CONCEPT

SINGULARITY is a purported time caused by the birth of an entity with intelligence far greater than the combined capacity of all human beings to ever exist - when robots take over the world. Grey Haven is a speculative design thesis exploring the world of PRE-SINGULARITY, year 2520, where humans and fully conscious AI androids walk hand in hand as equals, before the end….

This thesis will take a deep dive to simulate a glimpse of a hypothetical future on the brink of Singularity, when AI entities would have already achieved full conscious awareness and walks the Earth as free netizens of equal standing to their human counterparts. As our very existence hangs in the balance, both species have come to propose and agree upon the creation of an ambitious hospitality project that caters to both human and AI entity clients as a transitional buffer of sorts in an effort to promote peaceful cohabitation, to provide a cohesive and immersive experience of how life right before the singularity occurs might entail.

PREFACE

The research justification behind this thesis is far too exhaustive to include here, spanning dozens of books and articles on every possible subject related to our cause, including those pertaining to discussions of Human value, of Transhumanism and Posthumanism, of Design Theories and significances of human cultural roots etc… Very serious stuff. For those who are interested and enlightened, please feel free to download the full thesis booklet linked at the bottom of this page.

As it stands, this thesis is also prone to induce mental breakdown to anyone who dwells into the subject, as the speculative nature of our premise can be infinitely large ,unending, and ambiguous. For the sake my sanity, I limited the thesis to as small of a scale as possible in order to remain in the realms of production feasibility within 9 months’ time. The site is located in the Boeing Everett Factory in Washington. With a total surface area of 4,300,300 square feet - my project takes a portion of approximately 527, 343 square feet. I painstakingly designed around 300, 000 square feet of space within a span of 6 months. Therefore, while I remain ecstatic at the ambition of this project, there remain many areas that I could not finish or fully develop due to time and energy constraints.

Design process & background justifications

This thesis covers a relatively morbid subject, stemming from familiar sources like sci-fi novels and movies alike. The answer is clear - if Singularity can happen, it most certainly will happen. And the question here is not not whether if it will happen or not, but a matter of when exactly. Therefore it is very pertinent to speculate what life and design will mean in such times. I imagine this space to resemble a small city of sorts - containing the most essential and desirable amenities to promote our cause - encourage cohabitation and facilitate understanding between humans and androids.

Technology is indubitably a common feature within this huge expanse of space, but by categorizing different areas into different districts so that they perform a specific function or facilitate a specific mode of interaction, I can develop an immersive narrative, and thus, create a convincing design for Grey Haven. For example: the Ancient Greeks built Forums to hold debates between philosophers and thinkers. Such type of establishment allows construction conversation to occur, especially between two intelligent species. On the other hand, as an old saying goes - everybody like a good drink. And if alcoholic beverages in this world can be catered to androids as well, then we have an area that can provide entertainment and private mingling between humans and AIs. This is a very common way we make friends in the 21st century, I see no reason why this will change in the 26th.

All in all, by segregating different modes of interaction into different districts, we then can build confidently and convincingly. Furthermore, while my overarching style takes heavy inspiration from Brutalism, I took this opportunity to apply slightly different tones of “future design” to different districts. This can also allow myself to experiment with aesthetic elements of “futurism” and the appropriation of such style. After all, there is no answer to what design means and can be in the future. Certain areas like the Spiritual District contain an older, more archaic atmosphere, whereas the Cantina District is loud and noisy, with cyberpunk undertones littering the space. Both the Central Sanctorium and Communal District relies on biophilic design theories, but one features traditional greeneries whereas the other took a more rustic, cavern approach. So and so forth.

BEHAVIORAL & DESIGN CONCERNS

Analyzing the behavioral concerns from the perspectives of our project’s nature and its inherit setting, the two leading variables in need of addressing are the loss of the human value, which directly contributes to the general loss of identity. Let us begin with the former. In a time of total technological dominance, presupposed by the onset of Transhumanistic and Posthumanistic practices, there will be a great rejection of fundamental humanism values. That is the way it most likely will be. For this is an era where cancer is curable and organs easily replicable, but it is also a time in which humans can arbitrarily turn themselves into cyborgs of varying degrees. Society as we know it will have morphed into something unfamiliar, and rather frighteningly dystopian relatively speaking. Under these circumstances, humans will question what makes humans human. Is it our consciousness? Is it our intelligence? Or is it our values? If so, what values would interject appropriately into such a society? Furthermore, these are usually accompanied by a gradual dissolution of individualistic cultural heritages. Jest not, as these are concerns that are becoming more and more evident even in our current Modern Era; an age where globalism and intercultural migration has caused a loss of cultural identity and traditional rooted values; an age where people would rather take a dopamine of social media on their cellphones than having an in depth conversation with someone next to them face to face.

In fact, many researchers and thinkers have proposed that as Singularity is ultimately inevitable, the only feasible course for our race is through transhumanism - to morph ourselves into androids. Contrary to popular belief, this is not such a far-fetched idea. Humans as we are currently, can very well be identified as cyborgs - we extend our senses of self into technological applications like computers and smartphones. Our identity has unconsciously become one with these objects. This was the underlying reason to adopt a Brutalism approach to the overarching design - a style that is oddly void and bland but full of character and soul, a style that is austere and exudes a hint of mystical quality. This was also the style that I at first believe could unite the core aspects of human and android values, to balance the saturation of technology. In retrospect… I am still not quite sure if I made the correct decision.