Most of the material displayed in the 2013 exhibition Archaeology of the Digital had a strong physical presence – sketches, printouts, photographs and models – and exposed the fact that many of the digital files were lost or inaccessible. But subsequent phases of this three-year research program— which studies the genesis and establishment of digital tools for the conceptualization, visualization, and production of architecture—have created new challenges on how to display and give access to the twenty-five projects being documented.

Following the release of the print publication accompanying the 2013 exhibition, the question was how the born-digital materials of these projects could be disseminated and their experience enhanced. The decision to develop a new type of electronic publication for Archaeology of the Digital was to highlight the specificity of the digital material and make it as widely accessible as possible. The result is a monthly series of digital monographs on each of the featured projects.

Each monograph includes a conversation between the series editor Greg Lynn and the architect of the featured project, as well as a selection of media that will be published for the first time as digital files, rather than print representations of those files, advancing the boundaries of architectural publishing.

“It features interactive slideshows and videos, a nearly unique innovation in a published reflowable ePub. New issues will continue to advance the boundaries of ePub technology in relation to both its users and producers, a process that parallels the subjects covered by the series,” explain New York-based studio Linked by Air, who designed and developed the series.

Available publications on iTunes include:

Forthcoming publications in the series will include the Expanding Sphere and Iris Dome by Chuck Hoberman, Odawara Municipal Sports Complex and Galaxy Toyama Gymnasium by Shoei Yoh, Lewis House by Frank Gehry, Muscle NSA by ONL (Kas Oosterhuis and Ilona Lénàrd), Hyposurface by deCOI (Mark Goulthorpe), Objectile Panels by Objectile (Bernard Cache), Catastrophe Machine and X Phylum by Karl Chu, Virtual New York Stock Exchange by Asymptote Architects (Lise Anne Couture and Hani Rashid), H2Oexpo by NOX (Lars Spuybroek), the Yokohama Ferry Terminal by FOA, projects by Neil Denari, UN Studio, RUR/Reiser Umemoto, Wolf Prix, Preston Scott Cohen, Morphosis/Thom Mayne, and more. The series is available on iBooks and can be downloaded directly to your Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.

The CCA’s first e-book accompanied the exhibition Imperfect Health: The Medicalization of Architecture, in collaboration with Lars Müller Publishers – a fixed-layout ePub that replicated the graphic design and narrative structure of the original print publication for tablet reading.

About the CCA 
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of its opening in 2014, the CCA is an international research centre and museum founded on the conviction that architecture is a public concern. Based on its extensive collection, exhibitions, public programs, publications and research opportunities, the CCA is a leading voice in advancing knowledge, promoting public understanding, and widening thought and debate on architecture, its history, theory, practice, and role in society today. 

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