ARCH Studio: SENSE

/in , /by

ARCH 4001. Fall 2025

SENSE: Spatial Experiences for Narrative and Sensory Emotions

Studio Overview

This design studio invites students to explore the complex relationship between architecture, human emotion, and experiential design through the conceptualization and design of a Museum of Emotion. Students will investigate how spatial design can evoke, mediate, and communicate emotional states—moving beyond functionality to create environments that resonate on a deep psychological and sensory level. By integrating neuroscience, art, culture, and digital technologies, students will develop speculative proposals for a museum that acts not only as a cultural institution but also as a space of introspection, empathy, and transformation.

Studio Objectives

  • Understand and interpret the spatial, sensory, and material qualities that influence human emotional responses.
  • Translate research on emotion into architectural language (form, light, material, scale, sequence, etc.).
  • Design immersive environments that express or evoke specific emotional states.
  • Engage interdisciplinary methods (AI, Extended Reality, digital media) to inform spatial experience.
  • Critically assess cultural, ethical, and therapeutic dimensions of designing for emotion.

Key Questions

  • How can architectural elements—light, space, materiality, proportion—evoke emotional responses?
  • What is the role of immersive and interactive technology (VR/AR, AI, biometric feedback) in shaping emotional experiences?
  • How do cultural, personal, and neurophysiological factors affect emotional perception of space?
  • How can architecture foster emotional literacy, empathy, and collective memory?

Program

Each student (or team) will design a Museum of Emotion on a site of their choice. The museum must include:

  1. Core Zones (Required):
  • Emotion Lab: Interactive gallery presenting scientific and technological perspectives on emotion.
  • Rooms of Emotion: A minimum of three immersive emotional environments (e.g., joy, fear, sadness, awe, love, anger).
  • Memory Archive: A participatory or data-driven installation space where emotional memories are recorded, interpreted, and displayed.
  • Cultural Expressions Gallery: A rotating exhibition space focused on how different cultures represent and process emotions.
  1. Optional Programs (Student-Defined):
  • Workshop or educational spaces
  • Performance or therapeutic spaces
  • Café or gathering zone
  • Outdoor sensory garden or emotional path

Design Tools and Methods

  • Precedent studies of museums, memorials, and immersive installations
  • Digital modeling and rendering (with emphasis on atmosphere and mood)
  • Use of AI-assisted simulations, AIGC, and VR walkthroughs
  • Assessment through user feedback survey

Waterfalls of light: Universe of Water Particles on a Rock where People Gather (2018/2024), teamLab Borderless, Azabudai Hills, Tokyo© teamLab, courtesy Pace

Read:

Related course

Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Simulation, Phase 3

/in , /by

We are excited to announce the launch of Phase 3 of the VR-Based Employee Safety Training: Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Simulation project, building on the success of the previous two phases. This interdisciplinary collaboration brings together the Immersive Learning Lab and the Employee Safety Learning Lab at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), in partnership with the Extended Reality Lab (XR-Lab) at the University of Cincinnati.

Concept of Digital Twin: Digital Patient + Digital Hospital.

This phase will focus on developing an advanced virtual hospital environment populated with digital patients to simulate a variety of real-world Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) scenarios. The digital twins encompass both the hospital setting and patient avatars. The project aims to design immersive training modules, capture user performance data, and conduct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of VR-based training in enhancing employee safety and crisis response capabilities

Principal Investigator: Ming Tang. Funding Amount: $38,422. Project Period: April 1, 2025 – December 1, 2026

CCHMC Collaborators: Dr. Nancy Daraiseh, Dr. Maurizio Macaluso, Dr. Aaron Vaughn.

Research Domains: Virtual Reality, Safety Training, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Mental Health, Digital Twins, Digital Humans, Human Behavior Simulation.

We look forward to continuing this impactful work and advancing the role of immersive technologies in healthcare education and safety training

CIC-VISTA

/in /by

Following six successful phases of the Building Safety Analysis with AI / Geospatial Imagery Analytics Research project (2020–2025), funded by the Cincinnati Insurance Companies (CIC), we are pleased to announce the launch of a new research initiative: VISTA – Virtual Immersive Systems for Training AI.

VISTA – Phase 1 ($81,413) marks the continuation of XR-Lab’s collaborative research efforts at UC with CIC. This new track will explore advanced AI-related topics, including computer vision, synthetic imaging, procedural modeling, machine learning, and reinforcement learning.

Project Title: Virtual Immersive Systems for Training AI, Phase 1. PI: Tang. Award Amount: $81,413. Project Period: 07/01/2025 – 11/01/2026

Bearcat AI Award

/in /by

UC Bearcat AI Award Supports XR-Lab Student Innovation in 2025–2026

We are excited to share that two XR-Lab student fellows have been selected for the 2025–2026 Bearcat AI Award to support their cutting-edge research projects:

  • Mikhail Nikolaenko ($4,400) — Integrating BIM and GPT for Sustainable Building Analytics and Green Design Education in DAAP and CEAS

  • Aayush Kumar ($5,000) — INARA (Intelligent Navigation and Autonomous Response Agent): An Adaptive Indoor Navigation Assistant for UC Spaces

These projects reflect the XR-Lab’s ongoing commitment to advancing AI-driven solutions in design, education, and campus experience. Congratulations to both recipients!

2025 Faculty Excellence Award

/in /by

I’m honored to share that I’ve received the 2025 Faculty Excellence Award as part of UC’s Research + Innovation Week, co-sponsored by the Office of Research and the Office of the Provost.

This recognition is truly meaningful to me, as it highlights the value of collaboration, mentorship, and innovation across our academic community. I’m deeply grateful to the colleagues and leadership who nominated me, and to all the students, collaborators, and partners who make this work possible.

Thank you for the continued support—it’s a privilege to be part of such a vibrant and inspiring research environment at UC.

photo source: UC Digital Futures.  Ming Tang with Dr. Keisha Love, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Patrick Limbach. Vice President for Research.