Last July we held a large-scale affinity mapping charrette as a way of gathering data about people’s day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. The affinity map proved to be a very effective tool for aggregating the collective wisdom of the crowd.

Collective intelligence in the digital realm is an idea that’s gained more traction in the past couple of years. Think of the crowdsourcing used to build the Linux operating system or Google’s search algorithms. What makes affinity mapping unique is its use as an analog tool to document collective intelligence. Even better, it creates a physical representation of the group’s collective thinking: the Post-It diagram.

The process of creating that physical artifact ...[more]

When looking at the design aspirations institutions executed in mid-century modernism, one is looking at the forefront of progressive campus design in that era. Concerned at once with the pragmatism of program, form following function, and the honesty of the new building technology of steel and glass, one is looking at a language of forms with universality that could be applied in any place or typological context. What is most striking about many built and unbuilt projects of the mid-century is the theoretical abstrac- tion of the plane on which ...[more]

Hamilton, NY – The new Case Library and Geyer Center for Information Technology was dedicated at Colgate University today, creating a new intellectual and social hub for the campus.

The project was designed to rejuvenate the facility and reclaim the library’s prominent place as the University’s major academic building. Located at the base of the hilltop campus, the 160,000 s.f., $57.5 million facility is built on the footprint of the former Case Library. The previous library, which was built in 1951, was isolated from the academic core of the campus and had become cramped and outdated.

During the ceremony, Colgate President Rebecca Chopp applauded the new “collaboratory,” while Provost Lyle Roelofs thanked ...[more]