ABSTRACT
Within this paradigm, surface is that part of the system which exchanges energy, information, and materials with the local environment. How does human occupation of a space offer energy, information, or material to the system-building, and how can the surface best vector these exchanges?
Walking could represent human occupation in this context. I choose my walker’s lineage and declare my interest, as an architect, in empathetic space. I explore the history of bipedalism, of the path as an architectural object, and of the sciences, philosophies and poetries of walkers. And I browse through contemporary architectural discourse pertaining to emergent design methodologies. Along the way, I test my proposal in two experiments: one complete, and one in progress...
On Walking is available in its entirety at: http://issuu.com/smneault/docs/onwalking
When: Waterloo Architecture, 2008 – 2010
Who (Supervisor): Donald McKay, associate professor
(Committee): Robert Jan van Pelt, university professor and Anne Bordeleau, assistant professor
(External Reader): Dieter Janssen
Key references: Guy Debord, Francesco Careri, Rebecca Solnit, Achim Menges, Michael Weinstock, Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Jaron Lanier, Steven Johnson, James Suroweicki, Jeffry Kipnis, D’Arcy Thompson, A.N. Whitehead, Giambattista Vico, Gary Snyder, Walt Whitman, William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Henry David Thoreau, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Muir...
Software used: Rhino3D, Grasshopper, VBScript, SketchUp, AutoCAD, Arduino, MaxMSP, Processing, Keynote, PowerPoint, Indesign, Photoshop, Picasa, Flickr, Hindenburg Mobile, TweetDeck, ReelDirector, SketchBook, Google Earth, Google Maps, Posterous Blogs, Blogspot Blogs, FinalCut Express, EvoCam, iMovie.