks which certain thought, move-

each pattern is specific to

we are not so good at. It is expert at recognizing patterns, at perception, and at instance if you imagine controlling physical actions, but it is not so well designed for complex planning response is activated

a window opening or closing, a certain neural which is specific to that electronics are placed in conversation with

and long, intricate, derivations of consequences (Clark) In other words we may thought. Therefore, if

only be as capable at some activities as our ability to offload these mental tasks to on the window that are periphery devices, thus showing that we have a greater connection to our technolo- the mapping algorithm, gies than previously imagined. Tools which become ubiquitous, where processes closing, the pattern will be can fluidly exchange from scaffold to neural processes are those which we see fully to the electronics of the taking over human culture; watches, cell phones, writing, etc.; where this intercon- will open. This technology allows spaces and recognized, transmitted window, and the window whenever you imagine the window opening or

nectedness between technology and mental processes are spreading out into every devices to be controlled day objects and environments.

So with our understanding of the cyborg moving away from bodily appendages of industrial technologies to a new perception of what a cyborg is, one that sees technologies evolution with humanity, where the way we interact with technologies isnt only through their depth within the body, but rather the ubiquitous connections between tools and neural functions, where offloading processes onto these non-biological props becomes essential to our being human. This concept of cyborg sees us not as separate entities, man or machine, but rather the interconnectedness between these entitiesthe relationship between systems becomes important. Posthumanity becomes interconnected, as brain and body begin to be viewed as an interconnected system (conversely to humanism which sees our body as a shell for the mind; i.e. two separate systems, polarities of mind and body); an assemblage

with thoughts, connecting physical spaces with the human physiological processes of the nervous system. Brainbow (right) is a technique which uses brightly colored dies to follow neural activity within the brain and body. Currently this technology has only been applied to mice and other small animals, however, by the images you can begin to see the intricate and complex patterns which arise as neurons travel through bodies. With this technology allowing us to map flows of neurons and electricity within the body, the patterns and information generated could be read by such devices as the Emotiv headset, where neural patterns are sensed whereby space and matter responds to emotion and brain activity.

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Our traditional notion of the cyborg has already occurred within our society, and we are in fact beyond this image currently. Depicted in these images are xrays taken of a hip and knee joint, where metal sockets and rods have been implanted to replace biological components. As the metal alloy wears into the socket, bone begins to regenerate into the rod, creating an interconnected system of technological and biological components. This example shows a physical and literal representation of how biology and technology continue to merge into an interconnected system.

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Neoplasmatic Architecture Marcos Cruz Neoplasmatic Architecture investigates the impact of innovative technology on current design practices, in particular what concerns the advent of synthetic life in architecture. It looks at advances in new digital media and biotechnology within a design context that is increasingly more interdisciplinary, while simultaneously focusing on a new spatial, programmatic and linguistic dimension of architecture and the city. Ultimatley, Neoarch aims to discuss a future vision of the body in architecture by exploring the flesh as a new concept that allows rethinking our common and more traditional understanding of architecture. Central is the investigation about our HUman Flesh (the body) and a new emerging Architectural Flesh; a broader discussion about Aesthetics of Flesh; along with a vision of a new Urban, Digital and Neo-Biological Flesh.

of multiple parts. The human is no longer a unique being (a totality), but rather part of the interconnected network of living species and of the geological cycle of matter (an assemblage theory).

So why is this important for architecture? Like our image of the body moving away from the body as a shell for the mind and into an interconnected relationship, our architecture is becoming less viewed as a shell which encapsulates a body toward one that is part of a system interconnected with the body and ecology.

The topics which are currently being discussed within architecture today and in this class on responsive systems, interactive technologies, smart materials, augmented atmospheres, artificial environments and embedded technologies become part of the Posthuman contextwhere these environments become part of the interconnected relationship created between the human, ecology and the habitat [architecture]the architecture becomes a scaffolding system of organization, planning, and reflecting on specific tasks. In Posthuman context; biology, ecologies, and atmospheres come into play as they become another interconnected system which can be connected to the human body and subsequent habitat. Architecture becomes a translator of information, a user interface, where mental and physiological processes become interconnected with the environment.

Currently our architecture, like our vision of the cyborg, is seen as a separate entity from our bodiesit is the machine, we are the separated body. Similar dualities such as these separations and polarities filter through our culture toward our spatial definitions and relationships within our habitat. Within a Posthuman context dualities such are these are not seen, and architecture, technology and ecologies become an extension of the mind and body. Responsive feedback systems, artificial environments, and augmented atmospheres begins to represent the level of interconnected systems surrounding Posthuman theory, and may prelude to a time when architecture is seen as a scaffolding system, where like the MIT Media house the architecture becomes the computer and is able to process and relay informa-

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tion in multiple. These environments may interact with the human through neu- In constructing our new ral physiological connections which mentally link humans to their habitat. New and of the cyborg, we waves of user-sensitive technologies will bring this age-old process of user-tools as a machination of industrial technologies infiltratbiological skin bag. view of the posthuman must first pull away from the notion of the cyborg

to a climax when our mind and identities become ever more deeply enmeshed in a ing flesh and blood - the

non-biological matrix of machines, tools, props, codes, and semi-intelligent daily our understanding of the objects.

As

Already we see technologies which are becoming more ubiquitously connected to our mental processes where cell phones contain hundreds or thousands of scaffolding systems for our brains to offload and perform complex tasks. Technologies and relationships such as these will continue to evolve and exert influence over the future of our habitat. These technologies are becoming more biological as we peer ever deeper at scales of matter, manipulating these systems at the nano and atomic scales. This influence of biology into technology further shows the human evolving toward a more interconnected relationship with technology, where now technology and biology are becoming interwoventhe beginnings to a time when neither may be able to be separated. In a Posthuman existence this is not a mimicking of biological form or even systems, but rather a recreation of the biological systemsan augmentation of the biological nature towards our own visions and functions; a fourth nature. It is believed the Posthuman will seek continual improvement, improving upon natures mindless design, where individuals seek morphological freedom in shaping fundamentally better futures. This goes for the body as well as the subsequent habitat.

human brains relationship with technologies advances along with our technologies themselves, the image of the cyborg as we traditionally have perceived it in science fiction and film continues to move further away from the image depicted on the right. The posthuman would also not make a clear distinction between these two systems, seeing both as a natural system as technology has evolved alongside the human, and perhaps predates humanity.

Our relationship to technology becomes critical in understanding our future habitat and our place within it. With architecture being clearly defined by our technology, as it evolves and changes so too will its influence over our ideologies and habitat. As our technology advances it allows us to see biological systems which remained unbeknownst to us, and as a consequence has began to seep into both our cultural society and technologieswhich will further propel our discoveries in biological systems. As our culture becomes more interconnected to both biological systems

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and non-biological tools, so too will the human habitat as well as the culture sur- The image (above) depicts rounding it.

In the Posthuman era, the human habitat becomes both a physical and mental integration between that which is biological and that which is technological. Architecture becomes not a creation of a utopia or dystopia, but of perpetual progress-an extropia-a never ending movement toward the ever-distant goal of extropia. Architecture becomes an extension of human cognition as our mental processes are offloaded onto semi-intelligent non-biological props toward the manipulation of the environment around us-a physical interface through which we view and interact with our ecology. These technological progressions carry significant consequences for the creation of space and matter, as objects become semi-intelligent and we are able to interact with materials and objects through mental and physiological feedback loops.

a landscape that is both biological and technological. The landscape is grown but genetically altered at the scale of the DNA sequence. A mesh of sensors and projects allows the landscape to light up in response to emotions and moods of the occupants as they wander through the field. Bioluminescence and augmented atmospheres color the landscape as it is altered and projected. In a continuous feedback loop, the emotions of the occupants effect the status of the field, whereby the field responds by augmented the color within the atmosphere and thus affecting the emotional state of the occupant. The result is a continuous interconnected feedback loop between occupant and ecology.

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Imminent Collapse : Michael Young : The facility acts as an artificial reef for plants, containing a temporary laboratory for genetic plant engineering; investigating architecture as a temporary structure as opposed to an eternal element within the world.

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Precedents: Visionary Architecture

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TRACING the lineage of visionary architecture there has been an increased movement toward the integration of biological terminology and processes into the creation of space. In addition to this biological infiltration into architectural design is the movement toward spaces which connect to human body through cybernetic systems, adding the body into a feedback loop between space and body. The use of biological terminology has been our gateway into understand such feedback mechanisms and how architecture might begin to respond to both environmental and contextual stimuli. Architecture is not alone in this venture to incorporate biology and in fact is among one of the last technical disciplines to integrate these terminologies as they have been seeping into nearly every facet of human invention. Propelled through the Industrial Revolution and exacerbated after World War II the study of biological systems has escalated with the research following the Atom bomb. During the Industrial Revolution and following technological inventions scientists were able to peer ever deeper at smaller scales of matter, opening up the world of microbiology and nuclear physics. Architecture entered into this conversation during the 1970s during trips to the Delos, where leading scientists, psychologists, biologists, and architects gathered to discuss cybernetics and networks as they related to human settlement. Since this time visionary architects have been transfixed on an architecture which creates a true second-order cybernetic system. Architectural drawings from Konstantinos Dioxiadis Delos trips began to reflect biological systems, as human settlements were mapped out in terms of complex networks and series of relationships. Buckminster Fuller, who attended every Delos meeting, emerged as the most prominent figure from this arena, whose structural systems were kin to biological microstructure and envisioned the world as a closed-loop interconnected network of nodes and relationships.

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Since the time of the Delos meetings our society has become increasingly dependent on technological systems and fascinated by the world of microbiology and macro systems. This infatuation and increased knowledge of biology is not only shaping our technological advances but also our societies ideologies and how we view our relationship with the rest of the world. As we have began to see the interconnected relationships within networks of species and the power of bottom-up molecular processes, as opposed to top-down hierarchies and totalities, we have began to view our own place in the world as part of a larger network, an interconnected assemblage where causes always lead to effects. I would argue that this is the beginning of the post-human culture, where we have begun to see our interconnected place in relation to other living and non-living species. Technology is increasingly becoming more potent as we begin to incorporate these biological systems, manipulating matter at the atomic and molecular scales, while creating technologies that operating at the nanometer. These movements begin to speak to the transhumanist vision of future humans, where technologies begin to manipulate human biological systems as well as the biological world in which we are a part of. This change in thinking has led architects to look at constructs which not only mimic biological systems but begin to create their our nature. Responsive environments, augmented atmospheres, embedded technologies, smart materials, and artificial environments have become our nomenclature for describing systems which operate on levels that do more than act as a shell for the body. As political and economic values dominate the current landscape of human settlement and subsequent architecture, visionary architectural projects and art installations offers a look into a more interconnected relationship between the human habitat (i.e. architecture) and the human body (and mind).

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Epidermal Hyperplasia is a project envisioned in Marc Fornes and Francois Roches 2010 Columbia Studio that looks at architecture through a bottomup approach, beginning with culture of cells. In this case, a scaffolding system is created out of collagen fibers, allow-

ing injected skin cells to adhere and cultivate. Overtime the cells aggregate around the scaffolding system creating a new epidermal layer. The project looks at architectural design through a bottom up approach, as well as the integration of biological

and medical processes infiltrating into architectural design. The epidermal layer, like human skin, ages over time and eventually withers and dies - further looking at architecture through growth and decay analagous to the human body and biological systems.

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The movement away from architecture as a shell and toward one of an interconnected system can be seen in multiple instances from varying degrees of visionary architectural projects and interactive installations where feedback loops between human physiology and their ecological environment become interconnected at some level. In addition to the aspiration of a responsive architecture is the goal of transience and growth, where architecture like its inhabitants is not a static entity, in rapid prototyping and
an architecture that is Looking at innovations stereolithographic printing

but is seen as processes of morphological growth and adaptation over time. In , Francois Roche envisions his project entitled Ive Heard About, Francois Roche of R&sie(n) represents autonomously printed
by robots, excreted the as is grows and decays

to construct a an architecture through a mutation of contextual parameters. Scenarios of hy- material sort of scaffolding system

bridization, grafting, cloning, morphing give rise to perpetual transformation of throughout the city.

architecture which strives to break down the antinomies of object/subject of ob- building, no one planner ject/territory. The architectural construct is designed from the bottom-up through controls the outcome of
of the city molecular processes, looking at the design of the individual cell as the creation for inhabitants themselves effect the the city, but rather the or group of planners

Contrary to traditional city

the materiality. Through a system of stereolithographic printing, robots secreting a The images shown printable material creating the structure for the architecture: Rumours Ive heard about something that builds up only through multiple, heterogeneous and contradictory scenarios, something that rejects even the idea of a possible prediction about its form of growth or future typology. Something shapeless grafted onto existing tissue, something that needs no vanishing point to justify itself but instead welcomes a quivering existence immersed in a real-time vibratory state, here and now. Tangled, intertwined, it seems to be a city, or rather a fragment of a city. Its inhabitants are immunized because they are both vectors and protectors of this complexity. The multiplicity of its interwoven experiences and forms is matched by the apparent simplicity of its mechanisms. The urban form no longer depends on the arbitrary decisions or control over its emergence exercised by a few, but rather the ensemble of its individual contingencies. It simultaneously subsumes premises, consequences and the ensemble of induced perturbations, in a ceaseless interaction. Its laws are consubstantial with the place itself, with no work of memory.

growth of the structure. represent the growth as it is printed and clumped together to form this spatial scaffolding system.

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Many different stimuli have contributed to the emergence of Ive heard about, and they are continually reloaded. Its existence is inextricably linked to the end of the grand narratives, the objective recognition of climatic changes, a suspicion of all morality (even ecological), to the vibration of social phenomena and the urgent need to renew the democratic mechanisms. Fiction is its reality principle: What you have before your eyes conforms to the truth of the urban condition of Ive heard about. What moral law or social contract could extract us from this reality, prevent us from living there or protect us from it? No, the residence protocol of Ive heard about cannot cancel the risk of being in this world. The inhabitants draw sustenance from the present, with no time lag. The form of the territorial structure draws its sustenance directly from the present time.. Ive heard about also arises from anguishes and anxieties. Its not a shelter against threats or an insulated, isolated place, but remains open to all transactions. It is a zone of emancipation, produced so that we can keep the origins of its founding act eternally alive, so that we can always live with and re-experience that beginning. Made of invaginations and knotted geometries, life forms are embedded within it. Its growth is artificial and synthetic, owing nothing to chaos and the formlessness of nature. It is based on very real processes that generate the raw materials and operating modes of its evolution. The public sphere is everywhere, like a pulsating organism driven by postulates that are mutually contradictory and nonetheless true. The rumours and scenarios that carry the seeds of its future mutations negotiate with the vibratory time of new territories. It is impossible to name all the elements Ive heard about comprises or to perceive it in its totality, because it belongs to the many, the multitude. Only fragments can be extracted from it. The world is terrifying when its intelligible, when it clings to some semblance of predictability, when it seeks to preserve a false coherence. In Ive heard about, it is what is not there that defines it, that guarantees its readability, its social and territorial fragility and its indetermination.

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For the 12th International Architecture Exhibition Hylozoic Ground transforms the Canada Pavilion with an immersive, interactive environment made of tens of thousands of lightweight digitally-fabricated components fitted with meshed microprocessors and sensors. The glass-like fragility of this artificial forest is built of an intricate lattice of small transparent acrylic meshwork

links, covered with a network of interactive mechanical fronds, filters and whiskers. The environment is similar to a coral reef, following cycles of opening, clamping, filtering and digesting. Arrays of touch sensors create waves of diffuse breathing motion, luring visitors into the shimmering depths of a forest of light. The project is designed by Philip Beesley, Associate Professor of Architecture

at the University of Waterloo, with engineering director Rob Gorbet, experimental chemist Rachel Armstrong, and many collaborators.

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The projects title refers to hylozoism, the ancient belief that all matter has life. Hylozoic Ground offers a vision for a new generation of responsive architecture. The Hylozoic Ground environment can be described as a suspended geotextile that gradually accumulates hybrid soil from ingredients drawn from its surroundings. Akin to the functions of a living system, embedded

machine intelligence allows human interaction to trigger breathing, caressing, and swallowing motions and hybrid metabolic exchanges. These empathic motions ripple out from hives of kinetic valves and pores in peristaltic waves, creating a diffuse pumping that pulls air, moisture and stray organic matter through the filtering Hylozoic membranes. Living chemical exchanges are conceived

as the first stages of self-renewing functions that might take root within this architecture.

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The work of Phillip Beesley begins to work at the smaller scale of a geotextile, where responsive systems begin to interact to both environmental and physiological stimuli. With the Hylozoic Ground project, Phillip Beesley is demonstrating how buildings in the future might move, and even feel and think. This project begins to speak to an Posthuman existence where the architecture becomes empathetic, responding to not just physiology, but emotions, as it too begins to care and respond toward inhabitants. For the construction of the project, tens of thousands of lightweight digitally-fabricated components are fitted with microprocessors and proximity sensors that react to human presence. This responsive environment functions like a giant lung that breathes in and out around its occupants. Arrays of touch sensors and shape-memory alloy actuators create waves of empathetic motion, luring visitors into the eerie shimmering depths of a mythical landscape, a fragile forest of light. The terminology surrounding this project exudes biological processes, where we are now discussing architecture not as an industrial machine, but as a biological system as it becomes interconnected with the human biological system and ecological context. Beesleys visionary architecture affects people on an emotional and poetic level, linking the animate and the inanimate. The sophisticated technologies used in the work are also being directly translated into architecture envelopes that include manufactured filtering and shading systems.

As architecture begins to integrate more biological terminologies we may begin to see architecture more like Phillip Beesleys work where textiles and surfaces respond to our presence and physiological vitals. And like Ive Heard About, architecture may begin to react to environmental stimuli and human aggregations across the city, as opposed to top-down processes where a group of designers dictates urban form. This becomes an architecture created from the bottom-up, but also one that is interconnected with our individual physiology and also our assemblages of human aggregations at the scale of a city. These precedents lay the groundwork for what I refer to as an Ecophysiological Landscape, where ecology and physiology become interconnected, interacting in a continuous cybernetic feedback loop, where stimuli transmitted from one in turn signals responses in the other.

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Meteorological Architecture : Phillip Rahm Architecture as gastronomy. We then propose to add two culinary preparations to the two plates that directly stimulate the sensory receptors of hot and cold at the cerebral level and that can be eaten or applied to the body. The first preparation, on the upper cold plate, contains mint, which has molecules of crystalline origin known as menthol that cause the same sensation in the brain as the coolness perceptible at a temperature of 15*C. The menthol activates the TRPM8 molecular sensory receptors on the skin and in the mouth that stimulate the group of peripheral sensorial neurons known as coldsensitive units. The second composition, on the lower hot plate, contains chilli, in which one of the molecules, capsaicin, activates the neuro-receptor TRPV1, which is sensitive to temperatures of 44*C.

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The work of Phillip Beesley and Francois Roche begin to imitate biological sys- Vatnsmyri Urban Planning
Sean Laller, Weathers

tems as they grow and breathe life into the construct at distinctly different scales. The work of Phillip Rahm in his project, Digestible Gulf Stream, begins to discuss how architecture works at two other scales, affecting two different systems; human physiology and atmospheric conditions. The architecture of the Posthuman becomes integrated into both the human body and ecology, seeing all of these systems as an interconnected relationship at some level. Rahm argues that architecture should no longer build spaces, but rather create temperatures and atmospheres. The Digestible Gulf Stream is the prototype for architecture that works between the neurologic and the atmospheric, developing like a landscape that is simultaneously gastronomic and thermal (Rahm, 2008). Two metal plates are constructed at different heights, the lower plate heated to 82.4* F and the upper at 52.6* F, where their position creates a movement of air using natural phenomenon of convection as rising hot air cools on contact with the upper cool sheet. The result creates a constant thermal flow likened to an invisible landscape. Architecture in this instance, becomes not a building, but the design of the atmospheric conditions, the envelope between ecology and human skin. Plants and herbs, which can be

In much the same way that the existing thermal pools on the site mix ocean water with recycled heated water from geo-thermal resources to create a unique condition for swimming all year round, the project looks to use these same thermal resources to affect the local climatic conditions on land, including air temperature and soil temperature for vegetative growth. Each of the programmed landforms proposed around the site is tied to the others by a climatic wash that extends the seasonal activities, controls winds, and permits an extended period of usable time outdoors during the course of the year. The wash permeates the public parks yet extends beyond to surround and engage the new building masses so as to produce artificial microclimates - extending seasonal opportunities and outdoor activity.

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Weathers is a design office that approaches design by embacing the potential overlap between the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. Its important that as we pursue new opportunities associated with materials traditionally relegated to either conditioning our interiors or believed to be beyond our reach of control on the exterior, that we dont default to preconceived notions of their roles, responsibilities and limitations. Instead, this is the time for extreme speculation! Today begins an opportunity to build new environments, climates and contexts peppered with potentials for social interaction, activities, and spatial organizations. This should be the creation of contexts and sites previously unseen and tested. The intention is to foreshadow and draw out the spatial and organizational implications that stem from these endeavors.

e eaten or topically applied, are heated on the hot plate, activating the aroma of the plants which interact with human gastric system. Architecture becomes a thermodynamic mediation between the body and space, between the visible and the invisible, between meteorological and physical function (Rahm, 2008).

As architects and designers continue to envision an interconnected existence between body and ecology, atmospheres open up within the realm of possibility to be design and augmented, what Sean Lally refers to as thick atmospheres. In his project highlighted in Softspace, he envisions a Reykjavik Botanical Garden taps into the citys geothermal energy to create a microclimate for varied plant growth. Zones of heat radiate out from the pipes, creating a new climate layer with variable conditions based on their number and proximity to each other. These exterior plantings are mostly native to Iceland, but the amplified environment allows a wider range of growth than would normally be possible, informng the role and opportunity of this particular botanical garden. Visitors experience growth never before possible in Iceland, and travel through new climates throughout the site (AD, Energies).

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Ecophysiology, or environmental physiology, by definition is the study of adap- Photoperiodic Envelope

Lauren Thomsen

tation of an organisms physiology to environmental conditions, mainly in plant

using only physiology. Ecophysiologists address ecological questions about the controls over themselves sunlight and water. Im-

Plants are able to sustain agine if all buildings were amount of energy a build-

the growth, reproduction, survival, abundance, and geographical distribution of self sustaining as well. The

plants, as these processes are affected by interactions between plants with their ing consumes is largely physical, chemical, and biotic environment. These changes in plants can occur condition. through environmental stimuli such as temperature, wind, water and carbon dioxide concentration. In addition to plant life, this field of study may also be applied to animals, as environmental conditions lead to conditions of animal life. Ted Ngai, of atelier nGai, works to create architecture under the same principals of ecophysiology, where architecture, often conceptualized as the third skin, can learn much from such physiological approaches, particularly in the face of global climate change and energy crisis. Unlike conventional architectural practice, organisms do not deal with heliotropism separately from thermoregulation, nor would they handle water economy separately from energy conservation and metabolism. To maintain a stable internal environment, organisms must rely on everything at their disposal as part of their survival strategy. Therefore, ecophysiological architecture posits the same fundamental basis and asks a simple question: what if buildings have to develop heating, cooling, lighting, daylight, and ventilation strategies as part of its morphology (Ngai, 2010)?

Within these five precedents in visionary architectural projects, the influence of biological systems into architecture is palpable. Architecture, the body, and biological ecology are beginning to become interwoven, both in their terminologies and in their practice of design processes. As our technologies evolve to integrate more biological systems so too is the human habitat and the culture which inhabits it. I would argue that this is the forefront of the Posthuman architecture, where mental and physical processes of human physiology are integrated into the architectural construct and where atmospheric and geological conditions are modified and augmented to satisfy the human condition. The result becomes an interconnected mesh of systems, where neither biological or technological nature may be separated from other either, either physically or ideologically.

contingent on its envelope The building facade provides an opportunity to mitigate the exterior climate and reduce the energy necessary to condition the interior to a comfortable, habitable space. The Alpine Buttercup uses phototropism to trace the sun to create more energy and to moderate the temperature within the flower bowl. Similarly to the alpine buttercup, the proposed building facade converts, distributes and employs the energy of the sun. Rather than mimic the mechanism to create movement in a literal, mechanical way, this facade uses modular variations to control levels of light interceptions and to moderate thermal variance. Apertures not only provide light, but control air temperature and therefore air movement to create passive ventilation through modules in the facade. Module density varies according to solar aspect to control interior heat gain and loss, and vary in opacity to control interior light levels.

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Interconnected Bodies : Ecophysiological Landscapes

Why should our bodies end at the skin, or include at best other beings incapsulated by skin? - Donna Haraway

Inocculate Weep; Francois Roche + Marc Fornes 2010 Columbia School of Architecture Studio.

Jon Bailey 047 Biological processes have increasingly infiltrated architectural praxis, fueled by The time line depicts the

modernitys interest in scientific research following World War II and exacerbated discoveries and technothrough humans innate biophilia. The Industrial Revolution, in addition, fueled 1600s. our appetite for technological apparatuses, where a sort of technophilia has set into our culture. As our technology evolves biological processes increasingly become integrated, where biology is now manipulated at the molecular scale. This has led to visionary architects to look at architecture through bottom-up processes, even going so far as to look at architecture through the creation of actual biological matter.

evolution

of

biological

This thesis, Biophilia : Technophilia, refers to the deep connections humans share with the rest of biology and our increasing infatuations with technology. As our knowledge of the biological realm increases, the inherent properties become interwoven into our technologies, eventually filtering into the human habitat. The ecophysiological landscape implies a human habitat that is grown, designed and manipulated at the level of the genomic sequence and molecular structure, infused with a meshwork of technological apparatus, connecting human physiological systems to ecological environments the architecture becomes a palpable interface through which human physiological processes are connected to the ecology. The constructed landscape becomes the arena where mental and physical feedback loops and responses are exchanged between humans and their ecology. Atmospheres come into play as they are augmented, manipulated and controlled, where visual projections are overlaid on top of reality and the spatial void is now designed. A dense mesh of genetically engineered plant species and technological mesh of sensors and projectors creates a diverse landscape which empathizes with the inhabitants, responds to emotions, physiological changes, and presence.

logical innovation as they have occurred since the Connections are drawn between biological discoveries and technological innovation as they a discovery in one led to the advancement in the other. Positioned within this timeline are notable visionary projects as they envisioned a machination between biology and technology in architectural design. As time progress to our current condition, the interconnections between biology and technology increase. Projecting beyond our present time using the BT Technologies Projections, technologies are anticipated that further blend the distinction between biology and technology, where biology (including human biology) is augmented and interwoven with biology. In fact, technology at this point cannot be clearly distinguished from biological nature, as biological augmentation and materiality becomes the technology.

Through the enthusiastic optimism of modernism in technology (the coevolution of science and technology since the decline of the Industrial Revolution) has created a technology more biological, where operations within the architecture are able to sense and regulate themselves. The ability gained through the use of computational processing power allows for complex relationships found within an ecosystem to be algorithmically modeled whereby interconnected relationships are found link-

2050

8.9bil

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spray-on surgical gloves(2050)

autonomous military aircraft(2047)

space solar power(2050) dna repair(2050) 48 surgery(2050) cosmetic0 brain human embedded digital cash(2050) nuclear fusion(2050) brain downloads(2048) fully sensory internet(2040) genetically engineered teddy bear(2038)

human-simulation(2030)

bionic architecture augmented reality contacts(2035) genetically enhaned pets(2035)

brain add-ons(2030)

android gladiators(2025)
video wallpaper(2020) home 3d printers(2020)

full direct brain link(2025) nanotech plants(2025) bacteria circuitry(2025) emotion control devices(2025) computer to human virus(2024) smart skin(2020) electronic memory enhancement(2020) ubiquitous intelligence(2020)
network telepathy(2025)

nanotech plants(2020)
molecular machines(2020) computer organ link(2018) smart make-up(2016)
bionic olympics(2020)

suspended human animation(2020)

holographic television(2020)

chips:100bil transistors(2018) 1-petabyte chip(2018)

dna listing(2018)

computational thought input(2016)

electronic life form given basic rights(2016) nanotech organism colonies(2016)

human muscle actuators(2016)

synthetic biology(2015) shape shifting materials(2015)
smart bacteria(2015) self-repairing robots(2015) self-aware machine intelligence(2015)
bionic age

chips:10bil transistors(2013)
3d tv(2013)

printable skin/organs(2013) nanotechnology toys(2013)

robotic insects(2013)

emotion control devices(2014) bacterial supercomputer(2013)

dual appearance(2012) robotic guidance(2012) computer controlled suppresents(2012) continuous holographic display(2012) synthetic viruses(2012) industrial andoird robots(2012) biophliia + technophilia, bailey nueral pattern recognition(2011) retina displays(2011)
digital fabrication sustainable architecture

augmented reality(2011) plastic bones(2011) biomimetic architecture medical nanobots(2011)

3d air display(2010) dual architecture(2010)

personal black boxes(2010) smog eating cement(2010)

smart paint(2010)

tooth regeneration(2010) computer enhanced dreaming(2010) horse genome sequenced(2009) bionioc lense(2010) mouse genome sequenced(2009) pc-voice interaction(2010) chips: 2.3bil transistors(2010) medicine delivered via fruit(2008) dna storage device(2009) video tattoos(2009) active skin(2008) shape changing fabric(2008) full face transplant(2008) implant matrix, beesley
wireless internet common(2010) ive heard about, roche 6bil gulf war middle-east invasion electronic prescription(2008) hyposurface, aegis smelly television(2008) materialecology, oxmon eye transplant(2008) holographic images(2007) nbots, yeadon

responsive environments(2010)

smart skin(2007)

bionic hand on market(2007) stem cells(2005) human genome draft(2001) animal gene sequenced(1998)

totally automated factories(2006) bionic arm(2006) des stools, spiller super-human computer(2005) nanotube(2006) robotic surgery(2006) tv jewelry(2005) scattered seeds, puttick allomorphic morphs, novak
information age
blobitecture

korean war

cloned sheep(1996) biodiversity(1986) fullerene(1985) lithium ion battery(1983) biotech plant(1983) biorector(1985) personal computer(1983) plant cell transform(1982) postermodern style cellphone(1979) gene cloning patent(1980) supercomputer(1976) ethernet(1973) rapid dna sequencing(1977) gene synthesis(1971) cochlear implant(1954) microprocessor(1970) continuous, superstudio virtual reality(1968) soft contact lens(1971) interactive computing(1968) human-mouse cell(1967) cloned frog(1967) moores law(1965) suitaloon, webb mini-computer(1965) heart transplant(1964) plug-in city, cook lung transplant(1963) prosthetic hand(1960) fun palace, price pacemaker(1959) biofeedback(1961) new babylon, constant integrated circuit(1958) nanotechnology(1959)
sterolithography(1986)
moving arrows, eisenman

san fransisco bay, woods peanut house, future systems

gps(1995)

virtual gallery, asymptote

emotionally responsive biotech pet(2003) new city, lynn embyological house, lynn toys(2005) nanotech fabrics(2001) vision machine, nox nanoimprint lithography(1995) viagra(1998) dna computing(1994)stereoscopic, chard
interactive architecture universal constructor, pask

genetic engineering(1985)

laser surgery(1987)

smart pill(1992)

vietnam war

industrial robot(1956)

solar cell(1953)

dna model(1953)

ecology(1953)

bar code(1953) oxygen furnace(1952)

psfs building, lescaze

solar cell(1953)
049 fuller deodesic dome,

heart-lung machine(1953)

dna model(1953) molecular biology(1953)

Jon Bailey photosynthesis(1946)

wwii

random access memory(1948)

transistor(1947)

cybernetics(1948)

contact lens(1948)

heart valve(1951)

electrostatic memory(1946) atomic bomb(1945)

nuclear energy(1945)

towers, santelia futirist style international style

electron microscope(1931) lie detector(1921) television(1925) polethylene(1920) stainless steel(1912) gas mask(1912) sonar device(1906) vacuum diode(1904) air conditioning(1902) assembly line production(1901)

thermoset polymers(1889)

sagrada familia, gaudi

petrol machine(1885)

photovoltaic cell(1883)
thermoplastic(1869)
civil war
organic architecture

genetic recombination(1946) dialysis machine(1943) lsd(1938) iron lung(1928) penecillin(1928) respirator(1927) insulin(1922) ecstasy(1913) atom(1911) genetics(1905) four blood types(1902) electron(1897) mitochondia(1897) antitoxin(1890) antibiotics(1887)

2bil

wwi

hearing aid(1880)

meiosis(1885) mitosis(1875)

steel structure(1860) internal combustion engine(1850) reinforced concrete(1849)

victorian architecture

aluminum(1855) heat pump(1855) steam turbine(1854)

prosthetic foot (1843)

false teeth(1845)

spontaneaous generation (1864) cell theory(1858) darwin evolution(1858) cellular fussion(1858) antiseptic(1846)

vulcanization(1839) wrench(1835) portland cement(1824) electro magnet(1823)

anaesthesia(1842) thermodynamics(1843)

electric motor(1821)
1bil war of 1812

industrial revolution

wet cell battery(1800)

evolution(1809) atomic theory(1808) primitive cell theory(1805)

interchangeable parts(1797) bifocal lense(1780)

animal electricity(1786) plant oxygen release observed(1772)

american revolution

watt steam engine(1776) lightning rod(1752) electric capacitor(1745) crucible steel(1740) iron structure(1735)

electroconvulsive therapy(1755)

steam piston engine(1712)

0.8bil

universal joint(1676)
steam car(1672)

adding machine(1643) steam turbine(1629) automatic calculator(1623)

population .0.6bil
early modern

brain anatomy(1689) plant physiology(1682) microorganisms discovered(1675) sheep-to-man blood transfusion(1661) capillaries overserved(1661)

eyeglasses(1621)
prosthetic limb (1536)
biophilia
spectrum of innovation

year

technophilia

spinning wheel(1600) portable timepeice (1504) cast iron perfectedl(1500)

inverted retinal image(1604

invention

discovery

prediction

major occurance

architectural event

evolution

arch. project

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As the timeline progresses toward 2050, the stage becomes set for the Biophilia : Technophilia thesis project, where technological and biological innovations and discoveries are at their most interconnected - what I would refer to as the point at which we are considered posthuman.

050 ing them to a particular context. This information can be utilized in defining the

relationship between the architectural construct and the site in which it is located within the geosphere and biosphere (and possible the noosphere). Most recently sensors, and not only thermostats (which are the quintessential negative feedback mechanism), have been added to a multiplicity of advanced building components, creating negative feedback loops where components within the building have the ability to sense alterations in light, temperature, and occupancy which then inform the building systems of their operability, and likewise the operability informs the sensors in a continuous feedback loop. Thus, the system is self-optimizing. In the context of this project, as the organism is able to sense acuities within the environment, it is able to respond by adaptation of morphological variation to the changing conditions as it interprets data being injected into the site. Adding to these sensory mechanisms, what I shall call sensory organs, designers and architects now have the capabilities of analyzing conceptual structures before their construction and in addition the ability to optimize their internal and external conditions after construction. In the time of Posthuman design, the process whereby an analysis or optimization of anything will be a complete computation or mechanic process, where the building itself is given the technology and ability to control, adapt, regulate, and respond to fluctuating conditions within the environment. These sensorial technologies, coupled with responsive building systems within the architectural design allow for an organism (the building) to develop within its embryonic stages (the virtual) whereby it is genetically manipulated through cues in the environment (the physical), and through the coarse of its life, continually seeking levels of optimization through fluctuating fitness criteria within an ever-changing dynamic environment, where the optimal goal is to reach a level of internal homeostasis for its internal organs (the inhabitants) and the larger context of the world wide urban hive. Environmental, political, and sociological trends may all be quantified and therefore analyzed and responded to quantitatively through both virtual and realtime environments. In an analogous relationship, our cities are like ecosystems, and as no system or network within our ecosystem is static, no organism may be fully developed within its embryonic stages and therefore must continuously search for its homeostatic state outside of the womb by involuntarily sensing the environment and responding to its continuous changes through out the course of its life,

051 whether through formal or molecular morphological adaptations. Therefore, the

Jon Bailey

site, specific to its geodetic address and cultural significance in society, becomes an attractor for flows of human matter-energy, data, and information where the edge condition within which this site exists, confronts its neighboring entity, becoming a matrix in which more specialized structures are embedded and as it passes through its bounds transferring external data into usable information directly influencing the organisms within. What historically was a mineralized exoskeletal system bounding and controlling the fleshy matter that resided within, now becomes a connective gelatinous soft-body, as organism, site and context amalgamate, extending outwards into the distributed network of disparate entities creating a heterogeneous urban fabric as it responds to highly specific contextual information.

As physical labor is further traded off for mental capacities to perform tasks, autonomous robots secreting a calcium-carbonate substrate print the scaffolding for which genetically modified biological growth will adhere. Like biological cognitive processes and engineered/synthetic organs, scaffolds are constructed allowing the biological matter to adhere and cultivate. Site is perceived as a datascape as flows of information, such as environmental and human stimuli are processed within the existing context of proposed growth. Agent-based simulations, projected and simulated in real-time into the atmosphere, react to these flows of information as they determine spatial organization and structural trajectories. Following flows of information the robots flock around these paths, pulling minerals from the water to biomineralize the structure, encapsulating space for the programmatic organs to ensue. Using synthetically designed cell cultures injected into the scaffolding, a biological growth adheres to the scaffolding, as thick root-like networks begin to grow out of the printed scaffolding as the organism searches for contact with disparate scaffolding systems, creating a network of web-like-growth. Bacterial computers become an integral part of the mature growth, processing data within the context to both simulate the datascape and perform the necessary functions allowing the scaffolding system to respond to environmental stimuli through electrical impulses sent through the microstructure of the scaffolding. Together the fiber-optic-like rooting network, bacterial computers, and bionic mesh act as a literal network computing information. Just as in animal species, the skeletal system

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052 remains homogeneous through-out, while environmental stimuli and geographic

isolation lead to a diverse heterogeneous epidermis. As the biological growth responds to environmental pressures a heterogeneous fabric is created exhibiting geographic speciation, environmental variation, and morphological mutations. The dense layers of roots and matured growth interwoven within the scaffolding system yields a stable surface as it grows into the lake, creating a landscape suitable for programmatic functions.

The project unfolds within a Posthuman context, creating the epicenter for a company that augments and breeds bodies, while simultaneously growing its own epidermis as it stretches throughout the city. Through the combination of bacterial computers and technological matrices the organism creates a literal network for processing information as it augments atmospheres and responds to stimuli within the context. Programmatically the architecture begins to grow vertically as its interior columns fill with bacterial computers hovering above atrium-like spaces where peoples receive mindware upgrades, prosthetic limbs and organs, and genetic modifications. The company both generates and augments bodies while simultaneously creating the ecological infrastructure that responds and interacts with the augmented body. Thus, the architecture/organism coalesces as a computer processing network, urban infrastructure, post-human factory, and ecophysiological interface.

Biophilia : Technophilia begins to challenge the ways in which we view our relationship to the body, growth of architecture, infrastructure within a city, and our relationship to technology. Set within this posthuman context, building/body, body/ ecology, and city/building collapse as they become an interconnected cybernetic network. Architecture becomes a scaffolding system both literally and metaphorically as architecture becomes an interface through which we view the world; connecting human bodies through physical and mental processes to ecology as we further create an increasingly interconnected existence.

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Peoples Neil Spiller Francois Roche Phillip Beesley Phillip Rahm Kevin Kelly Ted Ngai Sean Lally David Gissen Steve Nichols Andy Clark Neil Spiller Dougal Dixon Donna Haraway Cary Wole Stelarc Marcos Cruz

Literature The Technium Out of Control Evolutationary Arch Cyborg Manifesto Posthuman Manifesto Natural Born Cyborgs Theory of Architecture Biophilia : Technophilia Softspace Subnatures What Technology Wants BLDG BLOG BOOK AD: Energies AD: Territories AD: Neoplasmatic AD: 4d Space

Film iRobot Terminator A.I. Bicentennial Man Tron Avatar Gamer Minority Report Vanilla Sky

Projects Digestible Gulf Stream Ive Heard About Hylozoic Soil Weathers Ecophysiological Arch Epidermal Hyperplasia Neoplasmatic Arch

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1. Bailey, Jon. Biophilia + Technophilia: Project Manual. Digital Mania Thesis Seminar. 2010. 2. Clark, Andy. Natural-Born Cyborgs. 2001

3. Haraway, Donna. A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. 1976 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 12. Wolfe, Cary. What is Posthumanism? Lost The Building. 2010. Kelly, Kevin. Out of Control. Kelly, Kevin. What Technology Wants. 2010 Nichols, Steve. The Posthuman Manifesto. 1988. Dixon, Dougal. Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future. 1990. AD, Neoplasmatic. 2009 AD, Energies Ted Ngai. Atelier nGai. Lally, Sean. Softspace. Gissen, David. Subnature: Architectures Other Environments.

References

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Interconnected + Technologically Enhanced Winter 2011 Seminar: Arch 505: Kathy Velikov Part of Biophilia : Technophilia, Digital Mania Thesis Posthumanism, Cyborgs, and Interconnected Bodies. Jon Bailey. 2011