The Unstable Image

According to a 2018 Microsoft study, the attention span of human beings shrunk from 12 seconds in 2000 (the approximate start of the digital revolution) to 8 seconds. If we now have a lower attention span than a goldfish then how is architecture, a discipline that literally casts in place physical material with mortar, silicone and welds, to capture the attention of its subjects when other visual information is changing around us at gigabit speeds? While our attention may be waning our ability to multi-task has increased as our lives become increasingly digitized. This Darwinian adaptation of our brains and subsequently our eyes to multi-image screens suggests opportunities to expand architecture’s cultural role.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.108.37

Volume Editors

ISBN
978-1-944214-26-5