The Effect of Intelligent Interactive Installation in Public Spaces (To Know Each Other) The Application of AR Portal Doors in Famagusta Walled City

Urban spaces discuss issues that significantly encompass architecture and the design strategies dealt with relative to space; as their effects highly maneuver the public realm of the cities. On one hand, the peaking of Globalization in recent years has deemed people into finding solutions for the consequences it brings. Hence, a growing interest in both the academic and design fields flourished extensively, especially towards technology, and their possible applications towards the public realm and public space’s quality heavily rely on the social interactions between people themselves and between the spaces they reside in. As a result, the main aim of contemporary architects and urban designers is to devise interactive public spaces where people’s bubbles connect; creating interactions with each other and with the space they live in. People tend to be deeply indulged into the digital abyss; which can be a key feature for creators to use these ‘gadgets’ in a smart way to bring about life within the space. Moreover, the main aim of this thesis is to test out how technological interventions in public space can affect the social interactions of the city’s public life, through case studies that show a new dimension of public space in the modern, fast, digital virtual age. One of which will be a new personal contribution of the author, where the historical public plaza of Famagusta, North Cyprus, will be showcased through portal doors with the help of AR technology (Augmented Reality). The thesis will encompass both literature analysis and the support of practical studies, using tools like census counters and formulated semi structured interviews. To sum up, the intended finding is stimulated to prove how technology, if used effectively, can come about with remarkable ways to activate public spaces: indulging the users of the space with each other and with space itself.