390 EAAE no 35 Teaching and Experimenting with Architectural Design: Advances in Technology and Changes in Pedagogy
Cognitive capital is also a useful concept to describe cognitive practices by those
involved in the so-called informal economy. Here we are faced with fragmented,
localised knowledge, as a central element in the development of informal activities.
For local knowledge to be an asset, it is important that it remains local. An example
of that is the collaboration between massage parlours and “tuk-tuk” (motorised rick-
shaws) drivers, where the latter hustle tourists to use the services of the parlour for
a fixed fee. In the case where the tourist has the knowledge about the business and
its location, the services of the “tuk-tuk” driver are not needed. In a line of business,
which relies on local knowledge, at the moment when that knowledge is no longer
local the possibility of making an income by selling it is then lost. The survival of
that type of business depends on access to particular types of information and on
the fact that such information remains local.
In attempts by this author to gather data on recent and current development of
Bangkok, in the form of maps, aerial photographs or written documentation, often
some form of resistance was met. In a number of cases, the documentation (reports,
digital maps, projects outlining future development) presented in the course of
meetings was unavailable to detailed perusal or photocopying. It was argued that
the documentation in question was not yet made public or was still under elabora-
tion. In other cases, it was pointed out by researchers in Thailand, that access to
official documentation is difficult even for them. In other circumstances, interest
in particular issues raised the mistrust and suspiciousness by officials: “Why are you
interested in that particular issue?”
The most significant knowledge in the above narrative is not the knowledge that
was made available to the researcher, but knowledge that remained undisclosed. The
incongruence between the various accounts by the different actors indicate that such
knowledge is there, lurking under the surface – but which knowledge?
The above account introduces cognitive practices which resist control, surveil-
lance and broadcasting – these practices can be characterised in reference to capital
precisely to the extent that they are able to resist control, surveillance and broad-
casting. The exponential growth in access to information is far from a homogeneous
development. “All information should be free” but in practice it is commodity.
Device info-access focuses on differentiated access to information as a way of
describing urban development. In that way, info-access can be a tool for mapping
folds in the fabric of information networks, blind spots, grey areas, etc. An account
of urban conditions based on accessibility and flow of information and the develop-
ment of info-access as an analytical instrument provide an entry point for a study
programme.
Device 4: Simultaneity + Compression
“What if we could put information in places? More precisely, what if we could associ-
ate information with place and perceived the information as if it were really there?
WorldBoard is a vision of doing just that on a planetary scale and as a natural part
of everyday life. For example, imagine being able to enter an airport and see a virtual
red carpet leading you right to your gate, look at the ground and see property lines