Essay

Architectural space has a very interesting relationship with digital media, and digital media affects architectural space in some very unique ways. The first, and most obvious way, is that architectural space is often created and modeled using digital media.

This, of course, impacts the end-result of what a building will look and feel like once constructed — as within digital media production environments, much can be manipulated to create truly unique “places”.

The latter relationship between architectural space and digital media involves the design process. But what about after the building is built? Does digital media still impact the building and the way it gets perceived and used?

The answer is yes. And here’s why…

With the rise of mobile computing devices, digital media is finding its way into the most interesting of applications. And as more people use digital media applications on their mobile devices, something fascinating is happening to architectural space.

You see, digital media acts as a grand “connector”. It eliminates boundaries. For instance, when a person travels to another country, they like to interact with new architectures of that culture. And while doing so, they now may have access to mobile digital media applications that can help them eliminate barriers — like the language barrier, the lack of orientation barrier, or the time barrier (in that they need to visit as many places as possible in a limited time-frame).

Thus, digital media acts as a barrier eliminator, connecting people with people, people with environments, and environments with environments. And all of this is possible because of the way information gets shared.

With information sharing happening in real-time, everywhere, implications spring forward that may impact the way you design architecture.

When you design, you should take into account the powers of digital media (and this information sharing) to be used with your building once it is built. You may ask yourself, how might such information sharing help to reduce barriers between your building and its occupants? Might your building purposefully take advantage of what such mobile digital media has to offer?

Thus, you can enrich your building occupant’s experience by taking advantage of the way digital media applications are distributed everywhere. For instance, is there an app that might go along with your building experience? Already, museums use a more basic level of digital media when they equip visitors with headsets to automatically give them a talking tour of objects on display. Might you find other ways to use digital media in other building types like schools, offices, or even hospitals? And might digital media actually be embedded within your building?

Just remember to keep digital media in your mind not only while you design your project, but also for its impact on your project after it gets built. It just might be a way to further enhance your building occupant’s experience within your building — allowing them to “see” and “touch” much more than they could otherwise.

‍Image Credit: © rbrwr | Flickr