1 1 ENDOSCOPY WITHOUT ENDOSCOPES: ALTERNATIVES FOR GAINING SHARED-IN-SIGHTS AT AN EYE-LEVEL Bob Martens, Wolf-Michael Tschuppik, Alexander G. Keul Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria e-mail: b.martens@tuwien.ac.at Abstract This contribution is an attempt to explain the evolution of endoscopy in design and planning. While in early uses of endoscopy aspects of handling the instrument used to be at the centre of attention, they have come to be replaced by the notion of gaining deliberate insights into architectural or urban planning models. Does that mean endoscopy without an endoscope? In the following it will be shown that insights can be gained even without the use of an endoscopic device, provided the process of observation is consciously analysed. The focus lies on the perspective of the end-user. This observation is illustrated by the case study on Dehnepark in Vienna and sustained by the research activities accompanying the design process. Keywords: design process, environmental psychology, end-user perspective, UNA (User Need Analysis), Dehnepark, Vienna Introduction The title of this paper may well be seen as an allusion to Bernard Rudofsky's "Architecture without Architects" [1]. After all, Rudofsky gave a very convincing demonstration of the great artistic and cultural value inherent in what is called “anonymous architecture”. Any veteran architectural user of endoscopy might even interpret the title as a provocation or even as an expression of resignation. The set theme of the conference, however, virtually encourages such a perspective, since the etymology of the term “endoscopy” makes it a close relative of “in-sight” (endo=inside, skopei=view). The invention and development of endoscopy clearly has its roots in medical diagnostics, where it helps physicians to observe the inside of the body in a largely non-destructive way. This was and still is an important alternative to surgery and explains why the instrument needs to be slender – and sometimes flexible – to be able to penetrate into hard-to-reach body regions. One might call it an extension of the human eye. This metaphor is particularly apt when the viewer uses an eye-piece; in that case, however, the visual information gained cannot be shared. Hence, this information is often transferred to a monitor and/or storage medium by means of a camera rig, enabling “shared” viewing. Even if the use of endoscopy in architectural design and planning came much later– only about 3-4 decades ago – than its use in medicine, a connection can be established to the practice of user-participation emerging at that time. In architecture, endoscopy is mainly concerned with providing insights into a user’s view of a prospective structure. While initially it was only possible to provide stills of the inside of the architectural scale-model, the need soon arose, particularly in urban-planning contexts, to simulate the various types of movements of a user through an environment, e.g. in a vehicle. This led to the development of "camera rigs" which allowed moving the endoscope through the model at eye-level and adjusting the speed to walking or driving speed. With this set-up, explorative navigation through a model became possible. The next section outlines possible uses and potential restrictions in architectural endoscopy. Changes in the use of endoscopy Although an endoscope has always been an instrument that a planning office can well afford to buy, a comprehensive set-up certainly involves considerably higher expenditure. This is why the