CATACITY – The City Is Being Redesigned!

Participatory processes in public spaces often only activate certain population groups. Others, on the other hand, are left out. With the help of extended reality, young people in particular can be involved in a playful way. This was demonstrated by the Catacity pilot project at kHaus Basel.

Pupils were invited to explore the space and develop ideas for redesigning it in a series of workshops. The reason: the so-called Plaza of the kHaus is accessible from both sides and open to all. However, it has not yet been fully vitalised. What potential slumbers here? What could take place here? In a first step, answers to these questions were noted down in analogue form, possible solutions sketched on paper, objects made and arranged in the physical model of the Kaserne Basel.

In the next step, the models were scanned using an app. In this way, a whole library of digital objects was created. As soon as the pupils put on the extended reality glasses, they were able to flexibly access the scanned models by simply moving their hands. What had previously been made the size of a finger was now in front of their eyes on a 1:1 scale.

If you put on the extended reality glasses and held the corresponding controllers in your hands, you could sketch freehand what could stand or hang on site. You also had the flexibility to create and position geometric objects. All users simultaneously saw what was being created at that moment and could react immediately to the creations of others. A joint design process in real time.

The workshops with the students showed the enormous potential of the extended reality application. As soon as they put on the glasses, they started interacting and remained immersed in the scenarios for long periods of time. Without directly intending to do so, they proved what was to be proven here: the technological extension enables an attractive and low-threshold form of participation in the process of designing public spaces.

The Catacity project was a co-production of Catapult, the drumrum Raumschule, the Institute of Spatial Design at the HSLU and iart. It was impressively demonstrated that the extended reality application promotes the integration of young people into the participation process. Last but not least, groups of visitors were able to view the design ideas with the help of the extended reality glasses and thus gain a tangible impression of the future. We look forward to unfolding this dual potential in other architectural and urban contexts.

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