Physical and Spatial Computation in Architecture with Rudy el-Khoury

Led by: Rodolphe el-Khoury, Chris Chung, and Max Jarosz

The course has a twofold aim: 

1. To explore spatial and ubiquitous computing in their potential to change the ways we conceive, construct, inhabit and interact with our cities, buildings, and objects of everyday life. 
2. To explore the potential of Mixed Reality (MR) as a medium for distance learning and collaboration.

Computing is migrating from dedicated static appliances to mobile devices, objects of everyday life, and physical environments thanks to proliferating microchips, ever-expanding information networks, and new interactive interfaces such as Augmented/Mixed Reality. Soon every object around will be inherently or virtually equipped with some computational power and become enmeshed in a network of communication.  The built environments will take on functionalities we usually reserve to computers and hand-held communication devices. This functionality becomes particularly desirable in a post-COVID-19 world where the manipulation of digital content that is virtually layered on top of things becomes preferable to physical contact with objects and user interfaces. MR allows for engaging interactions in the real word with non-substantial content.  Surely one of the greatest benefits of MR in times of social distancing and confinement is the capacity to meet, interact, and collaborate remotely: to be virtually present without being physically exposed. The studio course explores this new reality and proposes designs for its non-substantial environments. 

The course seeks synergies between Mixed Reality (MR) and the Internet of Things (IoT), using Magic Leap’s platform for spatial computing as well as other digital tools that facilitate remote learning and collaboration. We will focus on the domestic environment and how it may overlap with and accommodate various aspects of everyday life by means of technology: working, learning, leisure, health, shopping, and storing. Particular attention will be given to how the home could become an augmented site for new forms of interaction and socialization.