PLAY IN THE CITY

05. REFLECTION
THE CITY, SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY
WEEK 6, 27.03.18
SEMINAR READINGS
Aarseth, Espen. “Allegories of Space”, in Borries, Friedrich von, Steffen P.
Walz, and Matthias Böttger. Space Time Play: Computer Games, Architecture
and Urbanism: The Next Level . Springer Science & Business Media, 2007,
pp. 44 - 47.
Boyer, Christine. “Imaging the City in the Age of Electronic
Communication”, in Cybercities , New York: Princeton Architectural
Press, 1996, pp. 137 - 182.
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Christine Boyer, in her essay Imaging the City in the Age of Electronic
Communication, sets out conditions which she sees coming into
conflict in the contemporary city, that of the physical city and the
image and imageability of the city:
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1. Christine Boyer. “Imaging the City in the Age of Electronic Communication”, in Cybercities,
(New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996), p.151
2. “The City, Space and Technology”, Discussion from Seminar, led by Dr. Hanna Cannon
(Edinburgh, 30.01.2018)
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In the end, this flood of images of the city fails to offer the
spectator a stable sense of physical reality, because public space
appears impermeant and nondescript within the persistent flow of
information. Thus perception of the physical city begins to shift. We
divert our eyes to protect ourselves from the tyranny of constant
visualisation. Our sense of sight is dulled by this hyper-imageability
that makes everything appear familiar and already known. And
the reliance on stereotypical images erases the complexity and
nuances of the physical form of the lived city. Escape into the visual
excess that images can provide also distorts or disguises traumatic
material that the public may wish to deny. 1
Boyer points out the peculiar situation which is created when the image
eclipses our reading of physical space of the city. 2 She notes that we rely
on fixed way-markers in space in order to orientate and navigate space
in the city . Our familiarity with the way-markers of the city is