Mapping

Mapping is the abstract constructive operation by which one creates an associative mediating device between two domains of data.

Whereas the creation of a map can be solely directed towards the representation of existing space or geography, the act of mapping always constructs a space around the relationships between two streams of data and thus inherently contains the potential for discovery. As James Corner describes in his essay The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention, “mapping precipitates its most productive effects through a finding that is also a founding; its agency lies in neither reproduction nor imposition but rather in uncovering realities previously unseen or unimagined, even across seemingly exhausted grounds.” The process by which one enacts a mapping can be described as Politicization, Codification, Generalization, Orchestration, and Discovery. Because any mapping contains, as much as does not contain, certain data presented at a particular resolution, the act of initiating a mapping must first begin with the identification of the operation’s agenda and the selection of data and traits to investigate. The mapper can then codify the systemic associative logics to generate the graphical relationships between the two collections of data, generalize the resulting representation to eliminate irrelevant data and reduce complexity, and orchestrate the design of the map for the desired audience. The final step and evaluation of this strategy’s success is the measure to which latent potential is uncovered and thereby demonstrates new relationships. The spatial reference of a mapping can be either a topographic physical space or a topological space that prioritizes the protocols existent within a mapped system. The consequence of employing the latter is the direct production and the forced acknowledgment of a constructed spatial domain. Mapping is thus an operative device in which one can navigate contemporary spatial qualities of dynamic, n-Dimensional, and heterogeneous space through the mediation of data.

Related Concepts:
Adaptation, Agents, Boundary, CAS, Fields, Heterarchy, Networks, Sets, Topology

Bibliography:
Abrams, Janet, and Peter Hall. Else/Where Mapping New Cartographies of Networks and Territories. Minneapolis: Univ Minnesota Design Institute, 2006.
Corner, James, “The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention,” in Denis Cosgrove, ed., Mappings. London: Reaktion Books, 1999.
Gausa, Manuel, Vicente Guallart, Willy Müller, Federico Soriano, Fernando Porras, and Jose Morales. Metapolis Dictionary of Advanced Architecture City, Technology and Society in the Information Age. Barcelona: Actar, 2003.

Image courtesy of Studio Mode