The Technological Gap in Design: From Banham to the Digital Era

In his seminal book Theory and Design in the First Machine Age (1960), critic Reyner Banham predicted a divide between technological progress and designers’ ability to express it. Today, as data flows from smart devices to urban infrastructure, this gap has widened into an aesthetic and communicative challenge. How can design reflect this invisible deluge of information? This is the question that the “Data Structure” installation by SOSO Studio seeks to answer at the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science.

“Data Structure”: When Numbers Become Light

The artwork takes the form of a 45-foot-long series of crystal-lit lanterns, suspended in the atrium of the building designed by Hopkins Architects. The lanterns resemble structural boxes, their faces composed of 7-segment displays a nostalgic nod to early digital computing. Beneath the installation, an interactive touchscreen allows visitors to select datasets (submitted by students or faculty) and watch as the data transforms into dynamic light patterns that animate the space.

From Term to Manifestation: The Design Philosophy

Yaxuan Liu, Creative Lead at SOSO, explains that the idea emerged from the term “data structure” in computer science, which carries physical connotations suggesting a bridge between digital and material worlds. Rather than interpreting data metaphorically, the team aimed to “let the data speak,” creating a direct dialogue between information and audience. The installation is not just a visual representation but an educational platform, with contextual explanations displayed on its base.

The Aesthetics of Transparency in an Age of Data Manipulation

With its industrial touches exposed circuit boards, CNC-milled aluminum “Data Structure” embraces transparency as a response to crises of privacy and digital misinformation. At night, the installation becomes a luminous beacon, visible from outside, symbolically connecting the university’s historic campus with the emerging “Ivy Corridor” district.

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