Transformative Responsive Environments

As we enter the era of “Smart” environments and mass customization, humans face
the condition of wanting their surroundings to respond and adapt to their individual
needs. The sense of personal space has not only transformed from the distance
between one human to another, but from data to screen. This is forcing a paradigm
shift in the way that we interact with our environments at all scales, from the large
infrastructural scale to the micro processing scale. The concept that eventually any
object can be “smart” implies that everything has the potential to collect data,
analyse it and respond to it in a way that can transform and respond to a user’s need.
This class will focus on the aspect of these transformable and responsive
environments not necessarily as a focus on “smart” technologies, but more on the
actual physical implications that this new culture of immediacy and customization has
on urban spaces. This will be investigated through prototypes, precedent studies, and
material research.

By the end of the course, students will have the ability to:
-discuss future environments as a product of technology.
-develop conceptual environments.

There are no required prerequisites but a design background is prefered.
Students are expected to be from various backgrounds and the lecture is
intended to discuss environments and spaces without an immediate
knowledge of architecture or related design fields.