​INTRO

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1. Abstract

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Sketches from Virtual Space seeks to analyze creative new possibilities arising from the relationship between architecture and electronic “virtual” space (or cyberspace), which has recently become an integral part of man's existential territory.

In doing so, Sketches addresses these questions: What is Cyberspace? Where is it? How is it constructed? How is it formed? And finally: If there is architecture in cyberspace, what are the characteristics and processes that shape it?

Chapter One – “Cyberspace” introduces cyberspace in its proper context, beginning with a presentation of “virtuality” as a concept from which the idea of cyberspace is based. Then we analyze the technological, philosophical and psychological aspects of virtuality, before presenting different concepts related directly or indirectly to these notions. Finally, we list and describe the specific characteristics of cyberspace that distinguish it from other types of space.

Chapter Two - “The Structure of Cyberspace” determines what is, or what could constitute the tissue (matter) and structure (sets of the organizing systems) of cyberspace that virtual architecture might employ. Here we introduce the concepts of substance and structures in cyberspace: Cyberspace Substance, as described in this chapter, defines the ambiguous nature of virtual environments, which contain both informative and symbolic elements. Cyberspace Structures are mathematical entities (man’s way of organizing and describing observed phenomena), and can be described as tools of geometric abstraction and geometric metaphor. This conclusion is reached after analyzing various geometric systems, and then determining which of the known geometric systems are most suitable for use in this environment. In the end, we introduce the notion of “cyber-metry”—an alternative geometry for cyberspace that can become the basis for the creation of cyber structures.

Chapter Three – “Architecture and Cyberspace” presents various concepts introduced by the pioneers of architecture in cyberspace and analyzes the architectural potential therein. We explain why architecture fits naturally into cyberspace despite the fact that it is an artistic expression normally associated with physical reality. Based on the conclusions of the two previous chapters, we develop ideas regarding the innovative processes of creating new worlds, and the role and function of architecture in these processes.

2. Thesis

Designers in the early twenty-first century arrived at the intersection of two worlds: physical reality and electronically generated virtuality. The purpose of this work is to analyze virtual environments and their increasingly growing importance in the processes of creating human existential space.

Architecture fits very naturally into the new cyberspatial realm‘ however, it brings its unique baggage with it.  This thesis presents a new way of looking at the relationship between architecture and—stemming from an understanding of the nature of cyberspace itself—its origin and specificity. This new understanding allows us to develop tools that will facilitate the architectural exploration of cyberspace.

From the outset of this research, one of the main issues of interest has been the question of the very nature of cyberspace. For a point of departure, we took what is available from design and construction elements in the physical world (materials and structures) and found that, in the cyberspatial environment, these tools proved to be elegantly analogous to various aspects of mental states and cognition. This discovery allowed us to see cyberspace as a fascinating domain of abstract mental creativity, with cognition, imagination, and creativity being the new tools for cyberspatial “architecture.”

It also led us to the conclusion that this cyber-architecture (virtual architecture) is a tool that can help us organize this space. However, because cyber-architecture is a new concept, and much broader than the term “architecture” to which we have become accustomed, we should thoroughly rethink the terms, concepts, definitions, and the very essence of the phenomena of cyberspace design. 

Any discussion of virtual electronic architecture asks the questions: Can we even talk about architecture in cyberspace? Should we redefine the term “architectural design”? Is cyber-architecture in fact a new discipline of design?

3.     Sketches – Methodology


Attempts to answer these questions are made not only theoretically, but also in the form of sketches Sketches from the Virtual Space. Sketching is chosen as a creative research method because it frees the imagination from the constraints of reality, allowing one to think of cyberspace as a space that is naturally at home in the human mind. Sketches are a permanent and important part of this work.


I hope that my work touches on important issues related to cyberspace, but I am aware that my voice might be just another in the chorus of those who are fascinated with the new possibilities arising from this electronic world. In any case, I feel justified because, as Stanislaw Lem said, "Nothing could be more important than the effort taken to understand where our world is going, and if we should resist, or whether, accepting the move, actively participate in it."

By writing this dissertation, I choose to participate.