Post-digital Depot
the hybrid cultural depot of Beirut
O.S. Ökkan (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
J.M. van Zalingen – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
H.A. van Bennekom – Mentor (TU Delft - History, Form & Aesthetics)
H.L. van der Meel – Coach (TU Delft - Architectural Engineering)
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Abstract
Departing from the instability of Beirut and the richness of its culture, this thesis aims to investigate if it is possible to preserve the heritage beyond the limitations of physical archiving. Translation of information into a new language; based on dig·i·ts, 0-1 computer code or symbols known as the alphabet, is defined as the process of dig·i·tal·i·za·tion. Digitalization is a tool to transform the tangible into universal, lasting beyond physical decay. Post-digital, on the other hand, is a paradox. It does not describe a life after digital, but explores how the digital age have provided opportunities for humanization of these technologies.1 Post-digital proposes humanization through “interplay between digital, biological, cultural, and spiritual systems, between cyberspace and real space, between embodied media and mixed reality in social and physical communication”2 Post-digital is a hybrid, dualistic concept. Beirut is a city of perpetual unrest and resultantly under decay. Layers of its rich culture are gradually lost. Yet, culture is one of the strongest elements that unites and ties Beirutians together. Therefore, it should be stored and preserved. Storing of a rather abstract entity such as culture has similarities with storing goods or objects but it also requires a unique approach. The proposed building program: “Post-digital Depot” serves this specific need, as an archive in which material objects are analyzed, restored and translated to a digital medium.