What does it mean to ‘manage’ space and time, as opposed to living in space and time? As a precondition for the ‘human condition’ of today, we need to reassert the following assumptions: that space and time are only managed – like everything else since the market has conquered every niche of human existence – and no longer lived. To live in space and time is also an unavoidable premise that begs the question if we are human at all. Or more precisely: what is this ‘human condition’ up to now?

Irrespective if we are consciously aware of it, we have all been living in managed spaces that encompass ‘natural’ refuges and new spaces of sociality provided for by diverse spatialities. Our aim is to establish a dialogue on the relations between management and space, their mental backgrounds in terms of the history of ideas and outcomes in terms of spatial practice. This could manifest in ways related to urban environments, city planning, conceptualizations of public space and the emergent phenomena encompassing hybrids of ‘old’ physical spaces with ‘new’ social ones. New formulation of the ‘human condition’ such as man-machine interfaces, world perception and mythologies need to be reconsidered, especially through the proliferation of global online platforms such as social media that influence the concepts of hybrid cities, smart city applications and gamification of historical contents within the cityscape.

What is lacking so far is a synopsis of these different topics, now dispersed among different fields of research, and disciplines; and in-depth investigation into their mental background in terms of a history of ideas and practical outcomes. This symposium serves as a cooperation of ideas and practice in which we visualize such ideal spaces through various “artifacts” related to management and space. These artifacts in all its potential manifestations will showcase an evolution of various formats comprising of functionality, origins and characteristics in order to deepen our understanding of what the new human condition might entail. With this, we hope to create a symposium that would be interactive, integrate experiential insights with technologies and incorporate trans-medial and storytelling platforms, so that a collaborative authoring process will emerge.

Personal Statement: Please submit a personal statement of not more than 300 words, or in other formats such as images, film music, to info[at]idealspaces.org.The intent of this submission is to deviate from the traditional abstract, ie. the purpose is not to prove your eligibility, but to facilitate your involvement within the focus of the symposium. Hence, please feel free to be as creative as you deem fit.

Ideal Spaces Working Group

  • Ulrich Gehmann: Editor-in-Chief of New Frontiers in Spatial Concepts1 KIT; head of working group Formatting of Social Spaces, KIT (University of Karlsruhe, Dep. of History), Karlsruhe/Germany
  • Matthias Wölfel: Professor in Interactive Media, Furtwangen University, Furtwangen/Germany
  • Desmond Wee: Professor of Tourism Sciences and Spatial Theories, Karlshochschule International University, Karlsruhe/Germany
  • Michael Johansson, Associate Professor for Design and Computer Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad/Sweden
  • Martin Reiche, Media Artist and Independent Researcher, Berlin/Germany
  • Marco Zampella: Lecturer of Multimedia, 3D, and film, University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe (HfG), Karlsruhe/Germany
  • Katerina Diamantaki: Researcher of Communication & Media, Open University of Cyprus, Larnaka/Cyprus
  • 1. http://ejournal.uvka.de/spatialconcepts/