Beginning of a Literature Review: Week 4
Looking back on the last week, I have begun to narrow down my question and topic a little bit further. From critiques and feedback from class, I am pursuing a path of looking into Las Vegas through how technology has transformed the perception of the city and its users. This topic definitely is not as narrowed in as it needs to be, but I hope to be able to keep developing it as the research continues. For this week, I have looked into generalization on the aspects of the topic I am interested in rather than trying to research specifics and then have it change through this process. I have started to keep a journal in my notebook of research and thought dumping. Through writing and sketching, I have been able to organize my thoughts more easily. By continuing this I hope to be able to keep straight thoughts in this process and not get bogged down in scattered thoughts about the topic or the more broad sense of my research.
Thus far, in my research, I have began to understand the mindset of Venturi and Scott Brown from reading excerpts from Learning From Las Vegas and refreshing on the notions that they made in the book. And then to adding my own research about the specifics of “enhancing the environment and not replacing it” and how technology can help people achieve this idea. Looking further, the key to this type of technology is augmented reality. In my research, I have looked at the basics and understanding of technology that has been under development and research for almost 6 decades. Architecture is supplemental to the environment and should not replace that. Las Vegas adds to the experience through the use of new technology and signs, but are the signs necessarily relevant in today’s society. Navigating the environment no longer depends on looking at signs or landmarks to denote where one is at in the world, but rather people look at their phone to determine exactly where they are. Architecture needs to play a role in the digital environment of space and not just the physical reality.
Some of my takeaways from my research thus far:
Learning From Las Vegas: This book is what started this fascination for the use of architecture as communication more than space. Architecture, signs, and symbols are a way of navigating the built environment. Signs help to draw people in, point people in the right direction, and catch the attention of people with information. However, how concrete is this idea now that it is 2020. With the advancement of technology, at a rapid rate, signs appear on our phone and mobile devices. It is important to be mobile in order to move at the pace that society demands. We no longer use signs to guide us on the road, in an unfamiliar place, but we wait for the voice on our phone to tell us when to “turn right in 500 feet.” It is interesting to understand the potential of staying mobile, but not by being disconnected from the real world by looking down into the virtual world. Augmented reality can play a part in continuing to develop the strip to coincide with the technological breakthroughs of today. Driverless cars, Augmented Reality, AI advencement, etc. all have an impact on the way we perceive the world and the way we blend reality and virtual reality. Back in the 1960s, the Strip was built around the postwar mass-production of the automobile (the advancement of technology at the time). Stripping Architecture, by Mark Taylor, compares the 1960s Las Vegas Strip to the Las Vegas Strip of the 1990s, and how it is now being built around pedestrian travel and advancement of Digital technology. Taylor analyzes and describes the strip where the “real become virtual and the virtual becomes real”. From this reading, I understood that the Strip keeps up with the pace of technological advancement in order to survive as an oasis in the desert. Taylor also analyze the enhancement of Fremont Street. This is an example of how technology enhances the timeless train terminal into that of a computer terminal. The experience of place is focused directly to the user.
So far, I have begun to establish an understanding of the broader sense of my topic, but would like to keep narrowing it down to a point where I can start to do more in depth research on the specifics. The Literature review along with keeping up with my personal journal will be able to keep my thoughts straight and be able to organize research that continues to fit and coincide together.
Link to Lit-Review: Click Here
