EMBEDDED INTELLIGENCE

The entanglement of physical with digital spaces is constantly creating new types of hybrid experiences and realities with a profound impact on the social, cultural, and economic dynamics of our living environments. At the individual level, the ubiquitous presence of technology in our everyday lives affects our relationships with our surroundings. These transformations pose unprecedented challenges and yet offer novel opportunities for designing the built environment— from artifacts and spaces to buildings and cities. This book explores the dynamic role of innovative technologies to create hybrid environments that adapt to—and create a dialogue with—people’s needs, behaviors, and desires. By unpacking the experience of technologically-mediated spaces, it sets the ground for redefining and re-framing the concept of “responsive environments” across the disciplines of architecture, urban design, and human/building interaction.

Eight facets of the responsive environments’ notion are presented in the form of critical observations, enriched by contributions and discussions with leading scholars and professionals. These ideas are then translated in the form of urban interventions, architectural projects, and design artifacts that address the many ways of living, working, and playing in the city. Ultimately, at the core of Responsive Environments is an inquiry into the multiple ways in which the rapid pace of innovation affects how we perceive, respond, and adapt to our surrounding spaces. These mediated experiences will in turn influence the morphological development of our built environment, with profound repercussions on our society. The authors aim to reveal a glimpse of these transformations that are happening before our eyes.