How can information you can't see affect the space you can?
The term "architecture" has two common definitions: the practice of designing buildings and the structure or organization of a computer. And sometimes, practitioners and students of the former involve themselves with the latter.
Data and communication networks can be designed to work through buildings and public space to enhance the cultural experience. Digital media, internet linkages, and video may either be projected out to an audience or be interactive, allowing people to feed their own information back into the system which them can change the nature of the space around them by dimming or adding light, shifting the content of the image, or communicating normally hidden information to others. Think of this as interactive art. It's also becoming easier than ever to use apps on smartphones to let others know where we are and to explore where we're going. These electronic linkages also can involve people who are physically far apart but might have common interests or want to share in an spatial experience together.
Information technology also lets us talk to buildings in practical ways — for example, we can tell them if we're too cold, need more light, or access to something off limits and their climate control systems can change things for us before we even arrive. This makes them more responsive or efficient and, at times, just convenient.
Take a look at these faculty and student projects that show how digital information changes our experience of architecture...
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Image 1 & 2 > A research project primarily concerning the fields of technology and data infrastructure by implementing found information and creating networked information technology paths and spaces to encourage the engagement and interaction between people and information.
Image 3 > A graphic representation of the "creative process."
Image 4 > A global communications interface designed to foment social justice and lessen the digital divide through informal and casual interactions between people in places synchronized along time zones.
Image 5 > Speculation on the possible architectural implications of interactive telecommunication technology.