Tiantian Lo

With the rise in cultural tourism, visitors’ demand for historical and cultural experiences has grown, prompting historical architecture not only to focus on physical preservation but also to offer more intuitive, engaging, and interactive experiences. This study proposes a design method for real-space gamified interactive experiences through mobile applications in historical environments. Qinghui Garden, one of the Four Famous Lingnan Gardens, is used as a case study. A total of 54 visitors participated in an on-site field experiment, with data collected through pre- and post-experience questionnaires, behavioral tracking, and supplementary semi-structured interviews. Through a comparative experiment with three groups of visitors—free exploration, traditional guided tours, and real-space gamified interactive experiences—it was found that the gamified interactive method demonstrated superior clarity and reliability in its technology. Visitor cognitive performance and subjective satisfaction increased by approximately 62.5%, and the gamified interaction effectively guided the spatial flow and interaction behaviors with specific spaces. These findings provide new insights into the design of real-space gamified interactive experiences in historical spaces, contributing significantly to the preservation and cognition of cultural heritage.

Currently, the role of design and its significance is being drowned in gimmicks, as digital technologies Philosophical Grounding – Beyond Digital Gimmickry now play a significant role in shaping the behaviours, performances and standards of societies, communi- ties, organizations and individuals (Denning & Tedre, 2019). That stark observation, opening the call for Cubic Journal Issue #8, frames the dilemma of twenty-first-century computation. Digital technologies have woven themselves so completely into contemporary practice that it is now possible, and alarmingly common, for the craft of design to be mistaken for a talent show of software tricks (Caetano & Leitão, 2020). Parametric engines pump out ever-thicker lattices, immersive headsets allow us to rehearse projects before they exist, and generative models To move out of the above cul-de-sac, the present issue of Cubic Journal proposes that we “search for innocence” inside the very computational milieu that so often corrodes it. Innocence here is not a nostalgic return to drafting tables; rather, it is the discipline of approaching each digital operation as provisional. Every line of code must remain open to revision, every data set negotiable, every interface a two-way conversation instead of a one-way funnel. The ambition is straightforward: let the machine’s plasticity remain a servant to human sense-making rather than an autonomous generator of spectacle. pour shapely novelties onto our screens faster than we can develop opinions about them (LÓpez-LÓpezet al., 2023; Oxman, 2017). Yet the brighter the spectacle, the more easily it obscures the purpose that once animated design: the careful alignment of material possibility, cultural meaning and lived need. Complexity produced first and explained later is the new cliché (Frické, 2009). A script churns overnight, a form appears at dawn, and the day is then spent inventing a story to justify what the algorithm decided while no one was looking. In that moment authorship blurs: is the designed entity the geometry, the code that birthed it, or the opaque commercial platform that still owns the underlying parameters? When the engine is sealed, we are left admiring not insight but vendor capacity. This editorial argues for a refram-ing of computational design—not as a pursuit of spectacle or optimization, but as a relational, ethical, and materially grounded practice. We call this shift Design 3.0. This editorial unfolds in three acts (fig. 1): first, a critique of spectacle and a call to recover ethical authorship; second, ten case studies of compu- tational design in practice that ascend the DIKW ladder—from data, through information and knowledge, to wisdom (Ackoff, 1989); and third, a proposal for Design 3.0—an open, reflexive, recipro- cal paradigm for the future.

With advancements in biology and sensor technology, neuroscience, particularly electroencephalograph (EEG) technology, has seen significant developments and applications in the field of space emotion perception. EEG technology records brain electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. The signals collected by these electrodes reflect the brain’s activity status and are utilized for studying cognition, diagnosing diseases, and more. EEG technology has revolutionized the measurement of human emotions within space contexts by providing preliminary insights into human space cognition. Traditional methods, such as subjective survey questionnaires and field visits, are characterized by high levels of subjectivity, instability, and delays, which significantly undermine the objectivity, accuracy, and real-time nature of emotion recording. In contrast, EEG technology offers real-time and objective feedback on changes in space elements, effectively guiding designers to enhance space quality and improve user satisfaction and well-being within these spaces.

Raw bamboo, a biomass building material with ecological degradability and rapid growth, is crucial for promoting a circular economy and sustainable environments. However, its non-standard nature limits standardized design and mass production. To overcome this, our study introduces a modular bamboo design workflow utilizing digital design technology to address geometric variability. The workflow incorporates 3D scanning to convert raw bamboo forms into precise geometric data, analyze their geometric parameters and connection methods for modular design, and apply discrete–topological shape-finding and aggregation for iterative optimization in batch production. We explore how XR assists in visualizing bamboo furniture designs, the benefits of 3D scanning, discrete design principles, and strategies for material integration. Our methodology includes material analysis, form finding, optimization, and a parametric workflow to enhance adaptability and innovation. The process covers 3D scanning raw bamboo, designing discrete units and connection rules, and aggregating units via topological optimization. This study highlights how modern digital technologies and innovative methodologies can enhance bamboo furniture design. These approaches promote more effective and diverse solutions while addressing the inherent limitations of the material.

The immersive experience and diverse interaction modes provided by virtual digital technology match the spatial sensitivity and practical ability required in the field of architectural teaching, and its technological advantages can significantly enhance teaching outcomes. However, in the field of architecture teaching, there has been a lack of discussion on the suitability of different virtual technologies and teaching scenarios for historical buildings. Therefore, this study constructed a comprehensive adaptive evaluation system for virtual technology and selected 360-degree panoramic technology (360-degree PT), Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technology, and Desktop Virtual Reality (DVR) technology as representatives for empirical study. The research method used in this experiment is a questionnaire survey, involving a total of 60 students majoring in architecture and planning, with a certain foundation in historical architecture knowledge. Multiple statistical methods are employed to analyze the data. The experimental data indicates that IVR technology performs the best in terms of learning outcomes, learning autonomy, and sense of presence, making it suitable for immersive and interactive learning needs. 360-degree PT demonstrates the best perception of architectural features, catering to the demand for visual effects. DVR technology exhibits the highest learning efficiency, meeting the need for simplicity, efficiency, and widespread application. On the other hand, augmented reality (AR) technology and mixed reality (MR) technology have lower adaptability and do not meet the learning requirements for immersive spatial experiences. This study is expected to provide a new technical pathway for teaching historical buildings and serve as a systematic reference for selecting specific technologies.

Existing methods for generating 2D plans based on intelligent systems usually require human-defined rules, and their operations are complex. GANs can solve these problems through independent research and learning. However, they only have generative design research based on a single constraint condition, and whether they can generate a qualified design scheme under many constraints is still unclear. Therefore, this paper develops the M-StruGAN generative model based on the structural design framework of a GAN. Its application research is extended to the 2D-plan layout generation of homestay based on the constraints of hybrid structures, and the feasibility of the method is comprehensively verified through three aspects: image synthesis quality assessment, scheme rationality assessment, and scheme design quality assessment. Experimental results show that the quality of the drawings generated by M-StruGAN is qualified, designers have a high degree of acceptance of the design results of M-StruGAN, and M-StruGAN completed the learning of the critical points of the 2D layout. Finally, through the human–computer interaction application of M-StruGAN, it can be found that compared with traditional design methods, M-StruGAN based on pix2pixHD has high-definition image quality, higher design efficiency, lower design cost, and more stable design quality.