FabriCity_XR

FabriCity XR explores the role of sociopolitical norms in shaping and controlling urban thresholds within the contexts of metropolitan cities like Houston and Amsterdam. The study theorizes that the politics governing liminal urban spaces intend to suggest alternative methods for co-designing and co-producing urban thresholds to question the deep-seated dichotomies between public and private urban spaces. A keen focus is placed on the concepts of liminality, urban thresholds, and the dichotomy of inside-outside perceptions as the research aims to explore the stark contrasts between both tectonics of the public and private spheres. The overall approach considers new tectonics and modalities in the production of urban spaces and the subsequent impact on urban populations. Moreover, it addresses marginalized communities and immigrant peoples within the urban context, seeking to highlight how power structures covertly homogenize social dynamics within the urban sphere. The installation blends three interrelated research and interdisciplinary exploration areas, including Design Computation and Fabrication, Urban Communities, and Spatial Justice, and the integration of Extended Reality and Gamification to create an immersive experience.
FabriCity XR employs an integrated method to approach design and assembly, combining volumetric 3D printing with spatial lattice structures through a tetrahedron-based material system. The system is flexible, allowing users to create bespoke structures that respond to various contexts. Furthermore, the project promotes circularity and hybrid human-machine intelligence through resource and data-driven design workflows, which integrate robotic and numerically controlled production techniques with human craft and augmented reality-assisted assembly. The installation acts as a liminal space, serving as an urban information hub that invites visitors to engage in an immersive experience, blurring the boundaries between physical and digital realms.

The XRPlay (Extended Reality Play) is a multifaceted aspect of the project that combines user interaction design and augmentation technologies to create captivating augmented reality experiences. By offering a Liminal space between physical and digital realms, the project enhances user engagement and creates memorable and immersive encounters. The project features a trail structure composed of Dynamic QR codes, which guide users through various augmented reality experiences tailored to diverse needs and preferences. These trails not only provide a seamless user experience but also gather essential data on user behavior, allowing for continuous improvement and engagement.