From John Henry racing the machine, to FedEx, via Peter Eisenman: here’s the first issue of the new series of ePubs, Archaeology of the Digital, published by Canadian Centre for Architecture and featuring interviews by Greg Lynn. We’ll be designing a new issue each month for the next two years, each focused on a different seminal work at the intersection of digital technology and architecture in the last two decades of the twentieth century. In a sometimes poignant way, each issue illuminates a moment in the evolution of our world of bits and bricks.
Archaeology of the Digital advances what’s possible in a widely distributed ebook. Its liquid and responsive design is optimized for reading on screens of very different widths and heights, from phones to tablets, and its layout and typography alter automatically to suit each device and orientation in the hand. Unusual for a “reflowable” ePub, its design is highly refined, specific, and even fun, unrelated to the default for any device; while still complying with ePub standards. The publication features interactive slideshows – a nearly unique innovation in a published “reflowable” ePub. These innovations, both qualitative and functional, support the narratives of each interview and of the series as a whole. A special toolchain has been developed to support the production of each issue. 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.
