We've published quite a lot of writing about how we might experience urban life through augmented reality--see this speculative piece by Jack Graham and this Q&A with Bruce Sterling. Now, architectural filmmaker Keiichi Matsuda has produced a film that tries to envision life in augmented cities...in 3D!
The architecture of the contemporary city is no longer simply about the physical space of buildings and landscape, more and more it is about the synthetic spaces created by the digital information that we collect, consume and organise; an immersive interface may become as much part of the world we inhabit as the buildings around us. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology defined by its ability to overlay physical space with information. It is part of a paradigm shift that succeeds Virtual Reality; instead of disembodied occupation of virtual worlds, the physical and virtual are seen together as a contiguous, layered and dynamic whole. It may lead to a world where media is indistinguishable from 'reality'. The spatial organisation of data has important implications for architecture, as we re-evaluate the city as an immersive human-computer interface.
This isn't the first time Matsuda has tried to envision augmented environments. I actually somewhat prefer this earlier effort, the amusingly titled "Domestic Robocop," which he produced as part of his masters in architecture:
Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.
Comments
Neal Gorenflo wrote on 08.24.10, 4:01pm:
Plain Jane, good question. What about AR that's an overlay on reality that makes various kinds of commons visible - air, water, voting booths, libraries, public parks, public transportation?
This would make using, supporting, and creating commons easier as well as doing more for our collective well-being.
Jeremy Adam Smith wrote on 08.24.10, 4:04pm:
It might be interesting to create a guide to organizing in augmented reality--more as a kind of preparatory, science fictional exercise than practical guide. But it might stimulate thinking about building shareable augmented spaces.
Jeremy Adam Smith
www.jeremyadamsmith.com
Neal Gorenflo wrote on 08.25.10, 1:24pm:
Cool idea Jeremy. Would be interesting to know the contributions you can make to the commons wherever you are.
Just found this link about activism and AR from Adbusters, which offers a negative view of AR:
https://www.adbusters.org/blogs/blackspot-blog/augmented-reality.html
I understand the point, but also think exploring possibilities as you suggest is constructive.
Phoebe wrote on 08.26.10, 11:18pm:
My earlier comment was in reply to PlainJane's comment about AR being directed toward social justice.
On another note, every visual (and sensory, for that matter) element we see contains information. AR is just about the ability to increase, focus, and direct that information.
Some people see AR as a way to increase advertising, but that is such a limited view of it. Corporations want to push their product on you as a means to financial success, no news there, and who does that benefit, really? Not society/humanity as a whole, in my opinion.
This discussion reminds me of one about HDR in Photography. From what I understand, HDR takes a low light exposure and a high light exposure and combines them together for a somewhat surreal, glowing, saturated look. It provides the viewer with more information. Many photographers rail against it because 1)it's different 2)it's manipulated, ie "not real photography" or 3)All that information clutters up the photo; overwhelms the viewer. HDR is just a different way of perceiving images. AR is just a different way of perceiving your surroundings.
People will always find a way to decompress, filter incoming information, and interpret their surroundings. Exploring the ways we can improve our perception just makes sense. Sense. ha
This is, of course, neat. But I always feel annoyed by so much writing and thinking about AR. These films, for example, are plastered with corporate logos. But how will people use AR to hack reality? How will they use to transform our social reality, to attack inequality and fight back against corporate power? That's a film I'd like to see!