Rethinking wearables in the realm of architecture

Abstract

The architectural built environments, which so ubiquitously, act as shelters and shape our daily personal and social experiences, can soon be envisioned as being interacted with and mediated through wearables. This conjecture is becoming salient with the increased interactivity of our built environments, and a sustained drive to render them energy efficient. This entails for the upscaled re-design, appropriation, and assessment of functions that are typically ascribed to wearable technologies, as well as the grounding of users’ socio-technical interactions and experiences within the built environments. In this position paper, we discuss this inevitable shift in the role of wearables and the expansion of its functional spectrum to include the built environments and the constituent social constructs, thus facilitating a comprehensive experience of inhabitants’ well-being.