Visibility in Architecture Extended through Audiovisual Communication Technologies

audiovisual communication media; visibility; permeability; cameras; embedded Audiovisual communication media that are embedded in physical architecture can extend buildings by integrating spaces that are non-adjacent. A large variety of technologies has been developed and subsequently evaluated in this context, such as video conferencing, media spaces and audiovisual technologies embedded in collaborative virtual environments. The resulting extended spatial topologies are designed to increase organisational flexibility, improve team cohesion and to reduce the need for business travel, a concern particularly relevant today. Two effects of this are of interest in the context here. Firstly, when these technologies are always-on as well as widely accessible, and therefore permit spontaneous social interaction, studies have shown how the connected spaces can become an integral part of social life and the existing work processes of a given organisation. Secondly, movement in the connected virtual or remote physical environments can make our bodies appear to be extended through electronic sense organs. In other words, while not being able to physically enter these spaces, we can perceive them with a subset of ou