Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884)

Described as a mathematical satire, "A Romance of Many Dimensions" which written by Edwin A. Abbott (1884), provides different visions from "A. Square", a 2 dimensional being. The story is about "A. Square" travels between various dimensions including nondimensional"Pointland", one dimensional "Lineland" and our own three dimensional "Spaceland". Edwin completely alters the scientific understanding of space, time, and matter, giving the readers a refreshingly clear and simple mathematical and philosophical discussion on the nature of perception and also a detailed description of the wayfinding challenges faced when moving between dimensions. This book has informed our own thinking regarding the relationship users have with complex internal environments. To some extent we all experience internal spaces as flatland, where buildings become no more than a series of direction changes, corridors and doorways, while our buildings are designed in spaceland.‘Flatland’ is also remarkable as it discusses radical ideas such as the multiverse, and considers that the observable universe may contain a glimpse or slice of the whole, reflecting current theories regarding dark matter.

Stories from Different Perspectives

A space can be experienced differently by diverse scales, attempts and activities, changing the function and possibility of a space. As mentioned in the background of this thesis, a girl and a woman may experience kitchen space differently. As a result, a story about two imaginable viewpoints from a diverse scale of objects within a lift space has been made for my study. The first scene used a compound eyeview to present a speedy prospect from a fly in a lift shaft. This is followed by the second scene, another viewpoint from the fly which looked forward to the ceiling light inside a lift. The next stage was when the two subjects, a human being and the fly came across each ‘other’, having different activities in the lift space. Eventually, from the perspective of the person in the last scene, the reader could realize the scales of the two subjects. Generally, people experience a lift by human perspective, accessing through a lift door and moving horizontally on floors or vertically by a lift. By contrast, a point of view from the other scale might experience a lift as an unlimited universe and the lift lights could be seen as a number of stars, shining in the universe. Moreover, the routes of a fly would not be vertical or horizontal only but would shuttle freely within the space. In order to present the idea, a 3D model and photography have been used for the illustrations. A space in the vertical transit is not just about mechanics, but could, however, be observed from any perspectives, and then various phenomena can be experienced.

From the Top to the End:

1. Using a compound eyeview to present a speedy perspective from a fly in a lift shaft.
2. A viewpoint from the fly which looked forward the ceiling light inside a lift.
3. The fly saw itself through the reflection of a human eye.
4. A sight from a human being.
5. The human and the fly came across, having different activities in the lift space.
6. Identify the scales of the two subjects from the prospect of the person.

The Fear of a Lift

The fearing of a place, a mechanical/technological space, has been written by Dick Maas to extend the imagination of the "technology gone MAD" subgenre. The Lift(1983) is centered around a misbehaving elevator in an office building. Felix, an elevator repairman, is called in to investigate mechanical problems after four guests are almost suffocated from heat or something inside the lift after a drinking binge. Although Felix finds no apparent problem, more incidents occur, including deaths. Felix is called back to the building,running into a reporter who heard about the deaths and is investigating. They dig and discover that there may be something fishy with the computerized electronics that form the brain of the system. This is one of the better targets for machine horror, since many of us have twinges of irrational fears about elevators--we fear that they'll suddenly plummet to the bottom of the shaft, we fear being stuck for indefinite periods of time between floors in a semblance of imprisonment and many of us are claustrophobic to an extent.

Memorable Lift Scenes in Movies

Lifts have been used in every day life whether in an office building, an apartment, a hospital or any high-rise dwellings. For the moment, people are trapped inside a rectangular parallelepiped. Sometimes, A small talk might happen between those travellers but for most of time, it is just a short and uneventful trip to other floors. However, anything can happen in a lift, which could get stuck, people may have fight or even sex in this place and that is the reason why there are so many directors have used lifts as a significant place in their films.

Die Hard - Bomb in Elevator Scene

The Departed - Elevator Shooting scene

The Shining

Police Story 2

Get Carter - Elevator Fight Scene