sketch by Matt Taylor
september 11, 2004
|
Aspen
Room Plan-Section
by Bill Blackburn
September 27, 2004
|
Aspen
Room
Job Visit
October 12, 2004
|
MOU Signed November 11, 2004 |
Armature
Design by Bill Blackburn
3d Model by Matt Fulvio and Scott Arenz
December 6, 2004
|
Fitting
of first Armature Cord
December 28, 2004
|
Install
@ Davos
January 20, 2005 |
Install
@ Davos
January 25, 2005
|
First
interactive WorkShop
January 27, 2005
|
now
called the DAVOS WorkSpace |
| In
early September (2004) Architects of Group Genius
[link],
a member of the MG Taylor ValueWeb [link] licensed
to do our process, conducted a Work Shop in Geneva
with
WEF members to look at
ways
to
“Reinvent
Davos.”
Maurizio Travaglini of AOGG facilitated
the session. Gail, representing TomorrowMakers [link],
worked with Maurizio who was backed
up by his excellent team, MG Taylor network KnowledgeWorkers,
and two facilitator/KnowledgeWorkers from the Gap
Gemini Paris ASE [link] who
also provided an RDS environment for
the
exercise. It was truly an international team. I attended
the session as a participant. |
| Below
is my hand Notebook documentation recorded before,
during and after the event. I returned to Geneva
in October to see the Aspen Room space at
Davos and to meet at the WEF headquarters in Geneva
to advance
the thinking about how we can utilize this one space
to create an environment for a number of the new
processes that we designed in the Work Shop. The
work since then, until my return trip in November,
focused on configuring the existing MG Taylor RDS,
adding a new Armature to it, and getting the system
in place for the Annual Meeting [link] in
late January 2005. |
|
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517
08/24/04
Davos -
WEF
Rate of Change
Environment Elements
09/04 Workshop
link:
full screen view
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518
08/24/04
Davos
- WEF
Environment Elements
Matrix, Grid, Language
Design Factors
link:
full screen view
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519
09/05/04
Davos
- WEF
Matrix
WEF Scale
Creative Process
link:
full screen view
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520
09/05/04
Davos
- WEF
Session Forms
Conventional to Alternative Layouts
link:
full screen view
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521
09/05/04
Davos
- WEF
Utilization
Fish Bowl
Innovator’s Dilemma
link:
full screen view
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522
09/07/04
Davos
- WEF
GroupGenius versus
Group Ignorance
MT Tasks
link:
full screen view
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523
09/07/04
Davos
- WEF
3 levels of
Investment and Payback
Design by Default
link:
full screen view
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524
09/11/04
Davos
- WEF
Aspen Room Use
Zone Diagram - Brand
Sub Spaces
Decription of Parts
Implementation Levels
link:
full screen view
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525
09/11/04
Davos
- WEF
Aspen Room Zones
Sub Spaces
Decription of Parts
link:
full screen view
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526
09/11/04 - 02/16/05
Davos
- WEF
Layout for Work Shops, Simulations, seminars, Assembler Team
link:
full screen view
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533
10/14/04
Davos
RDS
How Do We Do It?
Tasks
Schedule
link:
full screen view
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548
12/21/04 - 01/25/05
throw
away the
organization?
betting the farm
RDS @ DAVOS?
link:
full screen view
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549
12/21/04 - 02/06/05
MGT
critical mass
point of success
Master’s NavCenter
Switzerland
link:
full screen view
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550
12/22/04 - 01/25/05
idea
Organizational of Transformation is back
Agents are changed
DAVOS RDS
link:
full screen view
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552
02/02/05 - 02/06/05
post
9/11 series start
ASE DNA Dip
WEF Annual Meetings
my location strategy?
link:
full screen view
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| There
are many innovations that came out of the WEF-AoGG
Work Shop and will be experienced throughout the
entire Annual Meeting. This documentation primarily
focuses on the Aspen Room [link for
video clip of the room] as
a dedicated space for new approaches and a place
where
our
environment and processes will be featured. Three
major goals for the Aspen Innovation Studio were
defined in the September session and refined during
my October trip to the WEF headquarters: |
innovation_studio_mission |
Provide
for a much greater level of participation,
collaboration and design - on a much
greater scale - than has been the
case at Davos in the past. This
collaborative work will be focused
on issues of global significance.
Create
a BRAND, a signature process, where
over a 1,000 attendees
can have
a significant experience that
becomes, in their mind, what Davos is
about and
the direction that it is heading. This
experience to be grounded in the fact
that they made real gains designing solutions
to systemic, complex, global problems
that they recognize as being essential
to their future.
Perform
the ASSEMBLER function, incorporating
aspects from the entire 05 Davos, creating
RED THREADS, that published,
tie the entire Annual Meeting together.
Thus, the Aspen Innovation Studio
brings significant leverage to the
total effort expended during the
week. The Innovation Studio is not
about one room being different -
it is about Davos and how it functions
in the meetings ahead. |
|
|
These
are not trivial goals. However, based on our 01
[link] and
02 [link] experiences
with WEF, and the work done in the Work Shop, the
other innovative processes being
brought to the Annual Meeting [link] -
and the commitment being shown by the WEF leadership
- these are doable objectives. However, given the
time frame
and the
degree of innovation involved, near flawless execution
was required to create a capability and process to
accomplish them. |
|
| Bill
Blackburn developed scale layouts of various setups
for the Aspen Room and an Armature concept for my
trip to Davos and Geneva in early October. After
dialog on the use GRID, logistics of getting an RDS
to Davos for the 05 Annual Meeting and the decision
to move ahead by the WEF Board in early November,
engineering
design started on the Armature. It was decided that
the existing MG Taylor RDS would
be shipped to Davos by sea and that the Armature
and
other new elements
shipped by air for assembly starting in mid
January. The Aspen Room will be fully available only
three days before the AM starts so there is a short
time line to set up the environment - a good test
of the system. |
| Structural
engineer Dick Lowndes worked with us on the Armature
[link].
This is the first Armature that is designed to be
portable. We have worked on a portable Armature,
conceptually, for years. In function and feel, it
is close to the
Armature
in the
Master’s Collaboration Studio [link]
although
more than doble the size.
Structurally, this Armature is designed like an aircraft
wing;
it is self
supporting, will erect in sections, and has to be
stable without permanent attachment to the floor.
The tenancy is for the columns to “kick out” at
their base in reaction to the transfer of horizontal
loads. The design solution is to use vacuum cups
in the bases capable of resisting this sheer but
requiring no physical pinning to the floor. Dick
has used systems
like this before with drilling equipment. Vacuum
cups are also typically used to handle large sheets
of glass when being placed. I do not know if they
have ever been used as a semi-permanent structural
solution before. |
| The
RDS Armature will be adjustable
vertically and will accept different configurations
around its perimeter so that spaces of different
sizes and kinds can be created in response to different
uses and the physical opportunities the host building
offers. The Armature is a main element that creates
and sets the feel of a space, it carries wires for
media equipment, adjustible lighting and establishes
subdivisions for different work set ups as required
by the various processes which the environment has
to support. It is a “room within a room” that itself
can, with
the other
WorkFurniture components, create a great variety
of display and work spaces. |
| Along
with adjustable screening/display elements that are
an integral part of the Armature system (yet independent
of it), appropriate use of the Armature lighting
and the arrangement of the WorkWalls and WorkFurniture,
the
exact “mood,”
sense of prospect and refuge, and utility can be
created as appropriate for each use of the space.
The process can be supported on a granular level.
These adjustments can be made quickly by the KnowledgeWorkers
supporting
the work. The Aspen Room has a folding acoustic partition
that allows the room to be divided in half. The Armature,
as installed in this case, is configured to work
as a whole space and as two - each, of course with
their further own subdivisions. This means that the
Armature, in this application, has to be supported
by a truss system that allows the folding partition
to
be operated. |
RDS truss going up
January 18, 2005
|
| As
the participants come into the Aspen Room, they will
move through a series of experiences that is at once
reinforcing
of the Davos experience, and an unique expression
of it, and that supports the intense design
and collaboration desired. They will travel
into another mood, another mode of work and into
another mental world without losing connection with
the Annual Meeting as a gestalt. Space can be defined
and shaped horizontally and vertically - with wood,
plastic, metal, light, plants and music - to create
this experience, and vary it, at each sector of
the entire room. |
| Aside
from accomplishing this mission for this event,
there are four aspects of significance with this
deployment. As mentioned, it is the first RDS with
an Armature which means an adjustable one that can
be used in a variety of different spaces. As such,
it will be the most sophisticated Armature design
and the most developed expression of the idea to
date [link].
The shape and the structure and how it functions
is craft-like (boat/airplane). This is moving towards
a more dynamic architecture we have long envisioned.
The RDS is not only portable,
it is highly adjustable. The ideal of the environment
adjusting to the work (rather than people having
to make their work-process conform to the environment)
is expressed on a new level. With this Armature system,
the AI shop approaches the scale of structure necessary
for producing an EcoSphere [link] or
a postUsonian [link].
There is a fitness with these accomplishments
and the very use of this RDS at
the WEF given the issues it will be addressing. Missions
and capabilities converge. |
|
| The
WEF Annual Meeting requires no introduction [link].
Here I will focus on DAVOS as a place, the
DAVOS Congress environment, in which the majority
of the activities are held, and those innovations
we intend to bring
to the 05 meeting with the presence of the RDS. |
| The
WEF Annual Meeting is held in the DAVOS Congress,
pictured above, and in several hotels throughout
the village. The wood finished section of the Congress
is the Aspen Room. 2005 will be our first return
to the Annual Meeting at Davos since 2001 [link].
It is almost impossible to imagine a better place
to hold a meeting such as the WEF Annual Meeting
than DAVOS [link].
The entire village becomes the place of the event.
It is an unique and glorious setting. |
| The
CONGRESS Center, itself, is a building with
many strengths and some significant weaknesses. The
WEF Annual Meeting stretches its capacity to the
limits of reasonable use. Great care is taken, however,
to set the space so that it “reads” and so that many
modes of interaction are supported. The public spaces
are the most successful. The rooms in which the formal
sessions are held are the most problematic. There
are three issues that require improvement. First
off, the rooms lack distinction; they do not have
the architectural quality of the rest of the public
areas nor do they express place that is
congruent with the entire setting which is Davos.
Once you are
in these rooms you might as well be anywhere in the
world. Second, they support only a few modes of
(mostly traditional) interaction; mostly present,
sit and get, with a minimal amount
of interaction. These are not places that easily
support engagement, intense collaboration and GroupGenius.
Third, they are not easily set up for different kinds
of sessions and it is nearly (one could say totally)
impossible to adjust them in the middle of a session;
The work
has
to
conform to the space - the architecture does not
respond to the work. |
| It
is these aspects that we are going to address by
placing a RDS in the Aspen Room.
The Aspen room is one of the nicest spaces in the
complex. It has a great deal of glass, some wood
elements, a high ceiling and a shape that, while
not architecturally significant,
is at least not square and mundane. For the Forum,
this will be a significant experiment, risk and
innovation. We do not see it that way, of course,
at least on the technical level; however, for those
that come to the Forum habitually, this environment
will constitute a significant change in physical
environment, process architecture and subject-focus
venue. |
|
 |
The
3d Model images are hard line with minimal
rendering. One has to imagine them as the
space will be
with real materials, populated with people,
plants and knowledge-objects, and bathed
in complex, reflecting, refracting light.
A
review of the Master’s NavCenter [link] is
worth while even though photos do not fully
capture the essence of one of these spaces.
Masters is the closest in finish and feel
to this RDS although the Aspen Room is nearly
twice as large.
Despite
these graphic limitations there are several
aspects that can be seen: the layering of
architectural
elements; the “room within a room”
and the distinct space that the Armature
creates; the delivery of cabling, power,
lights and
sound system to all parts of the space; the
adjustability of setups and the fact
that each of them - smaller spaces within
the greater space - has its own character
and feel. This latter aspect is best understood
in terms of spatial dimensions coupled
with the controllability of light spectrum
and levels (including natural light). In
all, there are three major layers vertically
and four horizontally.
The
vertical and horizontal colored poly fins
serve four major functions: they help sub-divide
a large column into spaces of more human
scale; they reflect and refract light; they
breakup and therefore diffuse sound; and,
they - by their form - convey through conotation [link] an aspect of the “signiture” message
(brand) of the environment.
The
round disks that are suspended from the top
cord of the Armature house light fixtures
and speakers. the lower cords are made up
of structural wire. The main poly and wood
columns are attached to the floor with suction
eliminating the need for physical pining.
The
two trusses that divide the Aspen Room space
allows the folding acoustical panels to be
pulled out without interference of the Armature.
In other situations, this allows for a one
half set up. In large spaces with no division,
the trusses will be replaced by a compression
ring turning the Armature into a dome.
The
two entries are protected by rolling, folding
screens. |
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| The
RDS, like all of our environments,
will have a quality that does not translate well
in media no matter
how well done. Alexander [link] calls
it
the “quality
that has no name.” This is an accurate and literal
statement - there is no name for the quality
we seek. Few architects know how to get this quality IN to
their work. It is not simply a visual design
issue; it involves how the environments are
made (which is why we have an excellent shop that itself
has design
and detailing capability) and how the space is used.
Design, build, use, feedback through multiple high
frequency low magnitude iterations of creative work [link].
Alexander calls this the timeless way of building.
Our environments are not visual, “esthetic” architecture.
They are reality-based. They have to be experienced to
be understood [link].
The difference between how our environments are experienced
is like
the difference
between a technical
manual and
poetry - or, between illustration and art. Our NavCenter
and RDS spaces are four dimensional
places that people work in. They reflect the qualities
we want their work
to produce. This transforms routine into self-aware
living art [link]. |
| The
3d model over stresses linearity - this is natural
to the medium. It is drawn by lines. Lines do not
exist in nature. Volume and surface does and we see
them by reflected light and experience objects another
way - by touch. We also smell materials and hear
the acoustic space. Modern architecture has dulled
much
of humanities’ senses. This is unfortunate
and the consequence of attitudes, design theory and
the fact
that we have not yet sufficiently learned the grammar
of modern materials. It is easy to do, but
a misinterpretation, to translate these drawings
into the typical language
of modern architecture. This tendency is reinforced
by the fact that the architectural elements (Armature,
WorkWalls and Furniture) are made
up
of
strict
geometry. The pieces
in the model tend to look a bit heavier than they will
in reality - while accurate in perspective, perspective
is not truly representational of the many dimensions
of reality. The real
elements
of the space are made of
woods
that have
a natural depth of surface and texture. Of translucent
glassing - more an idea rather than a thing
although
it is structural in many places.
There are wires acting as truss cords (bottom) and
in double pairs holding lights on double gimbals. Each
of these architectural elements are rendered distinct
with their mission made clear. Together, they make
a synergy that is not suggested or expressed in the
parts. Also in the space are many other objects of
knowledge,
utility
and art. And, of course, the real subject of this
art: the many people working - in this deployment
a hundred to two hundred at a time - is the focus
of the space. It does not come alive until people
walk
in,
through
the entry experience, and start to work. |
| The
Armature will create PLACE. However, it
will not attract the
eye in the way it does in a technical
drawing or photograph. It will “read” as
background music. It is a creature of light. It has
little thing-ness.
There are lights on the Armature (shinning up down
and horizontally) and light sources from above that
are part of the Aspen building (and from the high windows
when the shades are open). There may be lights shining
up from the base (we are still considering this). So,
the result is a shelter made up primarily
of reflecting, refracting
light making a room
within a room that expresses the idea of what
is to take place within it. By controlling the light,
we
create mood in each
of the areas.
The focus
of the
light will
be on the WorkWalls, objects that are being displayed,
on work surfaces, and on people when they are “up
front” in the Radiant Room or in a breakout work
space. The areas (vertically and horizontally), beyond
the Armature, will be either a source of “outside” light
(like this was a building sheathed in glass) or will
fade away into a darker “infinite” space
- all depending on how we employ the lighting and what
time of day it is. There will be abundant shade and
shadow to rest the eye and to reinforce prospect and
refuge. |
| As
I noted, the architectural elements are geometrical.
The space
they define, however, is much more complex
than they are. The thing looks linear; the space within
the thing and defined by it is much more complex and
always “changing” as one walks through
the environment. The architectural elements are attenuated
by plants,
people, objects and the play of light. In this deployment,
the floor will be covered by a dark gray carpet which
will create a solid plane creating the single largest
unbroken surface in the entire environment. This will
stress horizontality. Other than this, the Aspen room
and everything we are putting into it
is made up of fairly “bright” reflective
(light and sound) surfaces and is vertical in nature
with the Armature mediating between the vertical and
horizontal. As mentioned, the “fins” on
the Armature will diffuse both light and sound. The
carpet will act as “ground.” Everything
else will move. |
| This
space is on of great diversity of form, texture,
color, utility and expression. And, it can be quickly
set up in a variety of ways (along with light and
sound modulation) to support, specifically,
a high variety of work processes. All of the 3d graphic
used in this article are of the same set up except
the one directly below. To show even the basic possible
set ups, and the variety inherent in each one, would
take hundreds of projections.The idea that architecture
should adjust to the requirements of
the users has
been around for some time. The task of making this
possible has required significant design, engineering
and manufacturing innovation and an intimate work
process between these too often separated disciplines.
In building in this integrated way, we are literally
making a space that exemplifies what we
want the users to do. To think, feel and act systematically
and
systemic - WHOLE SYSTEMS; to collaboratively
integrat the best knowledge and skills of each
team member without
forcing compromise on anyone: GROUPGENIUS. |
|
| The
RDS has been a long time in coming
into full expression and use [link].
The WEF and
Club of Madrid deployments will
advance the art of the RDS in
three significant ways. First, with the introduction
of
the Armature
and other elements,
the RDS now approaches the full
functionality and amenity of a state-of-the-art NavCenter
[link].
The second, is the focus of this year’s Forum Annual
Meeting and the Club of Madrid; while each are different,
both address important, global, social-economic and
political issues - these constitute the closest employment
of the RDS to its intended purpose [link].
Third, is the environment of these deployments. They
are in Europe, they focus on the making of a positive
future for everyone. Each, in their own way, reject
a knee jerk reaction to currant political economic
conditions their focus, instead, is to to design of
a more positive future. Both events will
be attended
by world-class leadership. Both will break the standard
conference venue and stress collaboration. It could
be said that these events are the beginning of what
we set out to [link] do
25 years ago. |
|
Rendering by
Irena Sokolona
December 7, 2004 |
| As
this is written, we have designed
and started the engineering and fabrication of this
deployment. We have 6 weeks to get
a collaborative
environment for 80 people to Davos and set up. At
the WEF 05 Annual meeting, over a thousand people
will experience this environment. They will tackle
questions of importance. Perhaps, we can add some
magic to the magic mountain. |
| The
task of integrating structural and electrical engineering
with media, lighting and control systems while meeting
shop build-ability requirements for the Armature
has
been one of the most demanding design tasks that
we have
ever
undertaken. This is a complex system made more so
by being shippable and the need to erect it in a
few days. |
| There
is no question that this experience takes us to the
threshold of being able to build a postUsonian [link].
I will document this process, from design-engineering
iterations to final deployment and set up, starting
now and through next February, when we have accomplished
our first full
cycle of
D/B/U [link]. |
The
last event of the 2005 Davos WorkPlace took
place a few hours ago. It was a private session on
Responsible
Wealth Ownership. This short session will be followed
up with a two day one in July At Liechtenstein.
gore_prigogine_von_neumann |
Al
Gore
Explaining Prigogine’s State Change Model [link],
complexity
and the
Von Neumann Bottleneck [link]
|
|
| This
was, hands down, the most enjoyable Forum event for
me. The process was simple and unobstructed by external
circumstances.
The subject was fascinating. Everyone played
well and produced good work. This was a diverse group.
Al Gore sparked the dialog with some well focused
and
important
observations.
It is difficult to imagine a more qualified, experienced,
serious and sincere group of people discussing a
subject of greater importance. I think of these moments
as
“payback time.” All the hard work, the risks, the
times when is seems that none of it is appreciated
or goes anywhere is balanced by these moments when
it is possible to believe a difference has been made
and the world does have a future because people are
paying attention to the things that matter. This
is my form of “investment” [link]. |
| As
I write this, the KnowledgeWorkers are finishing
their documentation of the many sessions and the
AI crew is dismantling the RDS.
We are nearing the end of an exciting, demanding,
sometimes frustrating and risky time. Would I do
this again under the circumstances that existed -
no I would not [link].
Did it advance the Forum - I believe it did. Was
it consistent with our mission - yes. Did we benefit
from the experience in terms of being able to sustain
our work or will it result in a devastating economic
setback - that is a question yet to be answered.
Will the Forum
proceed
further
down
the
path to greater member collaboration - I
think so [link].
Will there be a European RDS [link] -
there is a good chance. The task now is work out
the details of the Club of Madrid deployment [link] and
see if there is viability for the RDS in Europe. |
| In September 2005 the development of a new RDS for the World Economic Forum began [rds II ]. The next phase of of the Davos WorkPlace is unfolding [link: the next generation rds]. A meeting with the WEF Team and the MGT Team will take pace the first week in December to set the final specifications and determine the design strategy of the the work. |
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| GoTo 2005 Matt Taylor Papers INDEX |
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| GoTo 2005 Papers Red Threads |
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| Go
To: Building the RDS Armature |
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| Go
to: Tour of Taylor Environments |
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Matt
Taylor
Elsewhere
October 14, 2004
SolutionBox
voice of this document:
INSIGHT • STRATEGY • CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENT
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posted:
October 14, 2004
revised:
February 3, 2005
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• 20050127.097861.mt • 20050130.452112.mt
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• 20050131.567392.mt • 20050203.608100.mt •
(note:
this document is about 98% finished)
Copyright© Matt
Taylor, 1983, 2004, 2005
IP
Statement and Policy
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