Proceedings of the International Conference ‘Between Data and Senses; Architecture, Neuroscience and the Digital Worlds’.

The cross-over between the digital and the physical is being increasingly addressed in design disciplines, architecture, arts and urban studies. Artists and designers increasingly make use of hard data to interpret the world and/or create meaningful and sensuous environments or design objects. Architects attempt to measure neurophysiological data to understand better the human experience in spaces. Designers script parametric processes to translate data into responsive, meaningful and/or aesthetically intriguing installations. Scientists and architects/ artists/ designers collaborate to visualise data in new and creative ways so as to trigger and reveal further connections, interpretations and readings. Practices such as the above attempt to break down the dichotomy between data and the sensuous (or else the digital and the physical). They translate elusive, ephemeral and intangible aspects of a place into solid data. In other instances the solid data are interpreted and represented in a way so as to be perceived by the different senses and/or experienced in a different manner. In this context, methods and conceptual frameworks of different disciplines need to engage in a dialogue; and through these cross-disciplinary practices, new strategies and processes emerge. This publication aims to present collaborative projects, where methods from more than one discipline are involved. This publication also addresses how collaborators from different disciplines can work together to deal with current design and social issues.

Conference link: https://www.uel.ac.uk/Events/2017/March/Between-data-and-senses for a conference that took place at UEL on 23-24 March 2017, London. The conference was organised by UEL; supported by RIBA, ARUP and the Museum of Architecture.