Cluster Purpose
This research cluster aims to bring new spatial ideas into design and to develop a cross-disciplinary community of designers and experts in aspects of spatiality from other disciplines. The notion of space, and its applications in both Art and Science, extends far beyond the two- and three-dimensional properties of Euclidean space which have always been – and remain – important for product design and graphic design, for example. There are now new and exciting ways of thinking spatially about cognition [9], of understanding spatial metaphor in language, of exploring information spatially (cyberspace) [6], of visualizing design space [2], of reasoning with qualitative spatial relations (alongside, near, part-of, etc), of formalizing aesthetic knowledge [5], of understanding architecture [8], of exploring film spatially [1], of using space in art [7], of dealing with spatial information that is vague, uncertain, granular [10, 11, 12], fuzzy etc, etc. All these have much to offer design in terms of individual concepts and techniques which have yet to be applied, or adapted, to specific challenges.
The potential of these diverse developments lies not only in their individual applications, but also in their collective function within a nascent discipline of spatiality, acting as an organizing principle, drawing together and stimulating interaction between the many aspects of design. Our cluster will use spatiality to promote connections and challenge perceived relationships between the various disciplines which engage with design. By focussing on common spatial concepts across different domains, the cluster will generate effective cross-discipline collaborations and the innovative reworking of methods and ideas.
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