Buoyant Memory: Neuroscience fora Virtual Architecture

Abstract

Gravity prescribes a very specific maxim for the built environment represented by the horizontal layer cake we are all so familiar with. This is contrasted by designs such as the International Space Station where no floor is present and every surface provides some function whether storage, data displayand instrumentation or biological support infrastructure. Because of the homogeneity of approach to each surface an astronaut requires literal markers to orient oneself within the vessel. Very seldom within the natural, earth-bound environment does one find oneself in a situation where "up" is a questionable vector. What happens when architecture is translated to the virtual. What is the role of the architect or of his or her architecture in a virtual universe. Would a virtual architecture itselfnot become a social engine, its social context beingthat of online gaming, crowdfunding and social media? This engine's main role being the creation ofarchitecturallyinspiringgatheringspaces for learning, playing and community building.