A place in the digital community: designing for the internet era

This investigation is prompted by the effects of digital communication on public and civic space in the United States. As individuals and groups increasingly interact via virtual or digital media the meaning and purpose of centrally civic and traditional building types such as town halls, museums, and libraries are being questioned. This thesis asks the question: if all communication, information, and cultural exchanges can occur without physical interaction, what is the nature of the public realm and the architecture that gives it form and space? This question has been examined through the research and design of a Digital Library, with a majority of the answers coming in the design phase of the project. The response to this has been less about the NEED for a digital library, focusing instead on the inherent need, regardless of technological advances, of the basic human desire to occupy culturally and physically constructed space. Perhaps one of the greatest ironies of American culture is that while digital communities have increased exponentially during the past two decades, so too has the construction of such building and landscape types as convention centers, entertainment complexes, and public parks. Once, cultural critics were convinced that television would kill the motion picture and radio industries and video technology would make the need for movie theaters defunct. Today Blockbuster Video and cinema chains are working in tandem. Moreover, there may be more civic centers, convention centers, and entertainment "plexes" today than at any time in history. The difference is not that these building types were eradicated, but rather their form, configuration, and location has changed. This thesis takes the oxymoronic position that one day there will be the NEED for a digital library - not for reasons of technology, but of human culture.