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Throughout history, technology has had a crucial influence on the development of society. Different eras have been defined by technological advancements which have had a profound impact on the built environment and construction. It has been proposed that, after the internet age, we are entering a new era – the ‘Augmented Age’ – while physicist Michio Kaku argues for a future in which architects rely heavily on augmented reality (AR). As we immerse ourselves in rapidly developing extended realities (XR), the barriers between humans and machines are increasingly blurred, with portable devices such as smartphones and tablets augmenting our perception of the environment.
Research Cluster 9 explores how XR technologies can change the ways in which we design, build and interact with our cities. We explore a hybrid approach to making that is neither purely analogue nor automated through the application of alternative fabrication strategies, utilising cutting-edge head-mounted devices to holographically assist designers and makers. We ask whether full automation is the ultimate goal or whether the role of humans in the construction chain needs to be reconsidered as automation is more widely adopted. Making in mixed reality (MR) reinvigorates traditional craftsmanship by augmenting hand and material skills with the precision and formal possibilities of digital modelling. MR-assisted processes can enhance human labour with data previously exclusive to machines while enabling seamless inclusion of intuitive decision-making and experience, both of which are often absent from automated construction processes.
Our research also includes XR technologies which allow for immersive experience and interaction with the metaverse and built environment. We propose new models which question the concepts of art ownership and intellectual property by developing digital platforms for multi-player design and using AI-assisted design. Under this speculative agenda, students interrogate how virtual platforms, understood as environments in which users can create, collaborate, explore, socialise and engage in economic activity, intertwine with the built environment and how architecture and the urban environment become the canvas and enablers of the virtual.