Toward a model for surveying on-line dwelling. The virtual city as a cultural asset

In both research and teaching the theme of surveying the “architecture of cyberspace” - from virtual worlds to conceptual maps - generates numerous problems. They appear to derive, first and foremost, from a lack of shared models for understanding the characteristics that give form to on-line spatialities. This is true above all in regards to the observation and discretization of aesthetic and thematic-functional processes of classification. It would thus appear opportune to refine our capacity to read and decipher forms, expressions, languages, information and knowledge. We must also pursue semantic connections, implement processes of thematic filtering, apply juxtapositions and study the conceptual and visual references that nurture creativity in the digital realm. The research being presented also wishes to stimulate and expand studies toward the construction of a shared history of online dwelling, from the viewpoint of the disciplines of architecture and design, conceived as a synthesis of diverse approaches to design, and as a story of “incursions”. The origins of this story lie in initial research into computer-based systems of immersive simulation that began immediately after the revolutionary diffusion of the Internet and its services. The technoculture of videogames is fundamental to tracing the history of virtual worlds. These captivating spaces generate emotions and trigger mental processes that also exploit a sense of active participation in a narrative and the unfolding of action.