Space Modders: Learning from the Game Commune & the Binck Twins Case Study

Abstract

The research attempts to investigate the workings and potentialities of videogames as a medium for participatory design and practices of commoning in architecture. The analysis begins with exploring videogames as non-normative experiences and the effects of those experiences on the players which lead to the emergence of the game commune; a force that is affecting they way games are being made. These phenomena are becoming more than individual and collective interactions as they are capable to generate highly innovative and unique virtualities in digital spaces. If architecture, as it is itself a mean of generating virtualities, adopts the commoning practices similar to those of the game commune, it could lead to a more inclusive and opensource building tradition. By combining the commoning practices of the game commune and maker spaces together, the design of spaces where emancipatory spatial practices can be pedagogically exercised is a necessity in areas where crafting and manufacturing is being deterritorialized along with its workers and communities. Furthermore, the alienation of people from tools, materials and processes (technical and social) perpetuates a cycle of consumption that is detached from broader social and environmental consequences. The design segment of this graduation project takes the Binck Twins building in the area of Binckhorst in the Hague as a case study in an attempt to apply the research findings and conclusions in the built environment.