CHArt Twenty-Second Annual Conference

The Digital Space of the Teatro Olimpico: A New Environment for Interactive Arts
Daniela Sirbu, University of Lethbridge, Canada

A large part of our communication and daily activities is mediated by computer technology. This provides the ground for the emergence of digital forms of human habitats. These are characterized by specific properties and induce new behaviour patterns providing a departure point for emerging art forms. This paper explores how old architecture may be reinvigorated as digital environments in interactive art forms.

While most computer reconstructions of historical architecture focus on emulating real architecture, the present paper is concerned with the properties of digital habitats, that is, their specific dynamic character. The main hypothesis is that features that characterise computer-generated environments enable the building of personal experiences in relation to digital architecture. This may create character and a sense of place providing the basis for a new space conception and new art forms in the digital era.

The 3D computer reconstruction of the existing Teatro Olimpico designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio provides an experimentation platform for this research. The main concern of the study is to understand the Teatro Olimpico in its digital form, how the dynamics of the virtual theatre may provide a space for digital art practice, and how this relates to the intentions of the original Renaissance design. The digital Teatro Olimpico allows experimentation with the multiple virtual spaces envisioned by Palladio in the original design in ways that are relevant for contemporary art practice. The question is whether the Teatro Olimpico and, through it, ancient Roman theatre architecture could revive in the digital era as virtual environments in the practice of interactive arts.

A cinematic investigation of the digital theatre explores how the perception of theatre architecture may be related to the digital context. The Virtual Reality reconstruction of Teatro Olimpico is meant to immerse the visitor in the space of the theatre in order to experiment with properties of the digital space. This interactive immersive reconstruction was developed with Virtools software package and Barco Gemini VR system using the WestGrid Virtual Reality Lab facility at the University of Lethbridge.

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