It is no longer virtual
People’s notion of physical surroundings have changed drastically over the years due to the advances in network technology and computation. For our generation, the computer has become so deeply integrated into our environment, it is arguably the most intuitive communication tool. It also has changed the relationship between human beings and the technological environment. Not only has it greatly influenced people’s everyday practices in space, but it has blurred the boundary between the physical world and what used to be called virtual. This blur has generated a cultural movement in the field of creativity to develop critical reflections in areas related to simulated reality, the impossible, and actuality.
The main focus of this project is to understand the emerging contexts in today’s cultural environment that are inextricably interlinked with technology. In the traditional sense, the practice of producing metaphors in space was primarily driven by the memories that tie us to that place. However, in contemporary culture, the way in which people engage with their surroundings has become remarkably complex. By using advanced technology, such as a sensor network, there have been numerous explorations of creating systems that transfigure digital information into physical form or vise versa. For instance, Nike+ enables users to achieve interactive experience both in the digital environment and the physical world. Also, even media forms that use one of the most simple technologies, such as LED traffic signal lights, literally shape the whole traffic flow of a city. In a sense, people’s engagement with the embedded digital environment is currently shifting towards to a stage that is ubiquitous.
In the same context, for decades, people have been deeply interested in creating technologies that would enable people to intuitively respond and interact with space and objects, and as a result, produced various research projects, notably Hiroshi Ishii’s Tangible Media Group projects from MIT media lab. Explorations of technical infrastructure of ubiquitous computing have introduced interesting aspects of the relationship between humans, space, and technology. As technology increasingly invade space, people’s sensory awareness of their physical surroundings have become achieved not only through the collectable memories of architectural experiences, but also through the digital experiences that take place in the tangible environment.
This being the case, to fully understand the meaning of today and tomorrow’s technological environment, it is necessary to investigate the changing boundaries of virtuality and the meaning of spatial relations. The point is to develop a design approach that would lead to imaginative speculation regarding the space between simulated reality, the impossible, and actuality. To achieve this, the project will focus on designing a chain of events between physical objects and digital elements. This design practice will deal with the idea of simulated causality and provide new modes of interactive experiences to the user. The goal of this project is to learn how technological environment could shape and transform human action and even aesthetic practice in public or private space, to indicate pathways for further research.
