Modular Reality

Don't be surprised if you find yourself doing a double-take if you should be driving on the Adelaide overpass in downtown Toronto. That science-fictionish cubic structure elevating above the roadway is not part of some movie set. It is real. And it is here to stay.

In what promises to create a stir among devotees of traditional architecture, the modular space structure is a project devised by Unitri Technologies. Multitechture Inc., the environmental events producer in the pilot structure, says that the Sumach Street project is a prototype application of a manifestation of the Global Village concept, representing a convergence of the philosophies of Buckminster Fuller, Moshe Safdie and Marshall McLuhan. Using the Internet as a metaphor, each one of these modules could act as a single nodal point with other such structures around the world and all wired together by a series of video, audio, ISDN and Internet links. In doing so, they hope to begin creating global virtual communities in a shared physical space, an attempt at taking the sensibilities of a cyberspace community and putting it back onto the ground, as an "infostructure" or "Unitriosk" (tri-dimensional, overhead signstructure and kiosk).

Inside, you'll find living multimedia. Within a comfortable open-space concept, the walls can become video projection screens, as do the outside of the cube roofs. On modules would be projections of your favourite web site, a video clip of a local artist, or a live rendering of a new artwork developed by some computer graphics whiz. The entrance space can act as a kind of ATM lobby or "interspace."

The cubic modules at the top serve an aesthetic, practical and philosophical purpose. Not just interesting structures which are fascinating to look at, the cubes are sectioned off inside into three floors of varying floors spaces which can be used as studio suite, "electronic cottage", a platform for place-based multimedia (a condo project with a similar architectural design already exists in Roterdam), or for a variety of other activities from media labs to teleports.

This first pilot project is to become a community centre where art, technology, culture and environment can connect into innovative new forms. This could include demos and exhibit spaces from both real and virtual presentations, or a "cybersalon" linked to other sites around the world. As a meeting palce for arts and technology, the Unitriosk is a new building archetype -- an information highway Serverstation where people of different disciplines can meet. This could involve everyone from Internet service providers to students to developers of high-end computer graphics hardware and software, to the plain ol' curious.

Multitechture Inc., in collaboration with CyberStage, invites the community to get involved and participate in programming content and events for this new "interspace". If you would like to know more about the project or suggest applications, get in touch with CyberStage.