The creation of a monolith concerning internet culture and technology on Cleveland's historic mall
presents a number of cultural and architectural questions. This thesis will address the emergence
of technology and internet based culture as new drivers for architectural form and meaning. The
relationship between architecture and historic legacy has significant impact on our cultural conscious.
Cleveland's historic malls, conceived by Daniel Burnham as part of the national City Beautiful movement;
have become an integral part of the City's urban and social atmosphere since their inception in 1903.
The transformation of Cleveland from and industrial powerhouse to a struggling rust-belt economy
has created a unique juxtaposition of underutilized public space within established cultural icons and
institutions.
A relationship between new program and existing city form and landscape must be handled both
elegantly and deliberately. Decisions being made will have a concrete effect on the importance of
history within the future of the city. E-sports, competitive electronic gaming, is an industry experiencing
tremendous growth along with increased exposure and profitability. Integral to technology, e-sports
represents the future of non linear architectural space Providing a facility for such a unprecedented
program does not come without challenges. Creating such a place within the cultural and historical
legacy of Cleveland's Malls offers a number of additional theoretical and physical challenges.
By embracing the existing infrastructure of classical American cities, architecture can operate for not
only the future but the past and present as well.