Keller Easterling

Protocol

1. any means of formatting and instructing an environment with an organizational
   procedure
   2)a set of constraints governing timing, organization, interactivity and process
   3)computing common language between different operating environments
   <a ~ is not necessarily a stepwise or repeatable procedure for which there is an absolute
   expression>
   <the architect often attempts to describe with geometry, the complex ~s of process and
   possible behaviors for different kinds of physical spaces>
   <In a spatial environment, ~s may describe the systemic structure of development-the
   controlling factors organizing markets, construction techniques, financing, eto
   o for the construction, demolition and program were not part of the higher aesthetic
   purpose and remained unexploited determinants of spatial and material consequences>
   Distinct from TEMPLATE, FORMULA, ALGORITHM
   TEMPLATE l)a protocol which unifies an entire organization into a single fixed pattern derived at a single moment; a protocol with no time component 2)a mold or pattern for producing identical products FORMULA l)rule, equation or recipe
   <the professional conducted surveys of people on the street in an attempt to compile a complete list of "design factors." Homo sapiens, he liked to call them. Armed with this information, and help from a computer, he would derive the ideal formula for the smallest unit of development

Differentiation

1. the development from the one to the many, the simple to the complex, the homogeneous to the heterogeneous2
   <"polygon intensity," they swaggered, "contributes to the volume of ~ we need to optimize form. No one understands complexity like we do. We design complexity’^-<in both biology and computing there are examples of organizations which maintain not a single optimal constitution, but operate by constantly diversifying, cross-referencing and differentiating their own constitution with parallel or redundant operations> <3nfrastructure networks within terrestrial, highway and residential systems provide sites for the contemplation and identification of an architecture which is not described by geometry or aesthetics, but by protocols of ~, interplay, adjustment and timing.> distinct from DIFFERENTIAL (see below)

Differential
l)math.. sets of differences between variables
2)mech. A system of gears translating one increment of movement to another differential
gear enabling power to be divided between two axles in line with one another and able to
rotate at different speeds, as when a vehicle corners3
3)adj. descriptive of a system which generates variation not within itself but across distinct
environments

• Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 353. 3 The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford. Clarendon Press, 1993. 668.

<Neither natural selection in evolution nor neuronal group selection necessarily requires a growing population. What is required is ~ reproduction (for evolution) and ~ amplification (for neuronal group selection by changes in synaptic strength>-Gerald Edelman4 > <created by cycles of redundancy and obsolescence, the many segregated layers of transportation infrastructure establish unconventional and ~ sites in the interstitial space between networks> Modifies PARALLELISM, SWITCH, FUNCTION

Parallel
l)computing simultaneous activation of a number of conductors or circuits. 2) Parallelism separate environments or species of information working in concert to amplify power, intelligence or adaptability
< In ~ processing, networks of circuits or multiple process components activate simultaneously, rapidly accessing information and compounding computational memory and power, whereas serial arrangements process information sequentially.> <~ism increases the quantity and simultaneity of connections as well as creating cross-environmental connections between different operationing environments
REDUNDANCY l)superfluous repetition
2)repetition designed to produce a temporary surplus of options
o between train and highway routes provides for a relay between carriers designed
to best fit the needs of the trip>
<in mental processes. ~ies produce greater precision to handle even repeated
tasks>
<through trial and error, a of pathway ~ies continually maintain and eliminate
multiple options>
<optional versus optimal ~ies>

Remote activation/Partial activation
l)effects resulting from an adjustment of one in a series of connected elements which
affects another element to which it is not directly connected, either by position or by an
increment of time i.e. where A, B and C are connected, C may be changed by changing B
or A.
adjustments to network connections are never discrete and so are powerful even when
partial or tactical ~>
<architects may only be able to adjust small pieces of an environment effectively, but that
adjustment when sited precisely amplifies the move by taking advantage of connectivity and
~>
<having reached no solutions by pursing aesthetics, the most important spatial problem
was solved by ~>
<by a process of *», changing the position of the stair will entirely recircuit non-adjacent
spaces separated by several floors>
<the possibility of ~ places the tactic and the strategy on a continuum>
<connectivity renders many activites reciprocal, e.g. rotation, subtraction, partition etc
musts be part of some kind of exchange
SUBTRACTION/EXCHANGE removal
<spatial ~ is distinct from demolitionxthough not generally regarded as a
constructive architectural tool, ~ performed with an awareness of the possible r
esponse or release of other active surrounding parts becomes a positive space
making device>
PARTITION subdivision of a group into smaller groups
<the architecture of ~ may contribute to the composition of the whole by
detemiining the composition of constituent parts>
<~ by states and counties produced an entirely different response than ~ by
geological features>
<computer space was ~ed not only into directories but into time-frames>
4Gerald Edelman. Bright Air Brilliant Fire: On the Matter of the Mind.. New York: Basic Books, 1992..94-95.

Summation
1 Collective power within a group of identical elements which would not exist in any
individual element
2)neurophysiology effect achieved by multiple firings of neurons which could not be
achieved by a single neuron
3>)imaginary. effect over a repeated element or standard specification
4)process of addition, TOTAL, INCREASE, AMPLIFICATION
specifications for the smallest repeated details, increments or fasteners, in ~, completely
reformat and recalibrate the architecture of a larger environment
<widespread application of standard specifications for building supplies in 8’x4’
increments, when in ~ across a large number of budget homes, changed the critical
dimensions of living spaces in residential architecture
<gjven the prevailing organization of repeated generic conditions, the only means of being
effective was through ~>

Switch

1. a device for making, breaking or changing a connection
2. an insertion controlling flow at a particular point binary vs. analogic switches binary switches have two positions, on and off whereas analogic switches perform a more continuous operation of translation or control
   <the network will be ~ed at each individual terminal>
   <the architecture of the larger networks existed within a single ~, which unlocked a
   complex of relationships in part of an expanding networlo
   <every passage and stair was designed to be a smart ~ between the different species of
   space and program>
   <"in other words, the switch is not except at the moments of its change of setting, and the
   concept ’switch’ has thus a special relation to time. It is related to the notion ’change’
   rather than to the notion ’object.’"—Gregory Bateson5>
   GOVERNOR,VALVE
   GOVERNOR 1) regulator
3. agent of an intermediate organization with some parameters or constraints
   <the wide strip of landscape will act as a ~ to absorb and deflect some of the effects
   of development
   <with a 300 mile extent, an electrical grid operates as a distributed ~ in the
   landscape>
   <undesignated or vacant spaces together function as a ~ to absorb from and
   reactivate the surrounding sites>
   5Gregory Bateson. Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity. New York: Dutton, 1979, 109.

Function
l)math. a variable quantity described in terms of its dependence on another value.
2) math, expression governing interdependent variables and mapping infinitesimal changes
between specific derivative instants in time.
3)something dependent on as in "a function of".
4) an organizational agent expressing its behavioral constraints
<a ~al expression may describe the behavior a family of curves without displaying every
possible value related to that expression>
<while there is no master plan there is a ~al relationship between the growth of several
different species of space>
<in biology, computing and mathematics, organizations are often instructed by some
intermediate agency or governor which is expressed as a ~ of variables within the
organization itself >
< ~-s are the fittings, toolings, or gadgets which express relationship and architecture
within an organization of active parts>
<it is this ample enthusiasm for ~s and gadgetiy which fortifies the "sumptuousness of our
progress" towards felicitous innovations and consequences- after Useful knowledge and
new inventions, a confidential letter from Pa Ubu, Alfred Jarry>
Keller Easterling, 1996