Becoming-with, Encuentros en un jardín aumentado: Arquitectura como objeto mediático habitable

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of spatial computing, Web 2.0, social networks, and high bandwidths on contemporary architecture. It explores how these developments converge communication technologies and physical spaces, enabling three-dimensional virtual inhabitation. This paradigm shift has given rise to virtual communities and hybrid spatial sociability, challenging traditional notions of architecture as static and isolated. The paper presents a practice-led Ph.D. research project, Becoming-with, which unfolds a site-specific mixed reality installation in Giardini Margherita, Bologna. It examines the potential to cultivate a spatial milieu that integrates digital information with physical space, creating a hybridized socio-spatial experience. The paper discusses the interplay between architecture and media, highlighting the implications of designing social mixed-reality spaces on architectural environments. Ultimately, it explores the emergence of a transformative and immersive architectural spatiality, shaped by new media technologies and the Internet.