The edge of experiences. Towards a material ecology of augmented interiors

Abstract

Augmented interiors are here to stay, yet their overall capacity to increase well-being remains unclear despite decades of technical improvements and content development. This article highlights the need to design new ecologies of spatial augmentation, grounded in materials vibrancy and able to reconnect us with ourselves, with places, and with time. To move beyond "things that glitter", information overload, and extended automation, augmented interiors ought to bring about new kinds of interior experiences that are not just novel, or more efficient, but transformative. Reflecting on [RIP]_Montevideo, an interactive installation depicting images from urban archives, it highlights the importance of edge qualities in achieving openness, arguing that a shift of focus from content to edges is essential to resolve the conflicting requirements of digitally augmented interiors, between cognition and sensibility.