Council Interview: Trevor Harwood of Postcapes, Tracking the Internet of Things

Postcapes is "passionate about the convergence of the physical world with the digital, and everything that will encompany that shift. The emerging term "Internet of Things" seems to best represent these changes taking place and the term Postscapes itself is inspired from a future of networked landscapes and its possibilities.  Their goal is to serve the need of those interested in learning or taking advantage of IOT technologies with timely news, resources, events, and education. Trevor Harwood is the founder. We asked him a few questions:

Council: "Trevor, what got you interested in Internet of Things?"

Trevor Harwood: "My interest in the topic stems from a few things:

First, my background in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design fostered a strong interest in me regarding the relationship of technology and the built environment. I found that the traditional Landscape Architecture community was missing opportunities to use technology to fully engage public spaces because of their focus on traditional design tools (hardscape, softscapes, city codes) and typical design inspiration (think Italian plazas, English gardens, and mimicking Starchitects).

One early inspiration example came from visiting West 8 ’s Rotterdam Schouwburgplein plaza and watching people engage with these giant steel lighting cranes by manipulating their position from their base and also seeing the adaptable plaza design shifting based on the public users changing needs rather than only from a static top-down design perspective.

Secondly, I have always had a general fascination with technology and its forward march.  Observing its ability to give a voice to the voiceless (self publishing, mobile devices in emerging markets, etc) I have continued to have a desire to follow its movements into new stages.

I see the term Internet of Things as being capable of capturing and potentially becoming a unifying force for the merging and interplay of Ubicomp, M2M, Architecture, Interactive design, etc, etc.

Finally, my interest in the topic has been strongly reinforced by following the work and writings of Kevin Kelly and quite a few others from that Top 100 list."

Council: Is the fact that you are in Seoul in some way involved? Song Do City, u-cities, huge take up of mobile, gadget culture....?

Trevor Harwood: "Although being in Seoul is not directly related to my interest in the topic, it is definitely an exciting environment to have as a backdrop for Postscapes :). As you mentioned, there are a combination of things here that make it a great testing bed for some of these new ideas. A generally wealthy population; top 15 in terms of GDP (nominal), a government with a recent history of taking on and executing big projects, for example the T-Money system, Digitized textbooks and tablets, of course Songdo, as well as the presence of hometown favorites like Samsung and LG in the industry.

When you walk into a subway car in Seoul, you would be hard pressed to find someone not using their smartphone or tablet (Although Angry Birds and watching the local baseball teams on T.V are still the fan favorites). The pace of life, appreciation of technology, and creative energy here in general has been inspiring to be around."

Council: As a Landscape Architect how do you see 'nature' in these sensorscapes of the future?

Trevor Harwood: "I have a bit broader view of what is classified inside and outside the realm of  the term ‘natural’ than what most landscape architects would likely identify with.  There is a tendency to categorize things like National Forests, Central Park, etc as being natural and pristine and to see them as spaces removed from technological impacts. I would argue that even these environments are highly ‘artificial’ - Central Park was built from a reclaimed swamp, and National Parks have highly controlled game management policies, fire controls, boundaries and regulations.

The lines between biology and technology will continue to blur and I see the Internet of Things not as being opposed or outside the realm of the ‘natural’ but more of an extension to it. By giving people the ability to accurately see, engage, and gain awareness about their surroundings and not just react to an ideal or nostalgic view of nature and their built environment we can also help to better manage our existing resources and give a glimpse into what truly sustainable policies will look like.

Council: You have found a right timing to set up your business model that is mainly about becoming a hub for projects, we wish you good luck with that! What would be projects that you yourself would really like to see starting up now?

Trevor Harwood: "Thanks for the good wishes, its an exciting space to be in! In terms of actual projects, the radiation DIY projects that popped up in Japan were inspiring to see and I hope that the environmental and resource monitoring trends will continue.  Within that conversation, having the platform battle play out with some clear winners and standards should also allow for some interesting cross category services and mashup products.

I would also like to see some more civic-oriented projects make it into the wild. The Big Belly trash can, Streetline and others are a nice start in this direction and when the real-time city can help with those real world budget cuts I think that category of products will spread rapidly.  Overall, the apps, products and services that allow users to engage with their immediate public environments is an area that I will be tracking closely."

Council: Thanks Trevor, looking forward to working together in the coming years that will indeed get hectic.