ORNAMENTS OF A DEFENSIVE CITY
NOTIONS OF AN ALTERNATE REALITY

A Videogame Concept trying to adress architectural displacement strategies in the urban space. Utilizing Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities as a conceptual framework, I conducted an examination focused on the imperceptible inhabitants within urban settings. The work combines information from both scientific and non-scientific sources, incorporating narratives from interviews and everyday scenarios to engage with contemporary medial methods: including film, videogames, and photogrammetry, to effectively communicate architectural theoretical concepts and make the unseen inhabitants of the city more visible.

But when the city-centre architecture of Benko‘s Signa Group and Bezos‘ online shop meet Zuckerberg‘s Metaverse, the result is the potential of a virtual hybrid architecture. 

The objective was to render visible those individuals adversely impacted by urban planning strategies, such as the homeless and teenager. The intention was to develop a gaming experience enabling players to alternate between the perspectives of these affected demographics. Depending on the chosen character, spatial structures are perceived differently, eliciting varied reactions from the surrounding populace.

The Game discusses the exploration of defensive architectural typologies in Stuttgart, drawing from Theo Deutinger's compilation and recontextualizing selected spatial typologies within a Virtual Reality Game. It aims to illustrate potential future impacts on the built environment, emphasizing and critically presenting defensive and hostile design approaches in a virtual enviroment.

The project tries to explore contemporary aspects of defensive architecture, noting its traditional role in providing physical protection and its evolving influence on well-being. Today, defensive design often targets underrepresented populations, such as the homeless or youth, employing various visible and subtle elements that restrict access or use for certain groups. It poses questions about recognizing defensive architectural design, its impact on public and private spaces, and how speculative scenarios, can communicate and critique defensive urban development.