Ambivalent Architecture: The Architecture of “Distraction” : the Influence of Tele-Technology on Architecture and Urbanism

The physical environment is being transformed by tele-technology and the emerging space of communication networks. Wireless tools, our instruments to engage with the emerging space of media, distribute our attention and dynamically switch between two distinctive operating logics to deal with the media and physical space. In addition to distracting us, they allow the users agency and fluidity of function in the physical space. Through synthesized research into the socio-technical effects of media space and cybernetic architecture influenced by this emerging space, this thesis aims to find an architectural approach that approximates the simultaneous and distractive aspects of virtual space(s) we inhabit through our devices. An ambivalent architecture is proposed which reflects this pseudo-hyperconnectivityof cyberspace in the physical collective space, and promotes this socio-spatial transparency and gives agency to the inhabitants to engage with the space in different ways. In this architecture, the architect is the initiator of the spatial decisionmaking process which allows the public to constantly transform the nature of the architectural element with their active participation.