Kengo Kuma, Tea room building as a critical act

• the construction of the building out of paper is a critique of human spaces and the effect of these spaces on human interaction and condition
  • tea space is built according to the scale of a human (rather than scale of a car, etc..)
  • a notion of temporality, social arrangement, and ritual are in mind when tea houses are constructed
  • material dimensions of tea house connect to the context it is situated in (i.e. natural surroundings)
• How has this aesthetic been translated from exteriors to modern interiors?
  •  make buildings harmonize with their environments, even when those environments aren’t always natural
  • the construction of an artificial garden might be reflected in the tea shelter that it is constructed within
  • might use natural outside light as a means of lighting the minimalist interior surroundings
  • the material of wood is helps construct a warm aesthetic (particularly when paired with incoming natural light)
    • opposed to cold color of concrete
  • use of glass to pull the outside in (in a natural, bucolic setting)
    • achieving a natural aesthetic instead of paneling with wood
  • tea house geometry is incorporated throughout interior design
    when you do design, you intentional intervene in the world to make it a better place and as you engage in any type of design you are acting as a critic
• when you do design, you intentionally intervene in the world to make it a better place and as you engage in any type of design you are acting as a critic
  • to design is to critique

Experience design: is it a change in title, or is it an underlying change in methodology?

Interesting shift in the history of Western philosophy
(in medias res)

•  Nietzsche declared “god is dead”
  • what he did not mean: there was once a god and it died
  • what he meant: there never was a god and we’re finally acknowledging it as a civilization
    • if it is the case  that god is dead, then what is the foundation of philosophy?
• Anselm declared “I believe in order to understand”
  • thus, believing in god was the grounds of scientific reasoning
  • Nietzche’s statement completely upends this perspective
• Camus and the idea of the “absurd”
  • no god and no purpose for our existence and everything that tells us what we should and shouldn’t do no longer holds any weight
  • in this world, can we live ethically
  • can their be an atheist saint?
• In HCI, we are the Camus
  • HCI historically has been a rationalist field
  • many movements over the past several years have rejected this perspective (e.g. McCarthy & Wright)
• Rationalism 101
  • separation of the mind and body (mind-body dualism)
  • Mind = thinking & knowing
    • truth | understanding | intention
    • abstract symbolic representations & systems of truth (e.g. Nielsen’s heuristic)
    • think first (i.e. form an intention) and then we act
  • Body = material things in the world
    • acting | bodies | the world

Take home question: If god were to come up with a usability framework, what would it look like?