| The
“stately
pleasure-dome” [link] of Kubla Khan
creates many technical challenges in the arena
of augmentation,
the philosophy of architecture and the design-build
practice by which architecture is realized. It
also requires the refinement of several new architectural
ideas. |
| When
MG Taylor and NavCenters (called Management Centers
in the early days) were conceived, we created
the augmentation vision of our work. Aspects
of these concepts are captured in the following
pieces: |
A
description of the proto-typical
NavCenter and how it functions
to provide knowledge augmentation
for individuals and groups - face-to-face
or remote.
[link] |
1984
Notebook comments: “The Management
Center as Information Factory”
- describing the basic functions
and the necessity for a global
approach employing a network of
Centers.
[link] |
Integration
of Tools and Envionments |
Facilitating
the Executive Routine |
Defining
the executive functions; developing
approrpiate processes; augmenting
executive work; bringing self disciple
to the executive’s work.
[xx] |
We
are creating a world of noise
pollution with thought or intention.
The acoustic properties of architectural
spaces are rare considered. What
effects this may be having on
humans and animals is poorly
studied and rarely considered.
[link] |
Much
of modern society is disconnected
from experience.
Life and work is becoming increasingly
fragmented - disconnected from
its various aspects and a physical
reality
of direct
consequence.
[link]
|
Employing
MG Taylor technical systems,
Weak Signal Research and PatchWorks
architecture to augment human
creativity
and facilitate emergence in complex
situations while establishing
and maintaining an integration
between
machine and
nature - ”A cybernetic forest....
[link] |
|
|
| There
are a number of philosphical premises that drive
our approach to work and creativity and, therefore,
why we make the enviornments that we do. These
are outlined below: |
Life
without quest is having a car
but no fuel - an exercise in
meaningless
and frustration. Yet, this is
the most missing element from
the workplace
and people’s lives in general.
How did this happen?
[link] |
So...
How is it We Know and... |
To
Hold an Unchanging Youth |
12
Aspects of UpSideDown Economics |
We
have built wonderful technology.
Have we learned how to use it or
will it mater use? Will our tecnological
innovations become our monley’s
paw and bring us results far from
what we expected?
[link] |
|
|
| This
view of human augmentation and what a human workplace
can be like, of course, demands a new kind
of architecture; and architecture that cannot
be build to conventional standards by conventional
means. |
25
Years of Design Build Use |
Presentation
at SFIA covering the development
of MG Taylor/AI work environments.
[link] |
Making
Place - 20 years of MG Taylor
Environments
|
This
overview shows pictures of 20
years of our work environments
with commentary. While there
is continuous evolution and improvement
across these years, there is
a continuity of principle in
this work and it is not easy
to paces the projects by year.
[link]
|
The
Executive Environment |
NavCenters
- System and Model |
How
NASA Went to the Moon |
The
present method of land ownership
and real estate development is
inherently at odds with sound
economic and ecological principles
and the art of architecture -
a new model is required.
[link] |
Building
a ValueWeb For Building |
Basic
Architectural Practice |
The
practice of architecture today
is single dimensional and offers
few alternatives. An architect’s
practice model has to be congruent
with the kind of work s/he wishes
to produce. There are several
practice models to choose from
but each has direct consequences
on the kind of work produced.
[link] |
The
21st Century Organization |
|
|
| Xanadu,
as a concept, is the summation [link] of
my 47 years in architecture; it embodies all
that I have
learned in the quest of making the workplace
a human place
to be. It is my Cathedral to the creative human
spirit. It is my THERE. And, of course,
I bring as much of this There back to Here every
project I build. Xanadu is the standard of my
personal feedback system - the measure by
which I judge my work. |
| As
such, Xanadu poses a number of technical challenges.
Xanadu is possible to build but it is not possible
to build today. Almost always, great buildings
involve significant innovation. This is not,
in itself, a criteria. It is just that new concepts
often require new means; in addition, the energy
of innovation can propel the creative processes
required
to complete a true work of ART where
the detail and level of integration required
is particularly
demanding. Some classes of buildings, given their
mission, do make innovation, per se, an integral
aspect of what they are. Speranova [link] is
one such concept. Xanadu [link] another.
The concept of Xanadu pushes the state-of-the-art
in every domain: structure, materials, finishes,
glazing, mechanical systems, electrical, vertical
and horizontal people movers, landscape integration
and food production, energy management systems,
embedded human augmentation technology, smart
building systems, cleaning and repair technologies
and processes, and project management methods.
The economy of Xanadu will be significantly different
than the basis by which buildings are built and
managed today. The management processes that
support the Xanadu enterprise will have to be
equally innovative. |
| All
of these innovations have intrinsic value and
they are worth doing for the spin-off technology
transfers that will occur. However, it is the
synergy [link] of
these, in a single integrated environment, that
is the most significant aspect of the project.
The relationship [link] between
Xanadu and the occupants of the environment will
be like no other on Earth. |
| There
are antecedents to
Xanadu in my architectural work. These works
have many aspects of the future that is yet to
come. No doubt, there will be many more on
the road to Xanadu. Prior concepts of note are: |
A
miniature world that explores
the idea of permutable skin over
a spherical
living space. A vertical core
element supports cantilevered
platforms for working and sleeping.
A greenhouse is integrated for
food growing, preparation and
eating. Nature in a building.
[link]
|
A
re-creation environment for the
growing, preparation of food
and sharing it in a community
context or ritual and celebration.
[link] |
A
cluster of domes and hexagonal
spaces, platforms and vertical
elements - a very small scale
version of Xanadu to be built
out of prefabricated
components and assembled on site.
The RDS version
to move from site-to-site in
support
of collaborative processes [link].
[link]
[link] |
This
design questions the economics
of the individual home, in many
circumstances, by combining cooperative
living with private
spaces - co-housing it would
be called today. Private residences,
community facilities, greenhouse
and recreation all housed in
an
energy efficient sphere.
[link] |
Each
of the cantilevered suites of
Xanadu are about the size and
composition
of this environment. The functionality
is much the same. So is the idea
of shaping the suite to the exact
condition of the site and the
viewpoint desired. In addition,
the Xanadu concept calls for
many clusters of Bay Area Studio
type structures of various sizes
scattered around the site.
[link] |
|
|
| These
works are prior art in some respects although
Xanadu as an idea came years before I conceived
any of them. At the time (1958) it was a visual
concept,
driven by some unusual circumstances
[link].
I did not have a purpose for the idea - just
a burning vision of a “city” stimulated
by Coleridge’s
poem. These 67 words are, to me, some of the
most provocative [link] in
the English literature. |
| To
think that Coleridge was interrupted out of
his writing trance by the delivery of a package!
I wonder what we lost in that simple transaction. |
| No,
I had this idea and, over time, the pieces filled
in in the form of the projects profiled above
and as the accumulation of 25 years of making
workplaces based on a different way [link] of working. When it all fell together it did
so
with the kind of finality that only something
that
is right and complete can bring. I also realized
that the problem created by the concept
was immense - a challenge worth a total investment. |
| Most
of the technical problems associated with Xanadu
will be solved on the way to the project getting
started. And, because of bringing There to
Here,
everyday, much of Xanadu-ness will be built in
as appropriate in earlier works. Certainly, a
big part of the global NavCenter ValueWeb network
will be in place by the time Xanadu is built.
However, there are some things that will not
be possible until the full scale is realized.
In the mean time there will be models, plans,
engineering to keep advancing the idea. |
|
Matt
Taylor
Palo
Alto
August 23, 2001
Salt
Lake City
May 12, 2003
SolutionBox
voice of this document:
VISION • STRATEGY • SCHEMATIC
|
|
posted:
August 23, 2001
revised:
March 26, 2005
• 20010823.255151.mt • 20030512.993406.mt •
• 20050213.558100.mt •
20050326.451009.mt •
note:
this document is about 65% finished
Copyright© Matt
Taylor 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
Certain
aspects described are Patented and Patent Pending by
iterations
IP
Statement and Policy
The
Xanadu Program is based on:
• THE KNOWLEDGE FACTORY 1986 • THE
IC FACTORY 1998 •
|
|
|
