3. Contemporary Bazaar

External Environment

Business maximizes profit by working to create many targeted micromarkets. succeeding by predicting and controlling consumers specified interests. Choice is high and costs are low. The economy is diversified. The world of work is process oriented and individualized. People organize in professional firms and trade groups who facilitate protocol between trades and distribute projects to its members.

Continuous quick redevelopment throughout city and suburbs with shifting growth and deterioration following. Zoning quickly responds market.

New Media is the focal point of culture and commerce.

People seek cultural experiences that refine individual interests. Meaning is found by developing one's interests through refinement of technical understanding. People value personal tools and technologies. People associate mostly with other individuals of similar professional and recreational interests. Many relationships begin on the internet. Strong resurgence of cultural uniformity.

Structuring

The building serves to technically support various programs. The organization of the space is dynamic. The idea of the place is like a combination research lab and a flea market.

There are both permanent and reconfigurable borders between the space that is open to the public, and space that is privately used by the organization.

The dominant priority in the design is the technical control of the environment and the support of programs in diverse disciplines.

Sustaining

The NEA, as well as public broadcasting was defunded. Anything of value should be able to survive in the market

UICA crosses over with the market via technical and structural connections. Funding is based primarily on UICA's relationship to the market and to other businesses. Corporations test technologies to highly specialized audiences, while UICA gives early access to these new technologies to it's constituents and experiments with their potentials. The Capital Campaign succeeded in funding a highly flexible state of the art facility. To accommodate this flexibility the design of the building prescribes a high minimum overhead for the organization.

Corporate support is based on a relationship in which the corporation contributes access to new technologies in return for receiving access to focussed test-markets.

Revenues need to be regular from programs and numerous commercial arrangement. They are essential to balance the organization's budget which is fixed at a high minimum overhead because of the design of the building.

Experiencing

UICA is a press.

Programs are produced and implemented by discipline-based groups who form around common proficiencies, media, and technologies. The number of groups has steadily increased (now at 12) in response to specialization within traditional disciplines and invention of new media.

Programs are scheduled regularly with weekly programming in each of the diverse program areas. Publicity is a monthly newsletter.

Staff is valued for their technical knowledge and skill in many areas and ability to cross between disciplines. Also for their ability to manage finances progressively.

Volunteer and committee participation is dependent on the organizations ability to have the right things that people are involved in doing. It is difficult to get skilled volunteers to contribute to non-program projects.

Movements

The vitality of the institutional structure depends on the organization's ability to respond to external technical desires and individual interests.

A major signpost to watch out for is the overstratification and separation between discipline based groups. Competition between groups for the purchase of equipment and changing of space for the specific requirements of their discipline. Existence of organization is invested in the alliance between disciplines as well as allegiance within disciplines. Indication are 1. commercial spin-off enterprises. 2. priority of technical improvements is skewed toward programs with most success at generating revenue and attracting corporate underwriting. 3. Drive for ownership of space. 4. Commercial motivations for power. 5. Commercial activities threaten the loss of non-profit status.

Within the terrain of the 4 scenarios, to move away from this scenario towards any of the others requires ripping tools away from people. It would be easiest to move to Institute Showcase from here, but would require demoting committees to advisory role.

The form of the building embodies commitment to action and flexibility. The implicit challenge is in managing form as it relates to function without precluding people and meaning. The form nullifies ripe contexts for making meaning in the mix of community.

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