Joseph Stancer

Master of Architecture MArch

‘The Medium 2.0: The Phygital Commons’

In the information age, the internet becomes the new public realm. As a largely self-authored medium it has precipitated a crisis in objectivity, accompanied by the proliferation of filtered selfies, fake news and ‘memes’. Individuals construct idealised realities to gain social capital with their affiliations. In the comments section, outbursts of tribalism galvanise debate amongst echo-chambers of political or cultural proclivities. 

Each tribe establishes their own aesthetic, and ‘hashtags’, ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ become social organisers. The architect is appointed to negotiate post-truth, constructing a new civic vernacular appropriate to the novelties of ‘Phygital’ - a spatial condition blending physical and digital public space. 

The result is a series of filter bubbles, and the architect speculates new ways of representing this ubiquitous medium through an exploration of the panoramic ‘boomerang’. Spatially translated and tested through VR technologies, these interpret our newfound cross-inhabitation between physical and digital space.

Tags: Architecture, Echo Chamber, Filter Bubble, Phygital, Post Truth, Public Space, Virtual Reality, Vr

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