Architecture as a verb: cybernetics and design processes for the social divide

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to draw on current research in public policy, and more specifically about a collaborative design process for a poor suburban community in São Paulo, Brazil and its relation to social cybernetics as the “science of effective organization.” The research project in public policy, online‐communities, has been financed by the state‐sponsored agency FAPESP since 2003, and involves four research groups from the Architecture and Computer Science Departments at the University of São Paulo, and various public and non‐governmental organizations under the coordination of Nomads.usp Research Center (Center for Studies on Interactive Living, www.eesc.usp.br/nomads).Design/methodology/approachThe design methodology includes three premises: an organization of the team which considers multidisciplinary and multicultural aspects; the involvement of potential users as creators of the virtual community and of its concrete space; and the concern that the process will be organized so that autonomy and evolution take place.FindingsSpecial interest in the comparison of architectural methods and cybernetics is to understand how information and communication are dealt with using a design process to promote active exchange of knowledge and competences, and to improve interaction and conversation in a local context of large social differences, affected by lack of opportunities and regulating structures.Practical implicationsOwing to its constant questioning of viability, adaptability and recursion, cybernetics should be able to make the designer team constantly revise the proposal to change conditions during its process of implementation and later autonomy.Originality/valueThe paper discusses the actual relevance of the use of the cybernetic theory as a way to improve information and communication between designers and the population in poor communities.

The challenge of e-participation in the digital city: Exploring generational influences among community telecentre users

“…These can be implemented using various technologies and can take the form of e-mail groups, blogs, discussion forums or websites with networking features. Pratschke (2007) describes the use of virtual communities in facilitating discourse and interaction among community members as an alternative to less peaceful interactions that were occurring in the offline world. The project provided new ways to enhance and extend community interaction both in the physical and virtual communities.…”

Design Research as a Variety of Second-Order Cybernetic Practice

“…While the principal legacy of Mead's remarks has been the epistemological concerns of SOC, as developed by Heinz von Foerster (1995, 1 Together with Neil Spiller, Ranulph supervised my PhD research and although this article has been developed after his passing, it is significantly influenced by my conversations with him. In addition to his work, on the relationship between cybernetics and design see also: Pangaro (2007, 2015); Fischer (2015); Fischer and Richards (in press);Furtado Cardoso Lopes (2008; Gage (2006Gage ( , 2007aGage ( , 2007b; Goodbun (2011);Herr (2015); Jonas (2007aJonas ( , 2007bJonas ( , 2012Jonas ( , 2014Jonas ( , 2015aJonas ( , 2015b; P. Jones (2014); Krippendorff (2007); Krueger (2007); Lautenschlaeger and Pratschke (2011);Lobsinger (2000); Mathews (2005Mathews ( , 2006Mathews ( , 2007; Pratschke (2007); Ramsgard Thomsen (2007); Rawes (2007); Spiller (2002);Sweeting (2014Sweeting ( , 2015c 2003a) and others, their original context is that of the practice of the society itself. It is this aspect to which the ASC returned during Glanville's presidency, in terms of both the form and content of its conferences, which explored cybernetics' relation to practice using conversational, cybernetic, formats (Baron, Glanville, Griffiths, & Sweeting 2015;Glanville 2011bGlanville , 2012Glanville, Griffiths, & Baron 2014;Glanville & Sweeting 2011;van Ditmar & Glanv...…”

Proceedings of the 24th Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) [Volume 2]

“…Processes that increase variety are however rare in control-focused digital production and more common in processes that involve human interaction. Design production can be structured to encompass both, as the cybernetics-informed work of Pratschke (2007) anddos Santos Cabral Filho (2013) shows: both DESIGN CYBERNETICS AND CAAD RESEARCH 547 discuss cybernetics-informed processes of architectural production that involve user participation and collaboration.…”