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Paper at Artificial Realities Conference

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Cyber-Physical Experiences: Architecture as Interface

Turan Akman and Ming Tang’s Paper Cyber-Physical Experiences: Architecture as Interface was presented at the Artificial Realities: Virtual as an Aesthetic Medium for Architectural Ideation Symposium in Lisbon, Portugal. 2019.

Abstract:

Conventionally, architects have relied on qualities of elements such as materiality, light, solids and voids, etc. to break out of the static nature of space, and enhance the way users experience and perceive architecture. Even though some of these elements and methods helped create more dynamic spaces, architecture is still bound by conventional constraints of the discipline. With the introduction of technologies such as augmented reality(AR), it is becoming easier to blend digital, and physical realities, and create new types of spatial qualities and experiences, especially when it is combined with virtual reality(VR) early in the design process. Even though these emerging technologies cannot replace the primary and conventional qualitative elements in architecture, they can be used to supplement and enhance the experience and qualities architecture provides.

To explore how AR can enhance the way architecture is experienced and perceived, and how VR can be used to enhance the effects of these AR additions, the authors proposed a hybrid museum which integrated AR with conventional analog methods(e.g., materiality, light, etc.) to mediate spatial experiences. To evaluate the proposed space, the authors also created a VR walkthrough and collected quantifiable data on the spatial effects of these AR additions.

Akman,T.Tang,M. Cyber-Physical Experiences: Architecture as Interface at Artificial Realities: Virtual as an Aesthetic Medium for Architectural Ideation Symposium, Lisbon Portugal. 2019

 

Navigating the New Longevity Symposium

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Prof. Ming Tang was invited as a panelist and presented his Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality research projects at the Navigating the New Longevity Symposium organized by the Village Chicago on November 7. The symposium topic is “How Will Virtual Reality Change Your Future?”

The Village Chicago organized a lively discussion of how immersion technology is changing the way we live, learn and care, a conversation exploring how immersion technology is transforming our well-being at all ages and stages of life – and be inspired to suggest new ways it can be put to use. Panelists include Neelum T. Aggarwal, M.D.; Carrie Shaw, CEO, Embodied Labs; Ming Tang, RA University of Cincinnati; and Emily Phelps, medical student of Rush University Medical Center.

Carrie Shaw, CEO, Embodied Labs presented at the symposium.

paper published in inForma

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Ming Tang’s paper “Architectural visualization in the age of mixed reality” is published by the architectural journal inForma.

Tang, Ming. 2018. “Architectural Visualization in the Age of Mixed Reality.” informa 11: 82–87.

Having been a promising visualization tool since the 1950s, ironically, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) were not widely used in the architectural design and evaluation process due to the high cost of equipment and complicated programming process required. However, with the recent development of head-mounted displays (HMD) such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, and easy-to-use game engines, both VR and AR are being reintroduced as Mixed Reality (MR) instruments into the design industry. This paper explores research related to VR concepts “essential copy” and “physical transcendence” (Bicocca, Levy. 1995), and their use in architectural design studios at the University of Cincinnati. We explored various methods to integrate MR in the architectural design process. This paper discusses two main aspects: (1) how to integrate MR into the design process as a design instrument, and (2) how to valuate MR methods for communicating architectural data, based on the workflow efficiency, rendering quality and users’ feedback.

This issue “Hybrid Realities“of inForma explores architectural discourse by looking at how twenty-first century economic, academic, technological and political shifts have set up conditions for architectural hybridity. We define ‘hybrid’ as points of convergence between different ‘breeds’, resulting in the creation of dynamic architectures and frameworks. Parting from the premise that disciplinary and theoretical crossovers can produce alternate readings and conceptualisations of space, ‘Hybrid Realities’ seeks to discuss the effectual offsprings between two different components, wether typological, disciplinary, idealistic, or others. Similarly, it aims at discussing works and research which places these crossovers in a wider, contextual discussion representative of our current moment in time. Borrowing ‘hybrid’ from biology, the issue situates it within the discussion of the built environment to challenge notions of architectural singularity and highlight the diverse ways in which the field is expanding.  

Interview featured at the Building Design + Construction magazine

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Ming Tang’s interview was featured in the article “The human touch“, by David Malone, editor of the Building Design + Construction magazine. Vol. 31. 04. 2018. The issue is about the TECH REPORT 5.0: Cognitive Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Real-time Rendering, Digital Media.  Tang discussed the emerging research on eye-tracking and way-finding in Architecture and interior design. 

Project featured in the IDSA’s Innovation magazine

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Our project is featured in the summer edition of IDSA’s Innovation quarterly. “Design for ________”. by Jacqueline Kern. The article discussed the UC and Live Well Collaborative’s Boeing Onboard project which was covered at UC Magazine in Spring 2018.