Are there uses for Augmented and Virtual Reality design technologies beyond their primary role in creating entertainment products? Can these AR and VR tools be utilized to help create more livable and sustainable future? The primary audience for VR today is gaming, but there are a wide variety of industries that benefit from the application of VR and AR technologies in their professional processes. These include architecture, urban, interior, product and industrial design, and medical education. This Co-lab explores how VR and AR technologies can be applied to the design of more livable and sustainable cities. Each semester the students choose an abandoned or under-utilized, real-world site, and using AR and VR technologies - along with additional study in urban planning and design – create new and engaging environments. This course explores the history of immersive media; pioneers of VR; current applications of VR; the relationship between AR and VR, and extensions of VR that connect it to the real world. It also teaches principles of “placemaking” and developing communities using Smart City and APA (American Planning Association) guidelines as well as additional on-topic sources. Students will work in a variety of platforms depending on their own backgrounds and interests. Authoring platforms will be Unity and UnReal Engine and modeling platforms will include SketchUp, Blueprint, Playmaker, Rhino and 3D Studio Max.

The global pandemic of 2020 is a stark reminder of the essential human need to connect with each other, in person or remotely. But flat screens cannot replace the intimacy of touch and the feeling of presence when sharing a room. To challenge the current status quo, this studio course sets out to invent radically new interfaces for remote presence. We examine current state-of-the-art tools for collaboration, critically engage with a theory of communication channels, and learn how to design hard- and software interfaces that connect people over a distance. This project based-course will break the boundaries of current screen-based software, by linking physical objects and environments. Could we invent interfaces for remote presence that are calm, or immersive, or poetic, artistic, intimate, private or extremely public? Inspired by Gianni Colombo’s concept of elastic space, we will technologically stretch environments across distances, even through the course format. This is a collaborative class that is taught remotely between Parsons in New York and Atlas Institute at CU Boulder in Colorado. 15 students on each side will collaborate remotely and will build multiple working interfaces that communicate across time and space.

Although computing power has risen drastically, we are now witness to the rise of an entirely new type of computation - quantum. The quantum computer can quickly complete calculations that take supercomputers much longer. IBM, Google, Alibaba, Microsoft etc. have debuted major quantum computing programs. IBM-Q (IBM’s project) is now accessible to the general public. The design industry will soon follow suit. Quantum skills are in demand, and this need is expected to accelerate. As artificial intelligence represented next generation skills 10 years ago and is one of the highest-paid careers today, quantum computing represents the future generation of hi-tech skill. The “Practical Quantum Computing” course will introduce quantum computing to students who want to experiment and strengthen their skills. No previous tech skills are required. The course will cover the fundamentals of quantum physics and quantum computing, including superposition, entanglement, interference, qubits, unitary operators, measurement and quantum circuit model. The students will create quantum circuits using Open Quantum Assembly Language (OpenQASM), execute the circuits using real IBM-Q quantum computers, and interpret the results. Students will learn to develop and program quantum computer software using an open-source framework- Qiskit. The course will investigate the application of quantum computing to art, design, education and business. Students will work individually and in groups on class projects. IBM will provide access to its quantum computer via the cloud. The class will visit the IBM quantum computer laboratories to gain first-hand information about the quantum computer. Again, no previous tech skills are required.

This course is a hands-on, practical workshop where students produce their own experiential, immersive stories. Exploring the intersection of narrative and design, students will collaboratively devise a series of immersive pieces, culminating in a public showcase. This work will examine the integration of games, performance, and production design, exploring their use in an immersive context. Students will have the opportunity to practice collaborative methods and gain real world experience, connecting with immersive artists working in the field. The goal of this course is to equip students with the skills to become creators in the immersive sphere, including producing, directing and creating experiential immersive pieces. While being a performer isn’t a prerequisite, students with an interest in storytelling or performance are strongly encouraged to join this class.

Can play transform players? Can play be found inside the social forms of daily life? Can creative practice function as a form of research? Can the creative process itself become an object of play? Working with graduate students at Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design (KADK), we will explore these and other questions by creating objects of play that address the social forms of the art museum. More specifically, we’ll work with The National Museum of Denmark (NMD). The course will employ creative research strategies derived from social practice art, participatory design, the iterative design process, and other fields to expand notions of play. The course will begin with a series of three workshops (February 22, February 29, March 7), followed by a workshop in Copenhagen from Friday, March 13 through Friday, March 20. The course requires a $200 participation fee, and is by permission only. The class is co-organized by game studies scholar Jesper Juul (KADK), social practice artist Nancy Nowacek (Stevens Institute of Technology), and MFA Design & Technology faculty member John Sharp.