Starting from the difference between “place” and “space”, we propose to define the concept of hybrid space for characterizing a place in which people and technologies cohabit in a synergic way. Having this goal in mind and aiming at sustainable mobility, we focused on biking as a way of living urban spaces and we interviewed a group of people with the aim of discovering the relations between these notions. After analyzing the results of the interviews, we propose to adopt a critical design approach to encourage the reflection about the perceptions of place and space from users to define the concept of hybrid space as a pleasure place in which people

1. Contextual design research towards a new relationship among space, people and technology
in a smart city
Assunta Matassa
University of Torino
matassa@di.unito.it
Rossana Simeoni
Telecom Italia Innovation
rossana.simeoni@telecomitalia.it

2. The HYBRID SPACE is a
place in which
technologies, physical
and digital
infrastructure and
citizens cohabit.
A city is SMART when
investments in human and
social capital and traditional
and ICT fuel sustainable
economic development and a
high quality of life, with a wise
management of natural
resources, through
participatory action and
engagement. (Caragliu et al. 2009).

3. How to create an hybrid space focusing on human
beings?

4. OUR EXPERIMENT
Components
• Urban space
• Wearable computing
• People

5. METHOD
Contextual semi-structured
interviews about:
• use of bike
• relation with environment
• adoption of technologies

6. RESULTS
• A deeper and inner
relation with space and
time
• Bike as a new symbiotic
experience

7. people, feelings, emotions, moods in the space
Coming back to definition of hybrid space…

8. Using bike, people are able to define a new emotional
cartography in urban space
2. Technology improves
the capability of human
being
1. Body becomes a new
interface to interact in
space

9. Critical design approach helps us to focus on body and technology and
encourage people to enter in a more intimate contact with inside and outside
space

10. Critical design approach stimulates a creative sensibility in
people to perceive their relation with place, people and to
create a bridge with them

11. • Engage and
encourage people to
take care of
surrounding
environment
• People’ awareness
about the importance
of space in their life
• Improve relation
between human and
space using body
technologies
What we obtain until now

12. What we expect to obtain
A stronger definition of hybrid citizen, able to establish
a deep bond stressing feelings, emotions, moods in the
space exploiting power of body experience

13. • People, technology, space: orientation and
different direction
Open Issues
• The Body is Obsolete?

14. Stelarc speaks of the
obsolete body. He
means that the body
must to be considered
as an extendible
evolutionary structure
enhanced with the
most disparate
technologies, which
are more precise,
accurate and powerful.
"Technology is what defines the meaning of
being human, it's part of being human.
Especially living in the information age, the
body is biologically inadequate
[…]Electronic space becomes a medium of
action rather than information".

15. ACKNOWLEDGE
• All images used derived from Robert Doisneau
photographer.
• Only the last slide derives from Stelarc’s works.
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Thank you for attention!