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About
This Month I Learnt (TMIL) is a monthly thematic conversation covering a broad spectrum of topics around projects, careers and developments in design, products, finance and more. This month we talk to Niko McGlashan, a research associate at MIT working on the topic of Digital Urbanism.
Resources, reading materials, and Niko’s projects and profile can be found below.
Context
With the adoption of social distancing measures over the last 2 years, reliance on telecommunications has been accelerated, with people from all over the world looking for more inclusive and engaging methods of connecting with each other for work, play and life. This has rapidly manifested as modern modes of telecommunications like Zoom, interactive 2D chat rooms, VRChat, Roblox and more. The accelerated adoption of these tools prompt interesting questions on how virtual spaces should be designed, and the opportunities that are emerging from the rapid collision of technology, interactivity and communication.
Content
In this episode, Niko and I discuss about his thinking behind Digital Urbanism, a Frankenstein mix of digital experiences, and data-heavy utility-based analytics like measuring social impact in a real estate development project. We discuss how Digital Urbanism manifests in the creation of a digital museum, GTA360, with the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Toronto, resulting in a new medium for artists to experiment in between physical and digital, and enabling art consumers to experience an elevated, digitally enhanced museum and curatorial experience.
We also reflect on the developments around the metaverse, and how architecture and design intent can play a role, by developing a new techno-design vernacular, from the perspective of hardware efficiency, custom digital materials, shaders and establishing a design ethos and framework for digital spaces of the future; so that virtual spaces of the future evoke trust, are equitable, architecturally sound and progressive.
Niko also shares his vision for more shared virtual experiences, like Pokémon Go 2.0, just without the Pokémon; where the promise of a meaningful, shared AR experiences can stand on itself, without having to rely on the Pokémon brand and following.
Finally, we dive into Niko’s journey into the world of Digital Urbanism, from his early days of working with visual based programming software like grasshopper, learning how to think logically, and computationally, and eventually developing an organic transition into data analytics, web design, software development and research.
Niko McGlashan’s Profile
Niko is a Research Associate at MIT working on the topic of Digital Urbanism. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto and graduated with Honors. Combined with his undergraduate education in Environment and Urban Sustainability and Geographic Analysis, he yields a multidisciplinary and multi-scalar approach to complex urban problems.
Niko's research is heavily invested in computation, data, and design. He has performed extensive Climate research at both the Center for Landscape Research at the University of Toronto and the Urban Water Research Center at Ryerson University. He has investigated the accumulation of contaminants in urban tributary networks, leveraged generative design to propose adaptive climate urbanism, and developed a software toolkit for designers to automate the LEED, WELL, and AIA sustainability standards during the architectural design process. Niko has been featured in several publications, including the LA+ Journal and simAUD2021. His research has been used to inform policy and decision-making in Toronto, Broward County, and Athens.
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