Contextually; architecture involves itself with the reality we live in but games involve themselves with the reality we wish we could live in

It has been ages since I have posted anything, I suppose its going to be like this now for a while. I've just finished working in an architecture practice (as an intern) in Amsterdam, and am now dedicating some time to making a game level of my own. (I will post images and process later). I have never done this before, so its very exciting but I hope the blog will act as some sort of driving force behind me as it seems relevant. I've been getting into UDK and in retrospect, compared to the Hammer tool it offers more.

I also realize many of my posts have been very lengthy and hard to read, this is partly due to the fact that my brain talks faster then my hands and I'm really just trying to get ideas down. I will make an effort to make them concise and re-edit them as I am actually convinced the themes covered in this blog are very relevant and timely to where both professions of architecture and game development are heading, I also think we will see a lot of convergence in the future as our interactive media develops in relation to spaces we deal with in reality and I'm talking more then just the wii.

This is largely because the virtual realm fulfills spatial needs and desires reality cannot and should not. Fantastical structures and spatial environments that aren't sustainable and damage the conurbations and ecology of our earth should not be built. Yet as human beings, our minds kind of shoot of and detach from the contexts of our immediate environments creating visions of fantastical and wonderful spaces that only beer a small amount of relevance to real environments, in that they were thought of in real environments by us. Yet, today we realize we are often disregarding the well being of our environments and that this is becoming more and more of an apparent problem. 

Architecture has taken it upon itself, and rightfully so, trying to create a more sustainable means to inhabit the earth. Yet, we would be lying if we wouldn't be saying that at the same time, it is shutting down paths of creativity and potential spaces that although are in conflict with our environment offer amazing prospects in other ways.  Why else does our era have so much escapism that can be clearly seen in the amount of hours and money we spend in video game environments as a species. 

That is not to say, in trying to achieve Eco-friendly spaces, we are not opening doors to other creative paths.That is true as well, but at the same time we close creative opportunities that don't necessarily need to be closed...

The point is, in the virtual realm such compromises do not have to be made because in virtual realms, we deal with environments that have no ecological relevance to the physical ones. Yet, if there is some sort of way to converge both realities and create ubiquitous spaces, perhaps we can take the best of both worlds and discover even greater poetry in buildings. 

Currently we still perceive video game environments as video game environments and real spaces as buildings. What I experienced in practise is the poetry of our architecture being bogged down by the nature of real spaces, dealing with the municipality, trying to achieve Eco-friendly buildings is a great cause, but it angers me to see great ideas trashed or concepts translated into pieces of shit, why should we compromise if we can collaborate?

Ideas start of as concepts and have no tangibility or relevance to our environments, as soon as an architect thinks of occupancy that is when the idea becomes architectural and contexts begin to matter. Yet our feelings and emotions in relation to spaces are immaterial, it is only our bodies that need to be there in the physical spaces. 

                                                       image of the new google glasses

Let me make this very clear, I am not saying that in taking full consideration of a spaces impact on the environment you cannot achieve amazing poetry in buildings. I am just saying that as the profession develops we are adding rules, today, we see many rules pertaining to building laws that limit what architects can do on some aspects in consideration of offering environmentally friendly homes.

I don't think we are there yet, but sooner or later and as technology continues to develop, perhaps the virtual realm can take some of the heat and carry some of the design intent just as much as the physicality and mass of built spaces, that we begin to get some sort of hybrid buildings where multiple disciplines work together to create truly fantastical spaces that can achieve wonders.