DIGISPHERA
In 2020, amid the pandemics, the world witnessed a rapid shift from live to virtual communication. Global exchange of ideas and processes were predominantly happening online, causing the emergence of a new ‘space to be’, along with many contradictions. A feeling of being everywhere yet nowhere, an impression of intense connection while being extremely alienated. The research Digisphera, developed within the framework of the program Neurosciences Applied to Architectural Design at IUAV Venice, addresses the perceptual and cognitive processes involved in immersive experiences. To do so, the project compares a series of virtually built scenarios, in the form of memory palaces, varying the three main features: spatial settings, navigation conditions and interaction methods. The models were used to measure the influence of such variables on the memorization of digital contents during a virtual experience.
Through this investigation, the project prompts reflection on the nature of virtual architecture. Does it follow the principles of traditional architecture or does its virtual essence free it from the constraints of the physical reality? Furthermore, it challenges the field of memory, as it is not obvious whether people will better remember objects seen in a conventional and familiar context, rather than seen in a novel, bizarre, even physically impossible realm.
images and drawings © Digisphera
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Typology: research
2020 - 2021
Virtual
Team: Marina Addis Waldmann, Giulia Rapizza
Collaborators: Ashley Barratt, Edoardo Mancini