Testing the Space of the Virtual

Various modes of electronically mediated communication, perception, and immersive bodily engagement, generally categorized as “virtual experiences,” have offered the designer of space a new array of spatial conditions to address. Each of these modes of virtual experience, from text-based discussion forums to immersive virtual reality environments, presents challenges to traditional assumptions about space and its inhabitation. These challenges require design theorization which extends beyond the notions of design within the electronic space (the textual description of the chat forum, the appearance of the computer generated imagery, etc.), and require a reconsideration of the entire electronic and physical apparatus of the mediating devices (the physical spaces which facilitate the interaction, the manner of their connection to the virtual spaces, etc.). In light of the lack of spatial theorization in this area, this paper presents both an experimental framework for understanding this complete space of the virtual and outlines a current research project addressing these theoretical challenges through the spatial implementation of a synthetic environment