Image: aloshbennett | Flickr

The two: building and occupants, have an unparalleled relationship where each adapts to the other over time and in different ways — and as new technologies, and in particular gesture technology, makes its way into the forefront, I think that buildings will be able to communicate with occupants through more natural, nonverbal and real-time cues.

For this reason, by not only observing communication gestures, but by also making use of them, you will be able to create architecture that not only better adapts to your occupants as their daily needs change, but you will also be able to enhance your own design skillset as you will better understand your client’s and occupants’ behavioral signals, so you can envision architectural solutions for them that they may not be able to articulate verbally.

There is an entire design fabric that you can acquire by simply understanding nonverbal communication elicited by your occupants as they inhabit built environments. In other words, occupants have behaviors and habits which can help you optimize your current design visions — and help you formulate renewed design visions that are innovative, improving upon present-day conventions about what we think occupants do in building designs.

Understanding Occupant Behaviors Using Communication Gestures

An open-source gesture technology which has surfaced is a glove within which is embedded an accelerometer, and from which information can be gathered and coupled with computer scripts, which link the wearer’s communication gestures to move such things as robotic objects. (1) While I do not see a future where all building occupants are always wearing such gloves to remotely control or interact with all of the objects within their surroundings, I do see certain uses where architecture can give occupant gestures meaning, particularly naturally occurring and/or intentional gestures.

For instance, many buildings today have lights that turn on and off automatically depending upon when and where an occupant enters into a room. As such, I can perceive a future where such natural and simple Read more

An amazing new prototype called Siftables, developed at the MIT media Lab, merges the worlds of digital media and physical interfaces. The main idea behind them is to get virtual information into your hands (literally) by using a “block-like” natural interface that transcends beyond our prototypical mouse and keyboards. Siftables are designed to be more in tune with the way we actually navigate through the world.

Each Siftable is about the size of a “cookie” that works and feels like you are, in fact, playing with toy blocks. Each block can sense the others as they are moved around and tilted by their user. Essentially, this allows for a type of collaboration between the Siftables so they can work individually and together within their group’s system.

To see Siftables for yourself, simply watch the following video and imagine how Read more

Photo: Justin Stephens

In the magazine Inc., an article by David H. Freedman describes a new neural device that can “read” thought so that users can control video games, computer technologies and “what’s around the house” with their mind. This neural device sits on your head, like a headset, and deciphers brain signals that allow users to open doors or play happy music when feeling blue. Such a device is set to revolutionize interface design on many levels.

The article, entitled “Reality Bites”, describes a technology that would allow occupants to communicate with architecture in a whole new way. Our environments would interact with us anew, seeming to know when to calm us, excite us or simply comfort us. Interactive architecture would do more than just react to our behavior it would react to our brain activity – our thoughts. Described in the article is a device that would tailor movies and advertisements to our liking, in real-time. Imagine if architecture could “understand” and “persuade” occupants in this way as well.

As more neural devices come on the scene, architecture will ultimately be able to communicate through them — opening doors, adjusting light conditions and setting temperature. Architecture will speak to us in new ways and neural devices will be at the center of this revolution. What do you think of neural devices and their impending impact on architecture? Are you in favor of architecture having this heightened degree of sensitivity?

Pindiath 100 | Dreamstime

What if certain aspects of architectural design could be personalized for occupants? Such interactive architecture could reach out to people in different ways so environment would heighten experience for each individual user.

Personalizing certain aspects of architectural experience would make architectural design more intuitive for occupants. To make this work, architectural sensors could receive occupant information from everyday objects used by the occupant. In turn, architecture would have a type of designed interface that occupants would interact with as they inhabit a building. To do this, some architecture interface design considerations should include the following:

• occupant personal goals
• ease of interaction within daily work flow and activity
• technical expertise of occupant for interaction
• occupant style or preference

As more and more technology becomes embedded within architecture, there will be greater chance for personalization – just remember that occupant goals should always be honored.