Relationality in Intermedial Architecture: A Creative Producing Approach

Kaleidoscope is a public media architecture installation at the University of Cincinnati which is emblematic of potential future approaches to placemaking and community engagement enabled by the convergence of emerging models for creative production and increasing accessibility of new media. Completed in September 2022, Kaleidoscope layers digital narratives of new communities with the physicality of murals and local artworks representing perspectives of the existing communities in the changing neighborhoods of Walnut Hills, Avondale, and the surrounding area. By adopting the creative producing framework of “Radical Relationality” (as described in the Manifesto for Creative Producing) and utilizing intermedial augmented reality tools, Hudson & Park designed a community-driven commercial installation that served as a prototype for layered civic media architecture across the city. The authors invite feedback on the methods and approaches outlined within this pictorial, with implications for transdisciplinary work between urban designers, architects, placemakers, community organizers, and creative producers.