Designing Interactions A step forward from time based media and synthetic space design in architectural education

Abstract

The paper follows the development of digital tools for architects and briefly discusses their utility within education and practice. The move from static CAD tools to time based media followed by programmatic processes and virtual environment design is addressing the evolution of the profession and to an extent reflects practitioners’ needs. The paper focuses on the notion of interactivity and how it is been addressed in various fields. Borrowing from computer science and game design the author presents a course dealing with designing interactivity, responsiveness and users feeding their input back in the design. The aim of the paper is to analyse and support a new set of tools in architectural curricula that will implement interactivity and integrate it into spatial design leading to a holistic approach promoting intelligence, hybridity and responsiveness of the built environment. Following, the elaboration of the rationale, a brief discussion on tools and project directions is carried out.