The Bartlett
B-Pro Show 2021
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Reclaiming Data Infrastructures

Project details

Programme
Research Cluster RC19

The hardware infrastructure needed to support the contemporary media ecologies has a vast material impact on our environment. These material manifestations can be seen in various stages in the lifecycle of digital technology: from extraction of raw materials, transportation and production, to energy needed to operate networks and data centres, to disposal and e-waste. Data centres are essential infrastructures enabling media ecologies, and often owned by tech companies. They are used platform economies that use data to extract value from local markets. They are often housed in anonymous architectural structures isolated from their direct surroundings and the communities that live there. The reclaiming data centres project proposes a more beneficial relationship data centres, local urban environments and communities. We looked at three platform economy services – uber drivers, food production and delivery, online dating and sex workers - and envisioned how these communities would reclaim three data centres within Los Angeles. The project was designed through web scraping, ripping models of exiting data centres and their environments and remixing them through mixing different models together (kitbashing).

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Hybrid Data Centres

Hybrid Data Centres

Compression as Material Manifestation of Media Ecologies

Contemporary media ecologies are enabled through vast material infrastructures: the production, maintenance and disposal of this hardware layer have a substantial and long lasting environmental impact.

Los Angeles as Experimental Design Site

Los Angeles as Experimental Design Site

We chose three sites in LA: Evocative Data Centre; Coresite Data Center; Equinix Data Center to match three communities: driver; virtual lovers and delivery people.

The New Normal of Working

We identified three possible scenarios of working in a highly automated future: jobs that are replaced, transformed by automation and new emerging jobs.

Catalogue of Machine Vision

We propose specific design methods which are based on our research into Visual Cultures of Compression: Shanzhai culture, kitbashing, filesharing, facking, and D.I.Y.

Sections of Three Communities

Sections of Three Communities

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Visualising Database of The Three

Visualising Database of The Three

Experiment Overview

We conducted an extensive number of experiments, including: point cloud scanning, image cloud processing, spatial prototype research, style transfer and model bashing.

Keywords for Searching

Keywords for Searching

The searching platform shows the sources communities could use to create a common keyword database.

Object Detection of Delivery Community

Object Detection of Delivery Community

The operation, zoning and materiality of or design project was inspired from data collected on communities through web scraping and object detection.

Object Detection of Uber Driver Community

Object Detection of Uber Driver Community

Object Detection of Simulative Lover Community

Object Detection of Simulative Lover Community

03

Future Data Infrastructures: Built For Different Communities

Future Data Infrastructures: Built For Different Communities

Speculation On Future Data Infrastructures

We regard the three designed data centres as experimental prototypes for alternative future data infrastructures, where local communities will be linked in a decentralised networks.

Delivery Community Data Centre

Delivery Community Data Centre

Includes several additions: heat exchange facilities, gathering place of delivery man and robots, urban farm and urban ranch.

Uber Driver Community

Uber Driver Community

This data centre is reclaimed by adding: a car restaurant, living areas, car parts manufacturing, server infrastructure and automobile culture exhibition and show rooms.

Virtual Lover Community

Virtual Lover Community

This data centre is reclaimed by adding physical and simulated dating places.

Overall Video

Overall Video

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The Bartlett
B-Pro Show 2021
30 October – November 13
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