Searchscapes aims at designing a 3D map of Manhattan using existing data from the web, comparing representations of the city’s “physical spaces” and “information spaces”.

A specific address is searched on Google (ex: 1 Broadway + New York, NY). This search will bring mostly results that correspond to this specific location. The total number of text results is plotted on a map of the physical space. The height of the “building” on that location will correspond to the number of results found.

Searchscapes tries to materialize information, to give it dimension, physicality, while contemporary architecture seems to be driving in the opposite direction: becoming more mediated, more ephemeral, “bodiless”.

Author: Juliana Sato Yamashita.

Searchscape will be at the WRO 05 media art biennale which will take place on May 11-15 in Wroclaw, Poland.