Sensory Urbanism and Placemaking - Exploring Virtual Reality and the Creation of Place (original) (raw)
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Virtual reality thanks to immersion and interaction is a good tool to assess urban environments. Allowing users to freely navigate in the virtual environment, virtual reality permits to take into account the influence of dynamic elements and the observers’ actions in the perception of urban spaces. However, previous works have shown that virtual assessments of urban projects are mainly based on visual experience. Thus, the multisensory perception of the actual environment is biased. In order to tackle this issue, we propose to focus on climatic ambiances, which are dynamic and multisensory. Moreover some studies have shown the importance of these factors in the appropriation of an urban space whereas they are very seldom integrated in virtual evaluations. This paper presents a new methodology to delineate urban climatic ambiances in virtual environments which respects the following points: understanding and perception of climatic ambiances by non-experts, sensitive evaluation of the...
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Virtual reality (VR) enables the controlled acquisition of physical reality into the virtual environment. The virtual built environment stimulates people as physical urban experiences. Room-scale experience allows wandering around the urban space. The purpose of this study is to understand VR as a tool for measuring spatial tendencies of the individual through distance structuring (proxemics) in the virtual environment. According to the concept of proxemics, individuals interact with the built environment and people through personal, social, and public distances. The study provided a virtual space that was designed as a streetscape with a road and buildings along the way both sides. Users were immersed in the VR model for 10 minutes through navigating on the chosen route and recorded in the video. The objective was understanding how the architectural elements are related to proxemics tendencies. This study describes VR as a tool for understanding user tendencies through user spatial behavior.
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(hbk) It may be said that a Copernican turn in media is underway. Increasingly, we are set free from the physical constraints of traditional media locations for our regular information feed, be it the cinema house, the TV set, the radio, or our favorite reading chair. Instead, information in its many forms and the interfaces we activate to access, produce, and share it, gravitate around us as individuals. They follow us everywhere, and always, and, importantly, they do so as we move. This gives new meaning to the significance of location and perspective. Added to these dimensions is the further condition that dynamic information media engage us with the sensorial in the situations of their use. While earlier media were conceived as sensorial extensions of our nervous system (as championed by McLuhan 1964), now the metaphor applies to the handheld media devices themselves. These terminals are no longer only subordinate augmentations of our human sensory system, but have their own complex sensorial capabilities as well. We may say, then, that we are experiencing the age of situated and sensory media.
The Power of Place and Perspective. Sensory media and situated simulations in urban design
(hbk) It may be said that a Copernican turn in media is underway. Increasingly, we are set free from the physical constraints of traditional media locations for our regular information feed, be it the cinema house, the TV set, the radio, or our favorite reading chair. Instead, information in its many forms and the interfaces we activate to access, produce, and share it, gravitate around us as individuals. They follow us everywhere, and always, and, importantly, they do so as we move. This gives new meaning to the significance of location and perspective. Added to these dimensions is the further condition that dynamic information media engage us with the sensorial in the situations of their use. While earlier media were conceived as sensorial extensions of our nervous system (as championed by McLuhan 1964), now the metaphor applies to the handheld media devices themselves. These terminals are no longer only subordinate augmentations of our human sensory system, but have their own complex sensorial capabilities as well. We may say, then, that we are experiencing the age of situated and sensory media.
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Virtual reality (VR) technologies enable users to be virtually immersed in reconstructed cities and streets from around the globe. Immersive technologies could provide users a suggestive sensation of “being there” in a reconstructed virtual urban environments (VUE). This research argues that experiential VUE could promote better understanding of a place while offering unique interactions within its surrounding elements. The aim of this research is to present a preliminary study of the factors determining place experience in a VUE. This research examines two related VUE case studies that offer real-time navigation via a 3D virtual environment (VE) platform to analyse the functionality of the offered interactions and user experience via its contents. Although preliminary investigations have shown some promising results in real-time virtual city walkthroughs, there are still some issues that still need to be addressed in order to provide experiential contents. Based on the findings, th...
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Background: This article offers an alternative look at the experiential character of the built environment by combining objective analysis and subjective perception. The aim is to measure and elaborate on quantitative descriptions of 'hidden' urban characteristics, attempting to build correlations between different unseen but detectable qualities of cities. Methods: The study introduces an applied research method to quantify objective features of the built environment and the related subjective experience, prototyping a mobile phone application that both actively and passively measures urban parameters and human perceptions. To test the validity of the research process, a few experiments were performed in Cambridge, MA mapping out a series of different places.
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Quality of life, health and well-being, as well as the creative potential originating from positive experiences and interaction with our environment and interaction are pivotal human factors underlying a rich and productive social context. Respect and careful treatment of users, i.e., the citizen who will populate, co-create and co-operate in the scenarios, mandate overarching topics for developing user centered designschematas. Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have recently offered tools to anticipate the affordances of future scenarios. In the serious game VR-SenseCity (Paletta et al., 2017) we created tools for the imagination of affective and sensory experiences, in particular, referring to visual affordances that enable induction of imaginated sensory experiences in real urban environments. We investigated the potential for the motivation of elderly people, in particular, persons with dementia, to encounter their daily environment in positive attitude, with pleasant and aware ...
Modern construction and architecture , 2024
The proliferation of immersive presence environments (an artificially created multimedia environment of an alternative reality) is evolving into a widespread social phenomenon that gradually influences how people live and interact. As a result, it has the potential to reshape expectations and demands regarding living spaces and their arrangement. While numerous studies have explored the impact of virtual and augmented reality technologies on urban planning, relatively little attention has been given to the possibility that the behavioral changes brought about by these technologies could prompt a reevaluation of the fundamental principles underlying urban planning. Previously, immersive environments were primarily seen as tools for a limited group of individuals to enhance their problem-solving capabilities within the existing framework of urban planning. However, with the widespread adoption of virtual presence tools, there is a potential for a significant shift in this paradigm. The exact nature and implications of these changes are still not well understood and remain uncertain. However, through the method of behavioral interpolation, we can begin to model the key aspects and potential outcomes of this paradigm shift. The object of this article is to present a theoretical framework for potential transformations in the contemporary urban planning paradigm resulting from the widespread adoption of personalized virtual reality technologies. Through analysis, five key categories within modern post-industrial urban planning are identified as likely to undergo changes: a) residential areas; b) accessibility radius; c) social cohesion; d) transportation requirements, and e) optimal density. Residential units will necessitate additional opportunities and spaces, altering living requirements and lifestyles. The significance of the accessibility radius, particularly for pedestrians, may diminish as a considerable number of desirable locations become accessible directly from individuals' homes. Reducing strain on transportation networks will enhance cities' environmental sustainability and create new opportunities for green spaces. The concept of social cohesion will experience stratified transformations, as differences related to ethnicity, religion, gender, race, age, social status, etc., become neutralized through the development of shifting virtual personas and non-deterministic identities. These interrelated changes will also diminish the weight of the optimal density category. Collectively, these transformations form a comprehensive conceptual framework that reimagines the city. This article outlines two potential directions of change in the urban paradigm that could arise from the proliferation of personalized metaverse communication technologies. The first direction pertains to the contemporary interpretation of deurbanistic concepts, incorporating elements of selfsufficiency, stability, security, and communication infrastructure characteristic of the information age. The second direction is likely to focus on various approaches to transforming the existing urban environment. This transformation will occur through the involvement of market regulatory mechanisms and the development and implementation of specialized municipal programs aimed at modernization and stimulating population growth.
Utilizing a VR model for adding visual qualities to the downtown area of Al Ain City, UAE
Cities, 2004
Arab Emirates utilizing a virtual reality model. Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments are the most rapidly growing fields of information technology and have received great media attention. There is evidence to suggest that the use of such technology will enhance the image of any proposed project in any urban setting for users, designers and clients. Therefore, city officials and administrators (clients) and the public (users) can reach better decisions regarding proposed projects within their towns and cities. Because of limited time and resources, this study examines the visual quality of Downtown Al Ain, UAE, specifically, the Khalifa street (major shopping street). A basic VR model of the street was constructed. Modifications to the basic model were made to examine how changes in buildings' heights and street vegetation affect the visual quality of the street. Results of this study showed that urban visualization is proving to be a valuable tool for designers and planners. Increasing the height of buildings in the mid-street and on the edges, along with enforcing distinctive architectural styles for the proposed buildings, will enhance the overall quality of the street. Furthermore, decreasing the intensity of current vegetation and tree heights will increase the imaginable quality of the street. Nevertheless, the building of a comprehensive VR model needs time, resources and facilities that were not available to this study. This model, if extended to the whole downtown area, can be used both to identify existing problems and to quickly evaluate alternative solutions to those problems.