Interactive Design in Urban Outdoor Spaces A Comparative Study of the Employment of Digital and Traditional Technologies

Abstract

Interactive design is a modern design approach that have gained a clear interest in the field of outdoor spaces. It depends on increasing elements of suspense, pleasure, learning, changing behavior and enriching the users' sensory experience and interaction through the five senses, to achieve an enjoyable experience and a good function that is easy to use. The research problem represented by the existence of traditional, passive and inactive urban spaces intended by few urban users. The research aims to explore employing digital technologies, formulas and methods of generating them for the purpose of applying them in external spaces, trying to revive urban outer spaces in contemporary cities. In this study, many examples of projects designed and implemented for external spaces that employ digital and traditional technologies have been analyzed and compared with each other, based on interaction criteria extracted from previous studies. Through the application of statistical tests, the results indicated that designs based on digital technologies generate relatively more interaction than those that rely on traditional techniques. The results indicated that optical technology is the most widely used technique in interactive outdoor spaces. The most effective interactive technologies on the recipient work through stimulating interest and curiosity.