Babel Studio is a design and research consultancy based in Newcastle University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. The work presented on this web site currently covers the portfolio of Martyn Dade-Robertson, however, it is hoped that over the coming years these pages will become a hub for a larger research group reflecting an emerging area of design.
Babel Studio takes its name from the Georges Luis Borges short story The Library of Babel. The story is set in an unimaginably vast library containing all books that have been or could be written. However, despite the excitement of the buildings first librarians, depression soon sets in as they realise that that the vast scale of the library, the monotony of the configuration of chambers and the reality of the apparently random organisation of the books.
The Library of Babel is often used as a parable for the world wide web, which offers unprecedented access to vast amounts of valuable information but appears to be unstructured and to vast to be fully comprehended. The genesis behind Babel Studio is to develop methods of organising and representing digital information. The starting points for these developments are in the theories and practices of Urban and Architectural Design.
The site is divided into three areas:
Research, details past current and future research projects around the core themes (outlined in the Research Section) and will updated with relevant news and details of proposals as needed.
Teaching, is a hub for students on the BA in Architectural Studies and, in particular, Professional Practice 1001. These pages act as a supplement to blackboard providing links and documentation covering tools and techniques in design, visual representation and presentation.
Consultancy, details design services offered by Babel Studio which relate to the ongoing research of the group.
Martyn Dade-Robertson
