digitalSTRUCTURES | DesignTO 2023

Based on elements from the book ‘digitalSTRUCTURES’, this exhibition design debuted at DesignTO 2023 in Toronto, Canada. Using a mixed-media and storytelling approach, this exhibition couples a novel exploration of XR (mixed-reality) and WebAR (web-based augmented reality) into a physical gallery and storefront design based on several parts of the book. The storefront windows had AR elements that are activated by visitors that enabled them to bring animation and dynamic effects of the physical 3D models into their devices.

‘digitalSTRUCTURES: Data and Urban Strategies of the Civic Future’ engages with digital property and data infrastructures, and explores new modes and impacts of data collection affecting architecture, urban infrastructure, and supply chains.

Digital currencies (cryptocurrencies) and digital property require large amounts of land, resources, and data centers and infrastructures to store these “supplies”. There is a larger architectural and urban infrastructural challenge and urgency on how these various kinds of digital exchanges are mediated, to limit the detrimental use of our everyday resources.

To advance the dialogue of exhibition and book design, the ambition of ‘digitalSTRUCTURES’ is to prolong the shelf-life of emergent data and case-studies on the topic. The author’s talk discussed how the book is complemented with an open-access digital platform for readers to access video interviews with the industry experts, diagrammatic mapping and graphical cartography, and 3D artifacts that shows how data interacts with phygital properties.

Digitalstructures: Data and Urban Strategies of the Civic Future explores contemporary issues surrounding how Western and Eastern countries define the future of work and urban living. The research will explore what it will look like in the post-COVID-19 digital era, pertaining to data structures, urban strategies, and civic planning for the cities of our future. An in-depth exploration of graphical mapping and cartography, and how data interacts with various open innovation models in digital property and real property will be key. Developmental topics that explore broader topics hitting humanities and social sciences and engage with interdisciplinary and cross-cultural topics that question policy challenges facing “democracies” in the 21st century will be the focus

What are the ecological footprints of digital files, storage, and data infrastructure?
How much hard does storing and hoarding ‘digital property’ really cost?
And, who is responsible for and really affected by these circumstances?

Team Credits
Design Direction & Provocations by Wendy W Fok

Graphic & Research Assistants:
Editorial Assistant: Jessica Marquez (Digital & Print)
Research Assistants: Rachel Pendleton, Yarzar Hlaing, JJ Jin, Isabelle ‘Iza’ Dabrowski, Thomas Wang

Digital Content & WebAR R&D Team
3D Content Creative Direction: Wendy W Fok
WebAR Coordinator: Lucy Liu
Research Assistant: Juan Villatoro

Cover Design
Hyun Jung Ahn

Language & Copy Editor
Irina T. Oryshkevich

Publisher & Publisher Team
Jake Anderson
Gordon Goff, ORO Editions

Production & Model Making Team
Wendy W Fok, Lucy Liu, JJ Jin, Tawfiq Othman, Bowen Xiong, Kelly Seo, Hyunah Roh, Rachel Wiggins, Danny Yoo, Nick Marker

Awards & Support (Grants)
Architizer Vision Awards – Architect Creator of the Year 2023
A+D Museum Awards 2023 – Book Design & Interactive Design Categories
Architectural League of New York & NYSCA 2023
Ford Foundation & MacDowell Fellowship 2022

ClientDesignTO 2023; CityX Venice, La Biennale di Venezia 2021LocationToronto, Canada; Venice, Italy; Virtual Year2023/2021StatusWork in Progress