Of
the
thesis
entitled: RISE
OF
THE
DUAL
PLATFORM
CITIZENS
Abstract:
The
thesis
research
topic
came from
a
simple
question:
what
is
the
role
of
the
architect
in
the
future?
As
I watched
the
world
become
enchanted
with
making
everything
become
“online,”
I wondered
what
all
this
means
for
architecture,
a
design practice
that
has
not yet
embraced
the
digital
realm
as
an
architectural
“place.”
As
digital
identities
became
more sophisticated,
the
emergence
of
digital
platform
citizens
began.
A
public digital
entity
or
occupants
of
“place,”
the
architectural
practice
can
no longer
ignore
such
a
population
and
plays
a
key
role
in
shaping today’s cultural,
economical
and
social
trends.
Therefore, the
architectural
understanding
of
public
realm
must
expand
to
include digital
identities
of
its
occupants,
and
the
data
each
generate.
This
expansion would
form
a
dual
platform
understanding
in architecture
-
designing environments
that
engage
and
encompass
both
the
digital
and
the
physical realms.
The
call
for
dual
platform understanding
in
architecture
stems
from
a
single
phenomenon:
the
emergence
of digital
platform
citizens.
It
is
because
of
this,
my
thesis
research
begins
with understanding
what
it
means
to
be
a
citizen
of
the
digital
realm -
forming
a typology
of
citizens
within
the
digital
realm,
their
individual
behaviours, responsibilities,
and
statuses
are
explored.
In
addition
to
understanding
the individual,
the
nature
of
the
population
as
a
collective
is
compared
to
the traditional
definition of
what
it
means
to
be
a
public
realm.
If
digital
platform
citizens
are
to be
considered
as
part
of
the
public
realm,
how
can
the
architectural
practice accommodate
and
process
them
as
occupants?
I
propose
that
each
cloud
of
related data
the
digital
platform
citizen
generates
be
identified as
a
layer
(personal preferences,
movement
patterns,
purchase
behavior,
etc.),.
As
groupings
of these
layers
thicken,
they
form
the
“digitalscape,”
a
digital
contextual understanding
of
space.
The
creation
of
digitalscapes
in
architecture
offer powerful
design tools
for
understanding
context.
But,
how
are
the
digital citizens
and
the
data
they
generate
harnessed
and
integrated
into
a
physical
environment? To
answer
this
question,
the
digestive
cycles
of
data
and
the
transfer
of
data between
physical
and
the
digital realms
are
examined
through
case
studies
of contemporary
architectural
designs
that
integrate
such
techniques.
Each
case
study
identifies
different methods
of
including
digital
platform
citizens
in
environmental
design.
These case
studies
form
the
current
state
of
understanding
architecture
as
a
dual platform
design
practice.
But
how
can
the
idea
be
pushed further?
What
new benefits
does
dual
platform
understanding
bring
to
the
discourse
of architectural
design?
I
believe
dual
platform understanding
in
design
is
more
than
just
a
style
or
fad,
as
it
is
the responsibility
of
the
architect
to
be
aware
of
the
occupant
and
context
in their
design.
If
the
definition
of
occupant
and
context
is
to
evolve
to encompass
both digital
and
physical
realms,
so
must
the
architectural
practice embrace
this
evolution.
My
thesis
research
is
a
call
for action,
for
future
architects
to
understand
design
as
a
dual
platform
practice. Contemporary
architects
must
be
sensitive
to
both
the
digital
and
the
physical citizens
that
occupy
their
design,
to
fully
harness
and
utilize what
the digital
realm
offers
for
environmental
design.
The
examining
committee
is
as
follows:
Co-Supervisors:
Committee Member:
Mona El Khafif, University of Waterloo
Maya
Przybylski,
University
of
Waterloo
Ila Berman,
University of
Waterloo
External Reader:
Scott Sorli
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Tuesday
August
9,
2016
12:00PM
ARC
2026
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.