Exploring the Interaction Mechanism of Mediated Space from the Perspective of the Spatial Organism
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Driven by advances in artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, and related digital innovations, public cultural spaces are undergoing significant mediatization. Although architectural research has addressed this transformation through media architecture, responsive architecture, digital architecture, and intelligent architecture, it has largely focused on urban-scale interfaces or treated media as an external addition to space. To address this gap, this study examines mediated space at the interior scale of public cultural spaces and proposes a holistic analytical framework that understands media as an intrinsic condition of spatial operation. Through literature review, case analysis, and theoretical modeling, mediated space is classified into four types: physical, digital, interactive, and intelligent. The concept of the Spatial Organism is then introduced and structured into three interrelated entities: the media functional entity, the information exchange entity, and the symbolic representation entity. Building on this framework, the study develops a space–user perceptual interaction model and identifies four interaction stages and three interaction modes. The study argues that media intervention is reshaping spatial organization, meaning production, and evaluation, with interactivity, adaptability, and operational capacity as key evaluative dimensions. It thus offers a mechanism-oriented framework for understanding the mediatization of contemporary public cultural spaces.
Source: Buildings
Authors: Xinyuan Cai, Kang Wang, Jian Zhang
Institution: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Architecture
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Award: G3068786046
OpenAlex ID: W7161589844