Sean Lally

Architecture’s shape is a negotiation between the control of the environment and the body’s ability to perceive that information. As the human body increases its range of sensorial abilities through advancements in healthcare and access to wearable technologies, climate change is simultaneously redefining one’s expectations for future environments. Architects are in a position to foreshadow the opportunities and implications these pressures will have on shared public spaces. Shaped Touches offers a proposition for how architecture will define its shape and the relationships of people and communities touching that space.
Through the use of a multi-player video game platform, the project illustrates the opportunities and implications for the public spaces of cities. As each game begins, players are randomly provided three changes to their existing sensory perception. This could include the ability to see within the near infrared spectrum of light, hear low frequency sound or even lose access to an existing sensory perception. As these new senses are provided, so are the correlating environments: designed lighting in infrared, the ability to hear plants communicate in low frequency, and an inability to hear common sound frequencies. As each game resets, the base architecture takes on additional material variables and design.

University of Illinois at Chicago Award for Creative Activity
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts

Game Development: Louis Lettry - Fruits of Yggdrasil Sàrl
Interactive Design Consultant: Adetokunbo Ayoade
Lighting Fabrication: Radiant Architectural Lighting
Lighting Consultant: Lux Populi