Augmented Spaces: If walls could talk

This paper explores the development of Augmented Spaces that involve embedding within the built environment, digitally responsive recognition of human presence. Contemporary digital media provides the opportunity to enhance physical space with the property of immediate interaction, which results in a high level of user engagement and responsiveness. Through the addition of digital media, emotional and reflective value can be added to the built form. If space is designed to be reactive, rather than passive, a dialogue can be established between the user/inhabitant and the environment. We report on the establishment and analysis of a set of prototype digital interventions in urban space that react to human presence. One is in a building threshold space; one an urban street. We describe the development of a digital particle system with two inputs; the first being the geometry that generates the particles and the second being the geometry that displaces the particles. The research goals that we report on are driven by three overriding response criteria, Visceral, Behavioural and Reflective.