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ISSN 2309-0103 www.archidoct.net
Vol. 7 (2) / February 2020
1 Introduction
The aim of this essay is to introduce the notion of Immediate Systems (IS) whichovercome the limitations of remote design by embedding design and implementation in situations of use.The essay binds into a larger research effort in Immediate Architecture which is focused on research-by-design of IS..1
The term immediacy here indicates a state of continuously available adaptability at the speed of human intention. Immediate differs from instantaneous in that instantaneous indicates just a temporal direct response, whereas immediate can denote a direct relation- ship or state which is maintained over time and can include any combination of multiple modalities, for example temporal, spatial, tactile, embedded or intentional.
IS are meta-systems; they connect and surpass, in psychological terms between the self and the other, in terms of human-computer interfaces (HCI) between user and computa- tional systems, in ecological terms between animal and habitat,and in architectural terms that between inhabitant and built environment. The notion of IS applies to all these worl- dviews.For the remainder of this essay the terms user and environment will be used for generalized descriptions of IS.
In the following section of this essay, the notion of IS will be further defined, in their rele- vance to architecture, through the psychological phenomena of the immediacy effect and the state of flow experience, through the concept of direct manipulation developed in the field of human-computer interfaces, and by relating them to the Theory of Affordanc- es (Gibson, 1986). The third section of the essay discusses characteristics of IS which are highlighted in description of examples. Based on the findings of these sections the essay concludes with a summary of the initial framing, of the conditions and characteristic of IS, and perspectives for future work.
2 Framing Immediate Systems
2.1 Relevance to architecture
Design activity, especially in architectural praxis, takes place in spatial and temporal re- moteness from the use of its products. This remoteness makes design dependent on hy- pothesis and impedes the ability to respond to actual needs that may arise in situations of use.
To illustrate different aspects of immediacy, the architectural example of the igloo is con- sidered. Developed as cultural technique in a natural habitat, the igloo is constructed entirely from snow, a material which is readily available in its builders’ environment, fol- lowing techniques with minimal use of tools and constructed literally as a bubble around the body of the human. It offers protection against weather and predators, has excellent insulating properties and will strengthen over time as surfaces of the enclosure repeated- ly melt and freeze, reinforcing weak spots and closing gaps with newly built ice. When it no longer is in use it will literally melt with the environment, leaving no waste products. Even though an igloo is traditionally constructed with the temporal immediacy required for adaptability at the speed of human intention, it is immediate in the aspects of resource
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Immediate Systems. Human-In-The-Loop Cyber-Physical Systemsthat Embed Design and Implementation in Situations of Use
Christian Friedrich