Media architecture: participation through the senses

Abstract

Pervasive media and interactive technologies have become inseparable not only from our everyday life but also from architecture and city spaces. However, the generic use of new technologies in the design process and material production that affects contemporary architecture, results in buildings that become mere visual objects losing their hapticity and non-visual qualities. Despite the substantial advancement in the research studies on human sensorial perception, the potential of cities to affect and co-create our sensuous experiences has diminished dramatically. The paper examines recent artistic practices that involve new media technologies focusing on their potential to create interactive environments that due to their multi-sensory qualities induce people to participate through their senses. The steadily growing interest in exploration of the role of media and interactive technologies in generating sensorial experiences establishes an important direction toward new kinds of their applications in architecture and city spaces. This work emphasizes the power of media and interactive technologies as important tools that incorporated in architecture demonstrate the ability to enrich the sensory perception of the cities.