This weekend marks the opening of a unique architecture exhibit from Omi International Arts Center, a non-profit organization in New York providing residency and learning opportunities based on the central principle that 'artistic expression is a vehicle that transcends economic, political, and cultural boundaries'. In addition, the Center also promotes community-oriented education, with exhibitions that enable public access to innovative, contemporary art.

images: artomi.org

The Fields Sculpture Park, encompassing 60 acres of land in the Hudson Valley, encourages this type of public engagement, with over 70 art installations sited at various locations throughout the natural setting; it also serves as the location for what is most likely the first entirely virtual architectural exhibit.

A concept embodying the Center's spirit of experimentation and collaboration, Augmented Reality: Peeling Layers of Space out of Thin Airis a digital design exhibit, featuring work by such well-known firms as Asymptote and Studio Daniel Libeskind.

Visitors use their smartphones and an app called Layar, to enable the user to 'see' and interact with 3-D models and animations in space, as determined by the device's latitude and longitude. For a glimpse of how this technology works, take a look at the video below. To find more details and information on the architects involved and their associated projects, click here.

It's a fascinating concept, and we look forward to hearing the initial responses and reactions of those who experience the context-driven project first-hand. The potential implications of how this type of innovation might affect how we design, visualize and use space is even more intriguing, as the integration of technology, architecture, and the environment continues to move forward at exponential rates.

Exciting times!

Architecture + Augmented Reality