City and Speed 2.001s:

The disembodied velocity or the mediation of speed. Our studiodesign explores the mental model of the city. Speed, pace are conceived in reality, but are only perceived mentally. The forming of individual and collective experiences is a process in time thus involving the speed of the city. What do we perceive as fast? What is not slow. The experience of loudness is a matter of silence.

Disembodiment:
Our design concept is the experience of the unspeeded velocity, introducing the slowness where there is speed and speed where there is standstill. What means do we have to modulate velocity? We should not forget that reality is what we consider to be real. The world as it is is an image in our brain. Physical movement is not the prerequisite of speed. Physical movement is the movement of masses, or the movement of massembodied information. The overcoming of the embodiment of information results in virtual movement, the nearly realtime displacement of content, not container.
Deformation:
Speed is a linear or radial phenomenon. Physical speed is predominantely linear, providing mass relocation from A to B. Information transport can be radial (radiation), but as the transmission needs an sender A and transceivers B we should call it multilinear transport. The faster the means of transportation are, the smaller the channels. If we map equitemporal distances (spacetime) instead of equidistances (space) geographically, the result will be a deformation of space. Realtime results in the collapse of distance.
Manipulation
Our physical environment has become manipulable by virtual speed. The introduction of electricity made spacial enhancements possible, i.e. the addition of man made (therefore manipulable spacial qualities, e.g. the intensity of light). Electricity was the oil well for the development of virtual realities like Las Vegas.
The accelerating virtualisation results until now in an abstraction of the environment (screenwork). It lacks the manipulability and the qualities of real environments.
Our concept proposes a series of measures that insert the mediated environment in the urban context.
Understanding buildings as media terminals allows us to reanimate the lost inside/ outside relationship of a city and its buildings by mapping a non-physical phenomenal transparency on the cityscape. Manipulating the media impact on the city we are creating collective experiences (identification), accelerate environments and make environments invisible.

Markus Dettling | Martin Vache