Hybridised Space: Bridging virtual and real worlds through immersive interaction within the context of urban advertising.

Until now human engagement with cities and urban space has been confined to either real physical interaction with space or the removed visual interpretation of 2D representations. Through the use of stereo 3D and VR/AR technology, these two diametric forms of spatial engagement can come together, supporting a fundamentally new approach to interacting, conversing and participating with urban space.
Until recently urban advertising has only been able to entertain and inform through passive presentation. There has now been an ontological shift in regards to the nature of outdoor advertising as urban space has become increasingly interconnected and networked through smart agents, allowing advertising strategies to become more engaging through temporal, spatial and localised interaction (Koeck , Warnaby 2014). Enhanced immersive technologies, such as VR/AR, will provide even greater levels of engagement, whereby the physical space itself becomes a smart object that can be manipulated and modified. It is this concept of "engagement" that is of crucial importance to the advertising industry as the boundaries between private virtual-space and public urban-space become increasingly blurred, creating a new hybridised space.
This practice-based research will be carried out in partnership with McCann Manchester and supported by the Virtual Engineering Centre. The research will aim to establish a theoretical basis and test practical applications that effectively address the question of how advertising content can be embedded in this new hybridised space. Other research questions will address the practical implementations of interacting and interfacing with hybridised space and how this space can have a positive impact on the design quality and social importance of urban space.