2. 1 INTRODUCTION: Informational Society dual existence dynamics
The confusing times we are living in, create fields of opportunities to analyze and generate new forms of organization and
communication which will lack the perversion caused by prosperity inertia. It is now time to define the future with optimism
analyzing its possibilities and formulas. Such formulas should take in account the new roles of space and time that generate the
new human experience of living in the Informational Society (1).
This human experience is related to two parallel, coexisting and interrelated dimensions: Local and Global. These dimensions
interrelate by the dynamics of Settlement and Movement (2). They set the rules of relation of all the parameters in which human
being is exposed when experiencing life: space, social relations, economy, raw material, state of existence, cognition, satisfaction
and time. Even though these parameters could be experienced through Settlement and Movement; human beings of the
informational age are challenged of experiencing both at the same time. For example when experiencing ‘time’, the informational
human being is expected to deal with his biological tempo (organizing concupiscent actions of sleep, eat, human relations…) while,
at the same time; being constantly updated and moving for new sources of information that will keep him ‘on the run’ of a timeless
world. Then, people experience time in both dimensions at the same time: biological time (settlement dynamic) and timeless time
(movement dynamic). However, time is only one of the dual experienced parameters that set the living pattern of the Informational
Society (figure 1). These parameters are not equally influential on the society; some parameters are more relevant than others.
Economy, Space and States of Existence are more influential on today’s living experience.
Figure 1: Informational Society Dynamics
(1) Castells (2010): ‘We live in confusing times, as is often the case in periods of historical transition between different forms of society (…) All major social changes
are ultimately characterized by a transformation of space and time in the human experience. (…) Space is a concept constructed on the basis of experience’ (The
Rise of the Network society, Preface xvii)
(2) Settlement represents the place shaping as Zukin (1993) states: ‘Place in this sense is a form of local society rendered so special by economy and demography
that it instantly conjures an image.’ (P.12) while Movement represents the market shape, also considering Zukin (1993): ‘ Markets represent free movement and
impersonal judgment’ (P.5)
3. 1.1 Economy
Economy is relevant because it transforms production into a global process which directly affects society (3). This transformation
splits the production into two actions: execution (Labor) and decision making (Capital) which function following the previously
stated dynamics: Settlement and Movement. On one hand, Labor; is based on specific Places that elaborate the product by using
skills. On the other, Capital; is based on financial Market by producing value making using information (4). While Capital is
controlled by the Global elites linked in influential Networks of western society, Labor is executed by the lower scales of society in
Eastern countries (5) (6).
1.2 Space
Space is relevant because is the setting of human activity. This setting is also segregated into dual experienced dimensions: Space
of Places (Vernacular settlements dynamic) and the Space of Flows (Moving Landscapes dynamic). While Places are related to the
vernacular everyday life and therefore to the human experience lived in Local scale (7); Flows are related to domination and power
which is projected Global (8). This setting differentiation drifts apart Human Experience from Power and therefore, Meaning from
the Knowledge. This segregation creates a gap on communication between the different social forms since they do not share
cultural codes and neither can reach each other to solve the difference since they belong to separated social dimensions (9).
Furthermore, those codes and symbols are controlled by the elite using and distributing information through the linked World (10).
1.3 State of existence
State of Existence is relevant because it sets the perception of human experience. If the previous influential parameters had dual
differentiated and coexisting dimensions; the perception of human existence brings them together by setting the codes that
organize the Informational Society. Before sharing information through the Net, the symbols which organized the human
communication codes were based on Reality. The real perception of things and experiencing them through physical time and space
didn’t let possibilities to multiple perceptions; then, a homogeneous and unique perception was experienced. With Internet,
multiple codes are created and spread out globally through the Net transforming the scenario of perception into a confused state of
Existence. The hyper multiplicity of codes, naturally forces people to design a collage of images in their minds in order to perceive
the new reality. This extremely heterogeneous perception of Existence, naturally leads to validate the most shared code as the ‘true
symbol’. This informational imaginary patchwork replaces the real perception code since the Virtual is the ‘most shared code’ of
globality. In other words, the virtual symbols are the new code that influences daily life changing the perception of human
experience. Therefore, in the Informational Society, the state of existence is Virtual based affecting and recoding the physical
human experience (reality). Then, the human experience perception is Real Virtuality (11).
(3) Castells (1996): ‘Work and employment have been transformed. (…) The process of work is at the core of social structure.’ (…) ‘The transformation of labor and of
production relationships is the main lever by which the process of globalization affects society.’
(4) Castells (1996): ‘The global economy as an economy whose core components have the institutional, organizational, and technological capacity to work as a unit
in real time, or in chosen time, on planetary scale.’ (P.102)
(5) Castells (1996).
(6) Zukin (1993): ‘Economic power predominates over both the state and the vernacular culture.’ (P.19)
(7) Castells (1996): ‘A place is a locale whose form, function, and meaning are self‐contained within the boundaries of physical contiguity.’ (P.453) (…) ‘as time
becomes more flexible, places become more singular’. (P.428)
(8) Castells (1996): ‘Flows are not just one element of social organization: they are the expression of processes dominating our economic, political, and symbolic life.
(…) The space of flows is the material organization of time‐sharing social practices that work through flows. (…) The first layer, the first material support of the space
of flows, is actually constituted by a circuit of electronic exchanges. (…) The second layer of the space of flows is constituted by nodes or hubs. (…) The
characteristics of nodes are dependent upon the type of function performed by a given network. (…) The third important layer of the space of flows refers to the
spatial organization of the dominant, managerial elites (…) such domination is not purely structural. It is enacted, indeed conceived, decided, and implemented by
social actors. (…) Space plays an important role on this mechanism.’ (P.442‐445)
(9) Castells (1996): ‘Thus people do still live in places. But because function and power in our societies are organized in the space of flows, the structural domination
of its logic essentially alters the meaning and dynamic of places. Experience, by being related to places, becomes abstracted from power, and meaning is
increasingly separated from knowledge. There follows a structural schizophrenia between two spatial logics that threaten to break down communication channels
in society. The dominant tendency is toward a horizon of networked, ahistorical space of flows, aiming at imposing its logic over scattered, segmented places,
increasingly unrelated to each other, less and less able to share cultural codes. Unless cultural, political, and physical bridges are deliberately built between these two
forms of space, we may be heading toward life in parallel universes whose times cannot meet because they are wrapped into different dimensions of social
hyperspace.’ (P.458‐459)
(10) Castells (1996): ‘as opposition with the vernacular implies, powerful institutions have pre‐eminent capacity to impose their view on the landscape weakening,
reshaping and displacing the view from the vernacular.’ (P.16)
(11) Castells (1996): ‘Cultures are made up of communication processes.’ (…) ’Thus there is no separation between ‘reality’ and symbolic representation.’ (…) ‘Thus
reality as experience has always been virtual because it is always perceived through symbols that frame practice with some meaning that escapes their strict
semantic definition.’ (…) ‘In a sense, all reality is virtually perceived.’ (…) ‘Real virtuality it is a system in which reality itself (that is, people’s material/symbolic ………...
5. Far away from adventuring to sense the light after the tunnel, a general analysis could be made by studying time‐space models that,
even being part of the Informational Society, have overcome the devastated effects of the Worldwide crisis. These surviving
examples must be segregated into the three scales of experiencing the new reality: city, daily life and people. These scales
represent the three dimensions of the living experience to all extends of human action from individual to community. Those models
will contribute to show common treats in every scale to define every space of excellence. Those are the spaces that combine better
the two experience dimensions of Human Informational Society: Space of Flows & Space of Places (19), Landscape & Vernacular
(20)... These treats combined with all scales of human experience, will define the characteristics of the Environment for Excellence
in order to overcome with the present situation with optimism.
2 ISSUE DEFINITION Searching in Liminarity: spaces combining prosperity and commodity (21)
With an unemployment rate of over 20% in countries such as Spain (22), one considers if there are spaces to be; spaces where
opportunities arise when work and talent are combined while still experiencing quality of life. This ideal would be described by
Castells as the space where Flows and Places meet through creative destruction and Zuskin would confirm by bringing together
Landscape and Vernacular through the landscaping mediation (23). However, despite all the good theory (which is good practice
(24)); a question is worth to consider: is it possible to define how this ideal environment is?
Even from the threat of being considered naïve, and understanding that the spaces of flow are organized in clusters; this paper
pretends to give specific characteristics of the ideal general environment by analyzing the scales of human experience in Real
Virtuality: city, daily life and people. Then, the city scale analysis will describe the characteristics of the Landscape of excellence
while daily life will draw the aspects of Place of Flows and finally, people, will show the Attitudes needed to mediate between them.
In order to obtain the treats of those parameters; examples of cities and organizations which are globally influential to the
Informational society but yet tangent to the vernacular, will be analyzed extracting their tangible and intangible characteristics.
These cities and organizations combine both dimensions of human experience in all its parameters to extract common treats that
would define the sweet spot of the Environment of Excellence (25).
2.1 CITY‐ A research on Landscape of excellence
The Landscape of excellence research is based on high livability metropolitan cities of 2010 since they bring together opportunities
and quality of life despite the crisis. In order to extract the characteristics from real metropolis, the top ten ‘best’ cities will be
analyzed for being the most probable existing example of containing both dimensions of Space since they are an influential node of
the Informational Society Network but still have high quality of life levels (26). According to the Economist Intelligent Survey of
2010, the top ten cities on livability are: Vancouver, Melbourne, Vienna, Toronto, Calgary, Helsinki, Sidney, Perth, Adelaide and
Auckland. When deconstructing the space‐time formula of these cities, certain common treats can be found (figure 3).
(19) Castells (1996): ‘In short: elites are cosmopolitan, people are local. The space of power and wealth is projected throughout the world, while people’s life and
experience is rooted in places, in their culture, in their history.’ (P446) (…)
‘The space of flows does not permeate down to the whole realm of human experience in the network society. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of people, in
advanced and traditional societies alike, live in places, and so they perceive their space as place‐based.’ (P.453)
(20) Zukin (1993): ‘(…) landscape mediates, both symbolically and materially between the socio‐spacial differentiation of capital implied by markets and the socio‐
spatial homogeneity of labor suggested by place. (P.16)
(21) Zukin (1993): ‘liminal experience of the market is broadened so that new urban spaces are formed, permeated, and defined by liminrity. All such spaces stand
betwixt and between institutions, especially the scared sphere of culture and secular world of commerce.’ (…) ‘Heavily influenced by market norms, luminal spaces
no longer offer an opportunity for the kind of creative destruction Turnes describes.’ (…) ‘Architects confront conditions in a new market culture quite similar to
those that have challenged the autonomy of traditional manufacturers; abstraction of value from material products to images and symbols’ (P.41)
(22) www.elpais.com August 2010
(23) Zukin (1993): ‘I sought for my own work an overarching concept that conveys a sense of both disruption and integration in the world economy. Such a concept
must embrace material practices as well as aesthetic forms, underlining the convergence between economic structure and cultural project, representing the
experience of all social classes without mistaking the basic asymmetry of economic power.’ (P. 22)
(24) Karl Marx ‘Nothing as practical as a good theory’
(25) Considering all the parameters specified in the diagram of figure 1, the dimensions which will be bring together are: Virtual&Real, Movement&Settlement,
Capital&Labor, Market&Place, Flow&Places, Landscape&Vernacular, Information&Knowledge, Timeless time&Bio time, Opportunities&Quality of life,
Strategic&Natural and finally, Global&Local.
(26) Considering the crisis situation started on the western system, major city’s example will be taken from the top ten ‘best’ cities in the world for westerns to live
according to the Economist Intelligence survey (EIU) 2010.
6.
Figure 3: Major city data
Some communalities are worth to mention and study in further research since 80% of these major cities are English speaking cities
based on a large extension of water (sea or lake) with temperate climate and access to the mountains in less than 6 hour driving.
Despite they vary considerably in size (since it depends on physical specific configuration), population and density could be
considered in detail. On one hand, the population varies from 1,1million to 5,6million of inhabitants, drawing an average of 2,5
millions population. This average should be carefully considered since it differs much from Pratt’s Creative City population
recommendation which sets the sweet spot of population between 70.000 and 1,2 million (27). Secondly, population density varies
from 300/km2 to 5.300/km2, contrasting much from densities of cities like Paris which is over 20.800/km2. Then, even though
density rates differ, the average of 2.200 inhabitants per km2, still sets a differentiation within the global rate of city density.
These aspects are Real characteristics which are also reflected into the attractive images spread by the Virtual. If taking the most
global tool for image search of the network: Google, and picking an image from the first page, surprising similarities are also
discovered. Most city images show the water based setting, high buildings and leisure activities. Only Vienna is out of this pattern
showing historic buildings, gardens, shopping and chocolate. This differentiation between the promotion aspects of Vienna () and
the rest of the high livability cities, prove that certain physical settings are easier to code into an Informational attractive image of
quality without using consumption neither gentrification nor aggressive city marketing. This fact also set the patterns of the
Landscape of Excellence.
Even though these cities are distributed along the globe, they share certain values extracted from Reality which are also
communicating through Information designing a virtual image code. These values are the tangible and intangible ingredients that
add value to the landscape of excellence; however they should be used carefully since they do not describe any specific city. Then,
the Landscape of Excellence could be resumed to be an English speaking Metropolis which is water based (sea or lake), has
temperate climate, access to the mountains, density population of 2.200inhabitants/km2 and an image that combines work and
leisure. An endless question could be thrown asking what comes first: the city image or city marketing; however it is not relevant in
this case since both dimensions mediate to agree on quality when bringing together knowledge and meaning.
2.2 Daily Life‐ A research on Place of Flows
The ‘Place of Flows’ research is based on a specific company which organizes Information globally through the Network: Google.
This organization has been chosen for several reasons. First, their philosophy breaks out the boundaries of work and life merging
them together into one dimension. This makes the organization be a good example to extract the aspects that bring together the
dimensions of our daily life: work and family. Secondly, it uses information as raw material distributing it globally by innovating in
communication when designing tools that code our reality into the virtual and vice versa. Third, the projects developed are based
on people’s talent and honesty, therefore; value making is based on reality. These aspects bring together all the parameters of
Informational Society to extract treats of the second scale of human experience: daily life.
(27) Pratt (2004).
7. As Google states, their force is employee’s talent and creativity (28). Then, employee’s freedom, motivation and inspiration are
basic. Certainly, it is difficult to define such a code, however as Castells states there exists a ‘common cultural code’ on the Network
Enterprise defined by member’s diversity and decision making that creates the ‘ephemeral’ but ‘material force’ of the network
organization :
But there is indeed a common cultural code in the diverse workings of the network enterprise. It is made of many
cultures, many values, many projects, which cross through the minds and inform the strategies of the various
participants in the networks, changing at the same pace as the network’s members, and following the
organizational and cultural transformation of the units of the network. It is a culture, indeed, but a culture of the
ephemeral, a culture of each strategic decision, a patchwork of experiences and interests, rather than the character
of rights and obligations. It is a multi‐faced, virtual culture, as in the visual experiences created by computers in
cyberspace by rearranging reality. It is not a fantasy, it is a material force because it informs, and enforces, powerful
economic decisions at every moment in the life of the network (29).
This ephemeral culture based on sharing and learning by doing, is also shown on Google’s culture which adds serious play and
passion to the formula by stating:
(…) Our commitment to innovation depends on everyone being comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Every
employee is a hands‐on contributor, and everyone wears several hats. Because we believe that each Googler is an
equally important part of our success, no one hesitates to pose questions directly to Larry or Sergey (…). As we
continue to grow, we are always looking for those who share a commitment to creating search perfection and
having a great time doing it. (…) At Google, we know that every employee has something important to say, and
that every employee is integral to our success. (…) Googlers thrive in small, focused teams and high‐energy
environments (30).
These flexible organizational strategies also have a repercussion on the space. As Google states again, the ‘highly energetic
environment helps employees to become passion about their work as much as they do with their lives’ (31). Contrary to what
Castells describes as places of globality (32), Google space is not neutral; it is instead; diverse, colorful and in the good sense of the
word: weird (33) (34). While Castells shows neutral examples of space which can be related to the elites and capital, Google uses
a ’leisury’ space related to people and the vernacular by using un‐contextualized creative spaces that reproduce the locality of every
office around the world (35) (figure 4).
Figure 4: Google offices
(28) (30) (31) Google (2010).
(29) Castells (1996).
(32) Castells (1996): ‘ (…) the architecture of nudity. (…) is the architecture whose forms are so neutral, so pure, so diaphanous, that they do not pretend to say
anything’ (P.450)
(33) Even though Castells shows this neutrality as example of flexibility and change, the minimal images evokes the elite styles more than the vernacular approach of
space design.
(34) See also ‘The rise of the Creative Class’ of Florida (2002).
(35) Google (2010): ‘our offices are not identical; they tend to share some essential elements. Here are a few things you might see in a Google workspace: 1‐ Local
expressions of each location (…) showcasing each office's region and personality. 2‐ Bicycles or scooters for efficient travel between meetings; dogs; lava lamps;
massage chairs; large inflatable balls. 3‐ Googlers sharing cubes, yurts and huddle rooms – and very few solo offices. 4‐ Laptops everywhere – standard issue for
mobile coding, email on the go and note‐taking. 5‐ Foosball, pool tables, volleyball courts, assorted video games, pianos, ping pong tables, and gyms that offer
yoga and dance classes. 6‐ Grassroots employee groups for all interests, like meditation, film, wine tasting and salsa dancing. 7‐ Healthy lunches and dinners for all
staff at a variety of cafés. 8‐ Break rooms packed with a variety of snacks and drinks to keep Googlers going.
8. Those spaces could be taken as an example of the Place of Flows since they mediate between Capital and Labor within the
Informational society core by merging work and leisure. Then, the Place of Flows can be described as a shared, diverse and colorful
space which design is based on the vernacular variety and where people uses personal innovative technology (e.g. laptop), un‐
contextualized energy‐less devices for commodity (e.g. electrical scooter, dried massage bath) and leisure devices and facilities (e.g.
foosball and volleyball). Despite these aspects have been extracted from an analysis based on a company, they are applicable in all
spaces used in daily life because they define a certain attitude which shapes the spaces and places in all its dimensions leading to
the redefinition of places which gives new name and use to the space and therefore also reinvents formulas of architectural design
(36).
2.3 People‐ A research on Attitude
Before starting this analysis, it is necessary to describe some previous thoughts of the scale implied. The people scale gives the
smaller possible approach to the human perception and action by analyzing attitude and therefore: emotions. Even though this
field requires a deeper research, a simplification is needed to understand the base of the dynamics of the Informational Society. If
getting into the core of the dimensions of the Vernacular and the Global applied to emotions; it could be stated that the most
vernacular human emotion act is Play. Taking global as the artificial promotion that human being uses when communicating with
others; the Serious act and appearance can be considered. Then, people scale adds a new parameter to the Informational Society
dynamics which distinguishes two dimensions: Play and Serious. In order to analyze the mediation factor in this parameter, a
research on Attitude must be done.
The ‘attitude research’ is also based on the Google company since the social and space innovation also leads to innovate in the
human experience by the creation of a new way of experiencing life. Googlers are in the core of globality and Information use while
also dealing with the living settings defined by the biological time dimension. As stated before, Googlers are not merely workers,
they merge work and leisure into one form of living based on passion:
Googlers believe in the ability of technology to change the world, and are as passionate about their lives as they are
about their work. (…) Work and play are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to code and pass the puck at the same
time (37).
This description of the Google Culture is also supported by Michael Shrage when stating that ‘serious play is not an oxymoron; it’s
the essence of innovation’ (38). Also Tom Peters defines passion at the core of innovation and excellence by stating ‘excellence is in
people (…) people that are passionate with every small detail of human action’ (39). Then, it can be assumed that the human action
dimensions of Serious and Play is mediated by passion which merges work and life while reshaping the parameters of the
Informational Society into the unknown where new un‐contextualized formulas of the human experience are still to discover.
(36) Zukin (1993): ‘The two cultural products that most directly map the landscape are architecture and urban form. Because they shape both the city and our
perception of it, they are material as well as symbolic. Like the rest of the built environment in a market economy, design and form relate to space in different ways:
as a geographical (or topographical) constraint, as a terrain of potential conflict or cohesion, and as a commodity.’ (P.42)
(37) Google (2010).
(38) Shrage (1999).
(39) Peters (2006).
9. 3 CONCLUSION the Space to be
Despite the segregation in clusters that fields of interests generate, it is possible to overlook a general context of Excellence by
analyzing examples that even being an influential node in the globalized world, also have high quality of life. This analysis leads to
certain common characteristics of the space‐time form to be: the environment of Excellence.
Even though it has been explained before, it may be useful to make a briefly recall of the origin of this special environment. The
environment of Excellence is described by the three scales of perception and action of the human experience: city, daily life and
people. These scales have been analyzed using real examples that mediate between both dimensions of the new reality within all
its parameters to overcome with particular aspects within each scale to finally define specific treats of the environment of
Excellence.
First, in the city scale: the aspects of the Landscape of excellence were extracted. This imaginary landscape is an English speaking
Metropolis based on a large extension of water, has a density population of 2.200inhabitants/km2, temperate climate, access to the
mountains, good combination of work and leisure and is an influential node of the Informational Society. Secondly, in the daily life
scale; the aspects of Place of Flows were extracted. This imaginary time‐space place is a shared, diverse and colorful space which
design is based on the vernacular variety and where people uses personal innovative communication technology, un‐contextualized
energy‐less devices for commodity and leisure facilities. Finally, in the people scale; the Attitude aspects were extracted. This
oversees an innovation of human experience described by the human action of ‘serious play’ mediated by passion.
All the scales are related in different manners. On one hand, they all include leisure: the Landscape Excellence shows leisure
activities often related to the water, Place of Flows shows leisure devices and facilities related to daily life and Attitude is based on
the human act of ‘serious play’. On the other, they are closely interrelated mediating one over the other in steps to finally describe
the Satisfaction parameter of the Informational Society dynamics. In order to explain this clearly, the steps will be described. In the
first step, which is the smallest human action scale (people), Passion mediates between the Play&Serious dynamics of the Attitude
parameter of Informational society. In the next step, this ‘serious play attitude’ is mediating between the two dimensions of daily
life: work and life (often family). Finally in the third step, which is the biggest human action scale and perception, both previous
steps are considered to mediate the Satisfaction parameter where the dimensions Opportunity & Quality of Life are mediated by
serious play attitude and passion (figure 5). If linking this theory with the Informational Society dynamics diagram; it can be implied
that human attitude is core mediator of all parameters of the human experience perceived within the Informational Society.
Figure 5: Google offices
After suffering the effects of the global collapse, the Informational Society has been desperately searching for a manual to follow
the instructions for living in the Real Virtuality. Unfortunately, this new Era has its own raw material (information) with its own
dynamics (movement and settlement) and shaping system (market and space). These aspects have not appeared before in history
and therefore new formulas should be drawn as the new society goes. Far from the desire of solving the world in 3000 words, this
paper pretends to call for an optimistic and informal look to present examples that even though being in the center of the Global,
they have overcome the crisis successfully while maintaining the vernacular quality aspects. After this brief analysis, it can be
assumed that in the coming years information will be used to design value based on authenticity (vernacular aspects) which will be
developed by passionate, honest and creative workers. In other words, the attitude sift is needed in order to transform the
informational abuse of value making into the making and sharing of vernacular hetoregenia to finally get the desired balance
between Human and Network. That implies that the desired equilibrium that will give meaning to the present confusing state of
Existence is on the hands of human attitude which is as exciting and scary as human beings make it to be.