The expert mind in the age of junk data

Abstract

Architects bemoan the continuing decline of the authority of the profession, due to a myriad of social, economic, and technological changes. On the technological side, one of the most intriguing—and perhaps frightening—changes is the emergence of big data, or the use of massive data-sets to reveal information that could not be seen heretofore. Promising and problematic, big data has the potential to change our understanding of many fields, including architecture and urbanism. Starting with a historical look at the big data phenomenon, this paper argues that (1) much of what constitutes big data is actually junk data, (2) the expert mind of an architect is well positioned to extract the good data from the quickly expanding cosmos of junk data, and (3) big data has value for only two-thirds of the Vitruvian triad (i.e. commodity and firmness), requiring architects to guard against the misuse of big data to address issues of delight.

Keywords

• big data
• design
• technology
• architectural education