Real-time Visualization & Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality
Explores the interactive virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) system, and real time rendering for architectural visualization, Human Computer Interaction, spatial behavioral and way-finding studies.

Virtual DAAP

Virtual DAAP extends to the discussion of technological constraints of VR such as field of vision, peripheral vision, and vestibular indices. The multi-phase approach starts with defining the immersive VR system, which is used for capturing real agent’s movement within a digital environment to form raw data in the cloud, and then visualize it with heat-map and path network. Combined with graphs, survey data is also used to compare various agents’ way-finding behavioral related to gender, spatial recognition level, and spatial features such as light, sound, and architectural simulations.

 

More information about virtual DAAP.

Mixed Reality ARCH Studio

Architecture in the age of mixed reality. Spring 2017. Vertical Studio ARCH4002/ARCH8001

With the recent development of head mounted display (HMD) such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, and powerful game engines, both Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are being reintroduced as Mixed Reality (MR) instruments into the design industry. It is never been so easy for us to design, visualize, and interact with the immersive virtual world. As humans continue to design the virtual and physical worlds, how can MR bridge these domains?   Architecture strives to tangibly enhance humanity’s wellbeing through the design of complex systems.  As cybernetics increasingly interconnects the virtual and physical worlds, how will this relationship influence architecture and its physical context to solve complicated problems?

360 video

Future City Studio.  ARCH 8001. Spring. 2016

Parametric Urbanism, pioneered by Zaha Hadid & Patrik Schumacher Architects with support coming from advanced computational technology, has been the interest of architects and urban designers in recent years. This new design thinking has been used in projects ranging from large scale urban development to building design.

The studio presents a study investigating the data processing of Parametric Urbanism in the relation to the sustainable design. The studio emphasis simulated urban system and site information as input parameters. The research is defined as a hybrid method which seeks logical architecture/urban forms and analyzes its’ sustainability & performance. The studio project extends future urban system study by exploring, collecting, analyzing, and visualizing urban information, as well as using virtual reality technology for representing the information through various immersive environment.

 

SOFA2016 Exhibition

Ming Tang and Mara Marcu coordinated the gallery exhibition in SOFA Expo Chicago. ( Sculpture Object and Functional Art and Design). The exhibition featured works from faculty and students from School of Art, School of Architecture & Interior Design. Exhibition Hall. Navy Pier, Chicago. Nov2-6. 2016.
The installation has three components. Smaller artifacts expand on the notion of architectural structure and collectively create a catalogue of “misbehaved” tectonics. Larger ceramic and polypropylene prototypes speculate on the role of architectural pleats and on the metamorphosis of two dimensional material to three dimensional form. Several hologram digital models created onsite obsess over the possibility of endless variation through human interaction, the natural versus the artificial, and the-everything-else that lies in between.

Faculty Coordinator:
Ming Tang, Mara Marcu, Katie Parker, Jesse Ring, Abed Breir.
SAID Students: Second year Students in SAID2013 Fall 2016
SAID GA: Han Shen, Nolan Loh, Muhammed Bahcetepe, Andrew Watson, Mathew Klump, Kevin Goldstein, Austin Gehman, Jiajing Xie, Weiqi Chu
SOA students: MShinda Brpaddus, Ginny Grote, Rachel Boue, Jessica Whittington, Jen Watson, Megan Stevens, Olivia Gorman, Sarah Christie
Tectonic Studio students: MShinda Brpaddus, Ginny Grote, Rachel Boue, Jessica Whittington, Jen Watson, Megan Stevens, Olivia Gorman, Sarah Christie, Matt Miller, Ben Hamilton, Daniel Castele, Tsui Lun Wang, Sam Joe Carl, Chen Ludan, Connor Hymes, Daniel Bryan Smith, Olivia Kempf, Sydney Brown, Dung Le, Matt Miller, Jillian Blakey, Sam Kissing, Jing Guo, Prince Osemwengie, Hannah Westendorf, Samantha Schuermann, Amanda Kristoff, Ben Bedel, Jamie Kruer, Brendan Carr, Clark Sabula.
Tectonic Studio Faculty Team: Mara Marcu, Sean Cottengim, Renee Martin, Whitney Hamaker, Ryan Ball, Stephen Slaughter.

More info on this exhibition is here.

 

SOFA Expo 2016

sofa

Grant: Third Century Faculty Research Grant. UC. $10,000.  Unfolding CocoOn. PI: Tang. Marcu. M . 2016

Also, thanks for the grant support from SOFA CONNECT and SAID, UC.

Ming Tang and Mara Marcu coordinated the gallery exhibition at SOFA Expo Chicago. ( Sculpture Object and Functional Art and Design). The exhibition featured works from faculty and students from the School of Art, School of Architecture & Interior Design. Exhibition Hall. Navy Pier, Chicago. Nov2-6. 2016.

Students: SAID 2013. Communication Skills. Fall semester 2016.

The installation has three components. Smaller artifacts expand on the notion of architectural structure and collectively create a catalog of “misbehaved” tectonics. Larger ceramic and polypropylene prototypes speculate on the role of architectural pleats and on the metamorphosis of two-dimensional material to three-dimensional form. Several hologram digital models created onsite obsess over the possibility of endless variation through human interaction, the natural versus the artificial, and the “the everything-else” that lies in between.

The project was exhibited at the 2017 ACADIA conference and on various social media.

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Screen capture of animated sculpture with MS Hololens ( Augmented Reality). We are not able to capture the video during SOFA exhibition. here is a test demon captured in my office to illustrate the animated forms. Thanks, Mike Gasaway to set up the animation.

hybrid