Interactive Living Space for Neo-Nomads
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INTERACTIVE LIVING SPACE FOR NEO-NOMADS: AN ANTICIPATORY APPROACH by Asma Naz APPROVED BY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ___________________________________________ Mihai Nadin, Chair ___________________________________________ Charissa N. Terranova ___________________________________________ Ryan P. McMahan ___________________________________________ Frank Dufour ___________________________________________ Regis Kopper Copyright 2017 Asma Naz All Rights Reserved In memory of my father Ershad Uddin Ahmed AN INTERACTIVE LIVING SPACE FOR NEO-NOMADS: AN ANTICIPATORY APPROACH by ASMA NAZ, B. ARCH., M.S. DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The University of Texas at Dallas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS May 2017 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the outcome of an extended process of learning, experiment and discovery to which many contributed. To all those who through the years guided and supported me I hereby express my respect and gratitude. Direct contributions by those who provided guidance during the entire process of developing and finalizing this dissertation are herewith respectfully acknowledged. Members of the Supervising Committee—Professors Frank Dufour, Regis Kopper (Duke University), Ryan McMahan, Mihai Nadin and Charissa Terranova—assisted me with knowledge from their respective fields. Insightful suggestions, hard questions and encouragement from them informed my research and are reflected in the dissertation. Specifically, Dr. Kopper and Dr. McMahan assisted in designing the Virtual Environment experiment, suggested by the Chair of the Supervising Committee, and in the processing of data. My presentation at the prestigious IEEE VR Conference (Los Angeles, March, 2017), where results were presented, confirms their vote of confidence in the quality of the hypotheses tested and in the general concept. Dr. Kopper understood the relevance of my research in the DiVE at Duke University, donating lab time, his own expertise, and providing assistance when necessary. Additional thanks to David Zielinski for his generous cooperation in DiVE training and research. The IRB Board at UTD and Duke University cooperated in a manner that made the work progress in time. The Virtual Reality experimental phase benefitted from the financial assistance of a Dissertation Research Award from The University of Texas at Dallas and by support from Duke University. This dissertation would not have been possible without the continual support of Dr. Mihai Nadin, Chair of the committee, one of my professors within ATEC. It is through his inspiration and v guidance that a raw idea, addressing a real-life problem, was initiated, formed and developed. His active involvement in the research leading to my dissertation encouraged me to seek opportunities for research and interaction with the academic community at UTD and around the world. This included participation in the international conference “Anticipation Across Disciplines” at the Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg (Germany), and the publication of my conference paper. During the peer review process of the volume (published in the highly respected Springer Cognitive Systems Monograph Series), I found many opportunities to exchange ideas with distinguished scholars. Dr. Nadin also extended support to me on a personal level, through his understanding, patience, kind words and a compassionate ear at times of critical need, especially during the extremely difficult time when my father passed away. Among his many students, I am probably one of those, among many, who will never be able to fully convey their appreciation. His mentorship and presence have made us not only better researchers, but also better persons. In this sense, no less important is the realization that my family, especially my parents, helped me overcome many hurdles in pursuing my PhD. Through their unconditional support, they were the source of love and strength that made my work possible, and the transformation of my dreams into reality. I cherish the love, patience and help from my husband, Ahsan, throughout the years. I also thank the Fatemis for welcoming me into their family and enriching my life with their love. Thanks to Ali, Mrs. Sarah Fatemi and Mrs. Elvira Nadin for their warm welcome and generosity that have made me feel at home in a land far away from home. Finally, I thank the presence of the many friends, acquaintances and well-wishers in my life—too many to name here—who have encouraged and kept me motivated to complete my research. March 2017 vi AN INTERACTIVE LIVING SPACE FOR NEO-NOMADS: AN ANTICIPATORY APPROACH Asma Naz, PhD The University of Texas at Dallas, 2017 ABSTRACT Supervising Professor: Dr. Mihai Nadin This dissertation proposes a design concept for an interactively modifiable living space aimed to support the lifestyle of neo-nomads. Popularly known as Silicon Valley talent, this new breed of highly mobile, technology-dependent, creative professionals is currently facing a severe housing crisis (limited availability, often resulting in higher rent). The proposed architectural concept consists of a single, multi-functional living space. It is designed to offer an adaptive, highly optimized spatial solution that reflects and enhances the transitional, temporal, minimalist living of young mobile professionals. The proposed design is informed by awareness of anticipatory processes. The proposed dwelling is designed to allow occupants the technical possibility to generate affective spatial qualities adapted to their needs. This is made possible through interaction with space characteristics (such as texture, color, contrast and other aesthetic parameters) in order to accommodate their current and emergent emotional, psychophysiological needs. Affective space-making is acknowledged as a primary goal of architecture. The traditional space articulation technique is introduced in the realm of interactive design with the goal of modifying sensory design elements of color, vii brightness, texture and material that can be perceived by the occupant as warm, cool, exciting, calm, spacious or intimate. The proposed design was evaluated in a six-sided interactive Virtual Environment. The experimental component had the goal of providing data to support the description of an underlying aesthetic framework. The data acquired helps define a guideline for meaningful human-space interaction design. As a testament of its time, architecture represents a way of life, symbolizing contemporary and emergent technologies, lifestyles and ideologies. The proposed design attempts to define interactive architecture that is physical, tangible and essentially spatial in nature, and which provides a platform for further research and experimentations for a humane and aesthetic living solution for the target group. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... xviii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 1.1 Research Overview .......................................................................................................1 1.2 Target Occupants ..........................................................................................................4 1.3 Rationale .....................................................................................................................10 1.4 Virtual Reality as an Evaluation Tool ........................................................................13 1.5 Dissertation Overview ................................................................................................17 CHAPTER 2 AFFECTIVE DIMENSIONS OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACES ........................22 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................22 2.2 Space Design: Meaning and Aesthetics .....................................................................23 2.3 Affective Space-Making .............................................................................................26 2.4 Concepts and Theories for Spatial Narratives ............................................................29 2.5 Evaluating Affective Dimensions of Architectural Space .........................................32 2.6 Affective Dimensions of Color ..................................................................................35 2.7 Color Concepts in Architectural Space Design ..........................................................42 2.8 Texture and Materiality ..............................................................................................47 CHAPTER 3 ADAPTIVE SPACES OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE ....................................52 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................52 3.2 Architectural Need for Adaptability ...........................................................................53