Pushing Boundaries
Unlocking the Health and Wellbeing Potential of the NHS Estates through a Co-design Serious Game Methodology View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Laura Mac Lean
This research aims to design and test a game that involves a wide range of stakeholders in the complex task of creating healthcare gardens catering to multiple health needs. Healthcare gardens are green spaces designed for patients with specific health requirements, staff, and caregivers. The game, "Mosaic Landscapes," guides the design process to create well-planned outdoor spaces for patients, staff, and visitors. This study presents a board game to engage stakeholders and local communities in the design process. Using personas representing various health conditions, players consider each persona's unique needs and select landscape elements. These elements, derived from literature, describe their potential health benefits. By simulating hospital garden designs, the game promotes empathy, creativity, and collaborative problem-solving, leading to thoughtfully designed gardens. Healthcare gardens have the potential to enhance physical health (through fitness and rehabilitation facilities), cognitive and affective health (by alleviating mental fatigue via natural environments), social health (by creating shared spaces), and innovative healthcare products (like growing materials for staff scrubs or edible plants for patient meals). "Mosaic Landscapes" will be tested with a treatment centre in Scotland. Community members will play the game to foster positive conversations about transforming the grounds to support various users. Participants can add their own personas and landscape elements, with data collected through these additions, photographs, and discussions. The game serves as a practical design tool, educational resource, and facilitation tool, contributing to the field of design-for-health by creating environments that support diverse health and well-being needs.
Collective Immersion - Collaborative Approaches to Multisensory Immersion in Theatre and Installation Art: Exploring How Teamwork and Technology Craft Transformative Artistic Experiences View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Julia Balazs
As a scenographer, collaboration has always been central to my creative process, particularly when integrating multimedia elements into scenic designs. Over the past decade, I have explored numerous ways to complement my work with technology, culminating in a pivotal moment at Prague Quadrennial 2019 when designing the Hungarian pavilion. This project revealed how tools like LED screens as dynamic light sources and synchronized video projections with acoustic atmospheres could craft immersive 360-degree experiences beyond virtual reality. Inspired, I delved deeper into the role of technology in fostering collective immersion. Currently pursuing my doctorate at MOME, I investigate immersive installations and explore how multisensory engagement can amplify immersive states in both installation art and theatre. My research emphasizes collective experiences, where shared immersion enhances the connection between audience members and the work itself. In my paper, I share insights from my artistic journey, highlighting theatre projects where projection and lighting design were pivotal in achieving immersion. I also discuss installation art projects like Infinite Dune—the Hungarian pavilion at PQ2019—and Waterfields, developed with the same creative team. These projects showcase how technological tools and collaborative processes can intertwine to push artistic boundaries. Through these examples, I aim to illuminate my research findings and future plans for crafting multisensory, immersive experiences driven by collective creativity.
Rotoscoping in Motion Design: Exploring the Applications, Methods, and Benefits View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kacey Morrow
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that involves tracing over live-action footage frame by frame, dating back to the early days of animation. This paper explores its historical applications in animation and its growing presence in contemporary motion design. Through my own experimentation, I compare various methods of execution across multiple projects, including AI-generated techniques, Procreate, and analog approaches. Additionally, I discuss the benefits of rotoscoping in motion design and its potential as a teaching tool in introductory motion design courses. As rotoscoping gains popularity in the industry, it also serves as an accessible entry point for students learning 2D animation principles in motion design.
The Integration of Generative AI in Neuroarchitecture: A Framework for Integrating Neurological Response Patterns with AI Design Systems to Optimize Built Environments for Human Cognitive Function View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Justyna Puchalska
This study examines how generative AI technologies can enhance architectural design processes to create environments that optimize human cognitive function and emotional well-being. This research investigates how architectural elements influence cognitive processes and examines the revolutionary potential of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and other machine learning algorithms in creating spaces that respond to both conscious and unconscious human preferences. The study addresses the critical relationship between environmental factors and human cognitive processes, including memory, perception, and decision-making, while exploring how generative AI models can analyze complex design parameters and architectural precedents to optimize psychological impact. Contributing to the intersecting fields of architecture, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, this work establishes a comprehensive framework for understanding how AI-generated spatial designs can actively support brain function, particularly through the implementation of advanced GANs for design synthesis and evaluation. Through systematic analysis of neuroimaging data, environmental psychology research, and computational design experiments, the study examines how principles of neuroplasticity and human spatial cognition can be effectively integrated into architectural design processes. The findings demonstrate that AI-generated spatial designs can significantly enhance workspace optimization, cognitive function, and urban development, while revealing important considerations regarding technological implementation and ethical implications. This research establishes that successful integration of generative AI in neuroarchitecture requires sophisticated evaluation metrics, interdisciplinary collaboration, and careful consideration of individual differences in spatial perception, suggesting a future where built environments dynamically adapt to enhance human cognitive capabilities across healthcare, educational, and urban settings.
