Interplay of Domains New Dimensions of Form Generations SCHNABEL Marc Aurel Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Keywords: design process, design media, form generation, physical and virtual environments Abstract: A diversified, open-ended, and critical approach of architectural design that interplays with a variety of media, suggests an innovative development to gain new spatial solutions. Architects and designers are aware of these possibilities by integrating physical and digital media during their design process, yet the creative potentials of these media are rarely used to their full potentials. The architectural design process can be enriched by using uncommon perceptions, comprehensions, and conceptions of spatial design translations within both physical and virtual environments. A wilful interplay with the design media and the process offers the possibility to dismantle the limits of each domain and explore the design itself in unorthodox ways. The overall engagement within both real and virtual environments leads to innovative form creations and powerful design solutions. Following the tradition of artists, who explore media in unusual ways, new architectural interpretations emerge, reflecting on the media as well as the architectural design. 1 INTRODUCTION In the course of a design process, architects use both physical and digital media, tools that aid them in creating and exploring their designs. In the development of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum, for example, the architect used physical models that were translated into digital form, which then resulted in the building itself (Osman 2001). With the re-representation from a real to a virtual three- dimensional (3D) model or vice versa, shape and design are translated so that they fit into the new medium’s characteristics. Yet the quality of design and the depth of its form-finding are directly linked to its media of representation, communication, and collaboration (Kvan 2002). These re-representations allow new opportunities to arise, and the reconnection of the various design phases permits a finer understanding of the overall development. Consequently, if such qualities and possibilities influence the re-interpretations that generate the design process, then the interplay of media amplifies the designer’s opportunities (Herbert 1995). The purpose of this paper is to explore some possibilities for generating new architectural expressions by wilfully interplaying with a variety of tools that allow a translation between reality and Virtual Environments (VE). This allows a reflection