Prototype types
Working on Lifespan sometimes involves playing around with features - how things work, what you can do, things you can see - but there’s also modelling different kinds of thing, and different connections between things.
The latter means just changing the ontology, introducing new nouns and verbs into the story, within the same machine.
I thought about this when I passed Chats Palace here in Hackney the other day, and thought about its history.
Lifespan already has all the features to create spans for organisations, and to say where they’re located, what they’re called, and so on. But the story of something like Chats Palace has some interesting new nouns and verbs…
Hey ChatGPT, tell me about Chats Palace
- Commissioned in the early 20th century by the Hackney Public Libraries Committee as part of a wave of new libraries funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
- Designed by architect Sir Thomas Edwin Cooper in a simple classical style with a Portland stone façade and Doric columns.
- Foundation stone laid: 19 October 1912.
- Officially opened: 31 May 1913, serving the local community as a public library.
- For decades it served as Homerton’s public library, providing books, reading spaces and community services.
- The library closed as a public library in 1974.
- After closure, the building became Chats Palace – an arts and community centre that hosts cultural events, performances and creative projects.
- In 1981 it received Grade II listed status, recognising its architectural and historic significance.
- The former library building has continued to be a cultural hub for Hackney residents, with ongoing activities and celebrations marking its place in local heritage.
So here we have a bunch of new connection types…
| Verb | Purpose | Already supported? |
|---|---|---|
| located_in | building —> place | (/) |
| has_role | thing —> role | (/) |
| operated_by | role —> organisation | (x) |
| owned_by | building —> organisation | (x) |
| funded_by | role/building —> org/person | (x) |
| designed_by | building –> person | (x) |
| commissioned_by | building –> org/person | (x) |
I don’t think all of these need to be added, but there’s some to consider.
To be continued…