Interactive and Media Architecture – From Social Encounters to City Planning Strategies

AbstractThe paper searches into the potential of media and interactive projects to support participation and generate social encounters in public spaces. Moreover, it proposes implementation of media and interactive projects into city planning processes. On the basis of theoretical approaches, case studies and interdisciplinary surveys the paper gives insight how interactive and media architecture can engage people in activities in urban spaces on many levels. It focuses on the art installations that with support of new technologies involve people to become co-creators of the art object, both directly in particular place of the city, as well as remotely, by means of mobile devices or internet. The impact of such participation may affect not only a clearly delimited place, but can be used to create connecting paths or change the perception and identity of the whole areas. The fundamental objectives of city planning programs are closely related – the goal of many urban renewal strategies is to establish creative connections between dispersed fragments of the city and stimulate the presence of people on the streets. This convergence of goals allows to perceive new interactive and media technologies as a new architectural tool that could be incorporated into the city planning processes. Indeed, interactive and media architecture conceived as temporary ‘micro-interventions’ can take a role of pilot projects to change the image of places intended for future transformation or applied for site-data analysis and collecting opinions making the whole process more creative and participatory. However, there is still a need for developing procedures allowing for more effective integration of media and interactive projects with the urban planning operational schemes