iSpaces

In 1986 Marc Augé coined the term “non-places” by which he meant all those places which are produced by super- modernity, which cannot be defined on the basis of their identity, relations and historical aspects, characteristics which on the contrary determine the very concept of “place”. Man’ s role is reduced to that of a mere “user”, without any cultural and psychological expectation, something which results in a loss of identity. A more recent neologism, “super-place” reinterprets the meaning of “non-places” within the context of a by now global society, based on new lifestyles and on completely different expectations of social relations. The “superplace” interprets the need to have immediate, diversified and simultaneous responses. The transition between the “non-places” and the “super-places” is characterized by an inability to create new languages, a significant form of the contents. The renunciation – cultural, social, architectural – to define a contemporary form, in order to seek refuge in a design of ideal and idealized worlds and lifestyles, is the underlying cause of “hyper-places”. The reality of the “super-places” is more and more similar to the immaterial one of “hyper-places”, since one prefers to visit a clearly “artificial” place, far from the urban spaces, as long as it meets certain prerequisites. Today there is therefore a clear correspondence between virtual and real places. Atopic places characterized by the solitude announced by Aug?, by disorientation, by uprooting