Virtual Urbanism

The process of developing Pier 58l0 echoes actual urbanism where a city develops relationships over hundreds of years, but instead only takes a matter of months. Each of these structures can respond with rapidity to the structure before it and we can create complex relationships between them without having to wait hundreds of years. These relationships will of course be different in nature to those of a city but still they hold meaning and complexity. Ideas of urban planning, spatial experience, digital programmatic distribution, and the cultural potentials of architecture, remain relevant in both the virtual and the physical worlds.

The traditional paradigm of American urbanism has been characterized by the grid system, which relies on repetition, separation, and boundaries to allocate spaces to individuals. This system reflects the contemporary inclination towards compartmentalization and data-driven approaches. In contrast, Virtual Urbanism resists these tendencies by disregarding the grid and linear-based organizational systems, instead embracing a field condition that promotes a more fluid and interconnected spatial experience.

Unlike real urbanism, which perpetuates socioeconomic hierarchies through factors like housing, access to resources, and infrastructure maintenance, virtual urbanism has the potential to create a novel landscape for navigating unbuilt urban spaces. An example of this is the concept of the Walkable Internet, where distinct environments exist in close proximity, allowing seamless traversal between them without the need for conventional web links. This paradigm shift in urban exploration opens up new possibilities for immersive and interconnected experiences within virtual environments.