About

The idea for a new interactive teaching and learning tool derived from an interdisciplinary project and seminar taught by the philosopher Norman Sieroka and the architect Hannes Mayer at ETH Zurich during Fall Semester ‘17 and ‘18.

Together with the graphic designer Florian Lamm and the programmers Matt Lenz and Paul Mylecharane we developed KNOW – Knowledge Network Online Whiteboard, as a collaborative platform for interdisciplinary learning and research. With its origins in the typically text-based work of philosophy and the more image-based work in architecture, KNOW is an online tool for interactive learning in large groups and with different media. KNOW helps to make any work directly visible for everyone in real time and creates a platform for supporting debate whilst at the same time acting as an archiving and publishing tool.

The Founders

Norman Sieroka is Full Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bremen. He studied philosophy, physics, and mathematics at the Universities of Heidelberg and Cambridge. Engaging in interdisciplinary research and teaching, Norman Sieroka is a member of the Directory Board of the Turing Centre Zurich and of the Governance Board of the “rethink” initiative, both hosted at ETH Zurich.

Hannes Mayer is an architect, publisher and Senior Researcher at Gramazio Kohler Research, Chair for Architecture and Digital Fabrication at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich. Prior, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, The Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and the University of Westminster. He is co-founder of the architecture magazine manege and a passionate bass-player.

Florian Lamm is a graphic designer, typographer and founding partner of Lamm & Kirch. Lamm & Kirch is a design studio in Berlin and Leipzig focusing on the creation of visual identities, books and exhibitions in the cultural sector. With a strong background in the production of printed matter, Lamm & Kirch focuses on concepts arising at the intersection of digital and analogue publishing.

Matthew Lenz is a self-taught programmer and web developer specialising in interactive information systems and peer-to-peer technologies. Together with Paul Mylecharane he is founder of Public Office, a Melbourne-based graphic design and web development studio.

Paul Mylecharane is a graphic designer and developer whose practice focuses mainly on the intersection of physical and digital publishing and its relationship to the archive.

KNOW

• is a browser-integrated online whiteboard replacing the common linear data structures such as lists with visual-spatial strategies.
• is intuitive and easy to use; content is created directly in the browser or dragged onto the whiteboard where it can be freely positioned, scaled, grouped, described and commented on at any time.
• is designed for large numbers of participants and fast, seamless processing of their contributions.
• supports vital transparency in times of segregation: within a workspace, everything anyone works on is open, visible and accessible live.
• is suitable for remote as well as classroom learning and mixed / parallel forms; i.e. independent learning or learning in locally distributed groups as well as flipped or standard classroom scenarios.
• allows for easy processing from content on the whiteboard to the generation of a print or pdf product making a subsequent graphic design of content obsolete.
• places strong emphasis on typography and graphic design distinguishing it from available “managerial” tools. The focus is on content and knowledge production.

KNOW was supported by an ETH Innovedum grant and received initial funding by the Critical Thinking Initiative of ETH Zürich and the Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture and Digital Fabrication programme. KNOW is hosted by the IT Services at the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich