VIRTUAL SPACES

Form Homo Sapiens to Homo Interneticus

Date:10-9-2014
 A new invention that came out of no where.
In 1989 an amazing and real universe evolved that offered huge
fortunes and changed the way that much of the world works,
plays communicates and shops and even falls in love.

The World Wide Web

This World Wide Web is a Virtual World or we can say it is a virtual galaxy and Virtual Spaces
are a part of that galaxy.
What are these Virtual spaces? How do we percieve them?
Source: Movie- Inception
 Source: Movie- Inception

Virtual spaces as a resultant of dreams/ imaginations.

 Source: Movie- Avatar

Virtual spaces as an outcome of design and creativity in the manner of Simulations.

 Source: Documentry- 3D Medieval Bologna

Virtual spaces as imitations of Real spaces.- 3d Virtual Cities

 Source:Virtual City newBERLIN 2009 BERLINin3D_ Virtuelles Berlin in Second Life

Virtual spaces as digital equivalents of Real Cities True Virtual Spaces

 How do we define Virtual spaces?

Virtual Spaces can be defined as manifestations of ones imaginations, dreams and

creativity realized with the help of technology.
Virtual spaces can also be imitation of real spaces.
 When humans are confronted with difficult problems we seek creative
solutions.
The resultant of this creativity is the Virtuality which was first explored
in the computer engineering field in 1969.
Virtuality is therefore a hypothecation of a desired solution.

Evolution of Virtualization?
Term Virtual refers to

Virtual Revolution- The extensive use of Virtual Social Spaces(networks), E-

Learning, Tele-Working, Virtual Tours, Virtual Reality have created kind of
Revolution.
Virtual Focus A virtual point to prove an experiment.
Virtual Memory - Cloud- a virtual drive, virtually stored and accessed.

Virtual Revolution Virtual Focus Virtual Memory

 1. We can create Avatars of ourselfs and move around in Different Virtual spaces at the
same time .
2. Virtual spaces can be accessed from every place where internet is available.
3. Virtual spaces cannot exist without real spaces. It links virtual spaces with the physical
world.
4. Internet facilitates navigation between multiple virtual worlds and spaces.

Characteristics of Virtual spaces:

1. Multiexistence
2. Accessiblity
3. Integration
4. Interoperability
 Pros of using Virtual spaces

Great social leveler : Virtual spaces find a common ground across differences in age, culture,
and linguistic orientation. People will be drawn together by similar interests instead of purely by
geographic location.
Source: Google Documentry
Simulation : Computer-aided design allows architects to build and envision a structure to
eliminate any potential problems before money is spent actualizing the design. facilitate
 Source:Movie- Capitan America- The Winter Soldier

Increase in Productivity : Telepresence refers to a type of technology that allows a

person to feel as if he or she were present in another location.
 Source: You tube Documentries

Knowledge sharing : Communication and learning will be more effective, productive,

and more enjoyable.
No Physical Infrastructure involved.
Low cost involved as compared to real cities.
 The impact of these new technologies on our cities has been profound, contributing to a
dismantling of the historic city and the reconstruction of urban life in entirely new, free-
floating forms.
One issue is social isolation, in which the user of virtual reality relies more on interactions that
take place in a virtual world than on experiences in the real world. This lack of true, physical
interaction has the potential to create incorrect associations that are not part of real social
settings.
Rapid advances in this technology will overthrow the regime of time and space that are
familiar to us today.
VR will provide a communication environment in which the dangers of deception and the
benefits of creativity are amplified beyond the levels that humans currently experience in their
interpersonal interactions.
Socially, some of the disadvantages of virtual reality as entertainment have already started to
surface, even without an experience that fully removes a person from his or her surrounding
stimuli.
It has become an inescapable aspect of social life is the formation and maintenance of
interpersonal relationships.
Another of the possible psychological and social disadvantages of virtual reality is
desensitization. If some users were to use virtual reality for entertainment extensively, then
they could run the risk of failing to recognize the true consequences for actions in which they
are taking part or are viewing.
New trends in younger generation and bias towards old traditions in older generation creates a
gap between them.

Cons of using Virtual spaces

Virtual Cities
 Virtual cannot exist without the existence of the real.
We keep on moving in and out of Virtual spaces and Real spaces.

Thus the elements of Virtual Cities are more or less the same as the Real cities.
Only difference is Virtual Cities are designed with the help of 3d softwares but their
functioning depends on the codes.
Comparison of Real cities and Virtual Cities
Enclosure
The enclosing surfaces of constituent
spaces walls, floors, ceiling, and roofs
provide not only shelter, but also privacy.
Breaches in these surfaces gates, doors,
and windows have mechanisms to
control access and maintain privacy
Encryption
There is no rain or snow in virtual cities ,
vs so shelter is not a necessity, but privacy
certainly is. So your virtual city walls
should be digitally protected.
 Physical Transactions
Historically, cities have provided places and
zones for specialized business and different
activities.
Electronic Exchanges
Electronic funds transfer can substitute for
vs physical transfer of cash, and direct delivery
from the warehouse can replace carrying the
goods home from store, the counter can
become a virtual one.
 Street Maps
Grids of streets have connected buildings to
each other, and roads have linked cities.
These physical connections provided access
to the places where people lived, worked,
worshipped, and entertained themselves.
Hyperplans
The network of World Wide Web provides
vs access and constructs a virtual rather than
physical world of places and connections;
the places are called pages and they appear
on screen, and the connections called
hyperlinks allow us to jump from page to
page by clicking on highlighted text or icons.
 Human laws
Different kinds of laws and regulations
have acted as the governing rules of urban
environments. Ever since the earliest
settlements of humankind, cities have
been controlled by regulatory laws which
were derived from different ideologies.
Coded conditionals
On the electronic frontier, code is the law.
vs The rules governing any computer-
constructed microworld of a video game, of
your personal computer desktop, are
precisely and rigorously defined in the text of
the program that constructs it on our screen.
 Movement Non-physical movement
Physical space is the space in which our Virtual space in this sense is different
bodies move through. vs because our bodies do not move through
it. You get from place to place in virtual
space by following logical links rather than
physical paths.
 Experience Digital experience
We move physically through spaces and vs We experience things digitally with the
we experience things around us. help of animations, videos, etc..
Benefits of Virtual Spaces

The ability to test ideas in "real time" in a "three-dimensional" space during the
design process.
Communication of ideas, and the power to convince authorities.
The elimination of much of the guesswork in design.
Braver and better designs.
The integration of the design process.
Increase public participation and involvement of designing urban settings.
 Urban site can no longer be thought of primarily in terms of its geography.

"The representation of the contemporary city is no longer determined by a

ceremonial opening of gates, by a ritual procession or parades nor by a
succession of streets and avenues. From now on architecture must deal with
the advent of a 'technological space-time.
--Paul Virilio

The U- topias have tranformed into E- topias.

 The virtual is essential to the real... Since humans are always crafting themselves
through culture, they have always been virtual.

----Tom Boellstorff, Anthropologist