Spaces : Spaces Meeting – on the threshold of a new spatial aesthetic ?

Based on an overview of designs and technological attempts to mediate physical work and learning environments carried out within an interdisciplinary research network at the KTH, the paper will address the broader epistemological implications arising from the use of new media in the service of new paradigms based on mixed media/reality environments (‘(re)mediated environments’, ‘media space’, ‘telepresence’ etc.). Such hybrid or cybrid spaces, constituted of both physical and virtual tools, demand a resolution of contrary experiential and spatial concepts; although participants at each location experience different concepts of space they also occupy, physically and imaginatively, shared composite spaces – designs based on a juxtaposition of several physical and virtual space(s). The paper argues that new design contexts imply a new professional identity for the architect; by increased exposure to the field of media technology, the architect is invited into new interdisciplinary collaborations. This development stresses the need for a revised set of conceptual (virtual) and physical tools for contemporary designers. While modelling in virtual worlds was traditionally a means of communication towards a final physical representation, architects must now incorporate virtual or hybrid spaces within the design process and be trained accordingly with the appropriate tools, technologies, and methods. Charlie Gullström is Director for The Centre for Sustainable Communications, a new research centre at KTH, Royal Institute of Technology aiming to innovate, explore and evaluate circumstances where ICT (media & communications) can make significant contributions towards sustainability. Charlie Gullström is also a Stockholm-based architect whose architectural practice over the past 15 years has specialised in workplace design and the design of spaces in which learning, collaboration and communication are central, explicit concerns for some of Sweden's leading companies such as Ericsson, Telia, Föreningssparbanken and ICA. She is currently completing a doctoral thesis at KTH School of Architecture and the Built Environment. Her research seeks to extend our understanding of architecture through examining the contribution of new media and communication, specifically the impact of imagebased communication technology on architectural practice and the design of (distributed) work and learning environments i.e. 'hybrid' architectural spaces. The project explores the design context of collaborative work processes to illuminate the role of conceptual and modelling tools in situations where practical knowledge is sought and shared.