Geogames as Cities of Perception: Understanding Hybrid Spaces, in: Poplin, A.; de Sena, I.; Andrade, B. (2025): Proceedings of the 2nd Geogames Symposium – Connecting Communities through Games and Play, 9-10 June 2025 Dublin, Ireland, pp. 86-93.

The new spatiotemporal model shows correlations between place, media types, interactions in time and human perception. Various dynamic topologies of hybrid spaces can thus be represented and patterns can be better recognized. From the perspective of the media, this model conveys a new understanding of urban space.

Understanding Hybrid Spaces – Designing a Spacetime Model to Represent Dynamic Topologies of Hybrid Spaces was the title of the presentation by Dr. Wolfgang Höhl on Saturday, September 7th at the Expanded Animation Conference as part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2024 in Linz / Austria.

The complete contribution in the conference proceedings you can find here:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13382838

The computer-generated animation, the presentation and all slides can be found here:
https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SFQMC

Understanding Hybrid Spaces: Designing a Spacetime Model to Represent Dynamic Topologies of Hybrid Spaces . Now online at Cornell Universities arXiv repository.

This paper develops a spatiotemporal model for the visualization of dynamic topologies of hybrid spaces. The visualization of spatiotemporal data is a well-known problem, for example in digital twins in urban planning. There is also a lack of a basic ontology for understanding hybrid spaces. The developed spatiotemporal model has three levels: a level of places and media types, a level of perception and a level of time and interaction. Existing concepts and types of representation of hybrid spaces are presented. The space-time model is tested on the basis of an art exhibition. Two hypotheses guide the accompanying online survey: (A) there are correlations between media use (modality), the participants’ interactions (creativity) and their perception (understanding of art) and (B) individual parameters (demographic data, location and situation, individual knowledge) influence perception (understanding of art). The range, the number of interactions and the response rate were also evaluated.

The online survey generally showed a positive correlation between media use (modality) and individual activity (creativity). However, due to the low participation rate (PTN=14), the survey is unfortunately not very representative. Various dynamic topologies of hybrid spaces were successfully visualized. The joint representation of real and virtual places and media types conveys a new basic understanding of place, range and urban density. Relationships between modality, Mobility and communicative interaction become visible. The current phenomenon of multilocality has been successfully mapped. The space-time model enables more precise class and structure formation, for example in the development of digital twins. Dynamic topologies of hybrid spaces, such as in social media, at events or in urban development, can thus be better represented and compared.

Keywords: hybrid space, architecture and urban planning, digital twins, digital transformation, spatial perception, data visualization, social media, media theory.

A german version of the paper is available at Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR)

My recent publication “Ten photographs from three series” has participated in the German Photobook Award (Deutscher Fotobuchpreis) and was included into State Library of Regensburg.

This book was also published at Social Sciences Open Access Repository (SSOAR) by GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften e.V., Mannheim and at mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University of Munich.

My recent publication “Ten photographs from three series” reached IPA 2023 official selection at International Photography Awards. Visit the IPA winners website here.

This book was also published at Social Sciences Open Access Repository (SSOAR) by GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften e.V., Mannheim and at mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University of Munich.

My latest research paper on basic principles for virtual world design, titled “Ambiguity in utopian XR-games,” was just published with @SpringerNature in the European Journal of Futures Research. Read here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40309-023-00218-w

Wirklichkeiten | Realities . Ausstellungskatalog | Art exhibition catalogue is now online at Social Sciences Open Access Repository (SSOAR) by gesis – Leibniz Institut für Sozialwissenschaften.

published in: Deutsches Architektenblatt 06/22, May 30th, 2022

What fascinates you about your favorite house?

It’s a thing with favorite houses. Let’s say it was a special event for me to visit Frank O. Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao for the first time on March 30, 2019. It was like meeting an old acquaintance after a very long time.

I took photographs there that address the irretrievable moment, chance in art and the possibilities and impossibilities of spatial projection: each moment is unique, it is defined by a particular place, the time of day and the unmistakable daylight. Each of the photographs thereby reproduces only a very limited section of this unique moment. The entire abstract composition of the images remains open to meaning.

Who do you particularly appreciate and why? Do you have a favorite style?

In addition to Classical Modernism, I have always been very fascinated by the Deconstructivists. But that was probably due to the time when I was allowed to study at the Vienna University of Technology. I got to know Coop Himmelb(l)au personally after they left my university early. Unforgettable for me is a long evening with final projects of their master class at the University of Applied Arts at that time. We often visited the TU Graz and were guests at Günther Domenig’s institute. Exactly 30 years ago, at the end of March, beginning of April 1992, I was one of the participants in a wonderful architectural excursion to sunny California as a young student assistant at the Institute for Interior Design at the TU Vienna. Among many other fascinating projects, we visited the Gehry Residence, the home of Frank O. Gehry, in Santa Monica on April 1, 1992.

Why are you attracted to the Deconstructivists’ approach?

From my point of view, until now it was the last generation of architects who were able to successfully implement experimental, theoretical and artistic approaches in their architecture. After that, the environment and the requirements changed. When I was a student, I very much enjoyed and intensively studied the theoretical background of deconstructivist architecture. That was very appealing to me then and still is today. I enjoyed reading the positions of Jacques Derrida, Aura and Excess by Peter Eisenman, and The Thousand Plateaus by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.

What do you love most about your job – and why?

Being a generalist and experimental scientist. I don’t know nothing about anything. But that gives me a broad horizon and a deep understanding of processes and structures. And every day I can learn something new.

Wolfgang Höhl, architect, Munich

Explore a media ontology of XR-Games and discover how to design ambiguity in virtual worlds: “Ambiguity in Utopian XR-Games. Basic Principles for the Design of Virtual Worlds”. A preprint of this article is now available at SSOAR and media TUM.

This paper was developed as a publication on my presentation at the Science MashUp Symposium on the topic of “XR – Society – Utopia” at Leipzig University of Applied Sciences on April 24, 2021.

What kind of digital society do we want to live in? “COVID-19 and digital transformation” was published at F1000 Research . https://f1000research.com/articles/10-264/v1