NEGATIVE SPACE, POSITIVE IMPACT: CRAFTING USER-CENTRIC COMMON SPACE

ABSTRACT

IN THE PRESENT WORLD, MANY CITIES HAVE HISTORICAL AND CULTURALLY RICH DISTRICTS, BUT PROTECTIONISM OR ECONOMIC REASONS HAVE SLOWED THEIR DEVELOPMENT. THEREFORE, HOW TO GENERATE MORE VALUE FOR THESE AREAS IS CRUCIAL FOR A CITY WITH A DEEP AND COMPLEX HISTORY. USING IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP SOLVE THIS PROBLEM, AND THIS PAPER TAKES MACAU'S FAMOUS HISTORICAL DISTRICT AS AN ENTRY POINT AND STARTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO EXPLORE AND DESIGN SOME OF THE EXISTING BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC AREAS IN THE DISTRICT. THE FOCUS OF THIS STUDY IS TO EXPLORE THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT POSSIBILITIES OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL DISTRICTS IN CITIES AND EXPERIENCE THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE DISTRICT. SPECIFICALLY, BY STUDYING THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND HUMAN INVESTIGATION OF ST. LAZARUS CHURCH PEDESTRIAN STREET (CHINESE OFFICIAL NAME: 疯堂斜巷), THE STUDY USES IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY TO FIRST CREATE A SCENE OF THE EXISTING BUILDING GROUP IN THE DISTRICT AS A STAGE OF PROTECTION FOR HISTORICAL BUILDINGS. THEN, IT CREATES AND PRESENTS A FUTURE BUILDING GROUP SCENE IN THE DISTRICT, WHICH INCLUDES COMPLETED BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC AREA FACILITIES AFTER RENOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DESIGN. THIS RENOVATION DOES NOT DESTROY THE PROTECTED HISTORICAL BUILDINGS AT ALL, BUT IS A PROTECTIVE EXPLORATION. THE RESEARCHERS USED 3D COMPUTER GRAPHICS SOFTWARE (BLENDER) AND VIRTUAL TOUR SOFTWARE (KUULA) TO CREATE THE DESIGN, AND USERS CAN FREELY EXPLORE THE SCENE BY "WALKING" VIRTUALLY. THE DESIGN INCLUDES TWO GROUPS OF ARCHITECTURAL SCENES OF THE ST. LAZARUS CHURCH PEDESTRIAN STREET IN THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. AFTER ENTERING THE SCENE, USERS CAN FREELY SWITCH BETWEEN THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE TIME POINTS TO EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURAL SCENE ATMOSPHERES. USERS CAN ENTER SOME BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC AREAS, AND INTERACT WITH OBJECTS IN THE SCENE TO GENERATE VISUAL OR AUDITORY INTRODUCTIONS TO THE TARGET. USERS CAN SEE THE ROUGH OUTLINE OF THE FUTURE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL DISTRICT AFTER THE PROTECTIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE FREE EXPLORATION OF THE VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT, WHICH CAN INSPIRE FURTHER PUBLIC THINKING ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL STREET AREAS IN THE CITY. USERS CAN EXPLORE AND EXPERIENCE THE PROJECT USING PROFESSIONAL VIRTUAL REALITY EQUIPMENT OR DIRECTLY ON THE WEB. BY USING IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY, THE PUBLIC CAN HAVE A MORE INTUITIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL STREET AREAS, AND URBAN PLANNERS, PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTS, AND CLIENTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CAN ALL BENEFIT FROM THIS TECHNOLOGY, ESPECIALLY IN THE INITIAL CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND PROTOTYPE DESIGN OF BUILDINGS.