With the advent of
digital communication technologies, an enormous quantity of information can be
stored and transferred. But with these increasing possibilities comes
increasing complexity. As indicated by the dissatisfaction often experienced by
users of information technology, current systems of accessing, organizing and
navigating information are proving insufficient. Visualization, the representation
of information on an interactive map, is a strategy to make more efficient use
of cognitive resources when processing complex information. Historically,
different methods of visualization are used by architects as a tool to analyze
the project data and as a tool to generate the form of architectural spaces.
Today, digital technologies have enabled architects to see information as a raw
material - an entirely new medium for experimentation in the design of 3D
models that seek to materialize abstract data.
This thesis is
focused on presenting the contribution of these architects to the field of
Information Visualization (IV) through:
- Search and selection of case studies.
- Categorization of case studies. and
- The comparative analysis of
case studies, based on the six principles of analytical design of Edward Tufte
(a recognized expert in issues related to the visual display of data and
information) in order to understand the strengths and/or weaknesses of these
cases.
This research presents the way in
which architects are providing a new professional alternative to interpret a
collection of spatially acquired, abstract datasets and developing suitable
data representation metaphors that create ambient, spatial and uninhabitable
experiences. It also presents exploitation of architectural models that we call
"architectural maps" and "architectural metaphors" as a new
way to visualize abstract relationships within datasets and new ways to
communicate information and generate knowledge structures in order to find new
solutions for information overload.
