Hyper-Hybrid Town: reinstating the civic role of urban common space for subcultural communities
Xiangxue Chen, MArch (Year: 5)
The need of being connected to the community in a traditional sense has been realised through physical urban places. However, many common spaces and their role to the community have been threatened as the urban environment being capitalised.
The ambition of this project is to explore the possibility of advanced immersive technology in reinstating the civic role of gathering for the community in common space. The project aims to bring the vibe of social gathering back to Chinatowns - the ethnic neighbourhoods facing the crisis of capitalisation and fetishisation, amplify it via immersive virtual connection that is accessible around the world, and create a global subforum that collectively celebrates the sense of community.

An augmented subforum
Thesis and Design Strategy

Subforums in VRChat

Spatial experiments of themed spaces


An augmented subforum

THE WISHING TREE (graphic novel): page 1-2

THE WISHING TREE (graphic novel): page 3-4

THE WISHING TREE (graphic novel): page 5-6
