Temporal and Spatial Prejudices

There is a sense of urgency and erraticism, a strong disconnect with the human condition, and over-compartmentalization when it comes to the American sense of space.

American space is defined as a temporary realm, through which to flit quickly back and forth. There is not a sense of lingering, as this temporary sense reflects that of the American sense of time. Since time is so clearly defined in such a mechanical, regular fashion, one must move on in a “timely” manner. Time should be spent along the sense of human experience, much more organically. Not all things can be shoved into a box of a number of minutes, but rather just until completion. One must allow for things to happen in a natural way, in the time it is meant to happen. Nature occurs in such a way. The American has ripped himself away from this idea of time, away from nature, and has constructed a mechanical space in order to compensate for this unnatural construct of orderly time.

The natural, organic environment will no longer do. Long, straight, wide avenues create a speedy way in which to traverse a city or building in order to get from one task to the other quickly and orderly. There is no sense of the world outside of the schedule the American has designed for herself. Spaces should transition in a way that one can linger within or in-between. Time cannot be defined in small boxes drawn together with lines, but rather with each experience. Therefore, the space that we define should be made in such a way as to reflect nature, variable. The use of a space should reflect the environment around it as well as the experience approaching that space. The American space is drawn out in long distances in order to reach a desired destination, this space is uneventful and dull because it is a straight line despite the landscape before it. Once the desired destination is reached, it is chaotic with information and overlapping spaces. Once one is in a destined space, there are other spaces constantly calling out for attention. It is easy to get distracted, which seems counter to the determined and scheduled time of the American.

Information Technologies appear to be at the center of any space in the American ideal. There is, at the very least, a television in the living area that has the most use. On top of this, the American seems covered in information technologies. Although it is not the most common of attires, many Americans have the time attached to their wrists so that they are always aware of how much time they have left. Even more popular, and even more intrusive, are cellular devices. The American cannot leave anywhere without this device. Space is defined around the American as where they get service, or where these devices work. Americans do not seem to fully experience the space around them, rather the space that they perceive within the world inside their information technology devices.

The concept of looking at space from an outside perspective, and away from information technologies, I believe is applicable to my project and the design of residence halls. Americans have become such individuals, and the required space around us has become smaller and smaller as we have begun to dive further and further into virtual space. I am exploring the idea of public blending into private space to the point that it may be uncomfortable for many users who would be used to this individualistic sense of space. Our virtual community is growing, while the ability to connect with people, even those in the general proximity, is becoming increasingly difficult – or deemed unnecessary.