1st Edition

The Art of Spatial Illusion Immersive Encounters between People, Media, and Place

By Richard Koeck Copyright 2025
294 Pages 102 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

294 Pages 102 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

294 Pages 102 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Contemporary art, entertainment, and architecture cultures offer a growing amount of digitally mediated spatial experiences, situated either in the metaverse (e.g. VR) or location-based in physical realms (e.g. AR), increasingly powered by generative systems (e.g. AI). Are such spatially “immersive experiences” a new phenomenon and dependent on digital innovation? The Art of Spatial Illusion:... Read more

Preface

Introduction

PART 1: The Surface | Screen Image Illusions 

1. 16/17th c. Theaters of the World: Curiosity Cabinets and Whispering Chambers

2. 18th c. Panoramic Space: Barker and the Re-Representation of Power

3. 19th c. Panoramic Precision: The Colosseum of Hornor and Parris

PART 2: The Stage | Moving Image Immersions

4. Arrival in the Age of Moving Spectacles

5. Paris 1900: Spatial Illusions and Immersive Experiences

6. Early Cinema: Producing Moving Image Simulations   

PART 3: The Interface | Architecture and Place Experiences

7. Pre-Modern: Spaces of Purpose, Image, and Performace

8. Modern: Immersed in Abstract Spaces, Signs, and Systems

9. Post-modern: Sign, Screens, and Pixels

Conclusion: The Hybrid | Beyond the Screen

10. Hybridized Realities: The Rise of Screen Corporeality

11. Concluding Remarks

Biography

Richard Koeck is Professor and Chair in Architecture and the Visual Arts in the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool. He is also Director of CAVA | Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts and founding director of the film/media company CineTecture in the UK. He is author of Cine-Scapes (2013) and co-/editor of several books on film and architecture. His cross-disciplinary R&D innovation and UKRI expertise is situated at the intersection of space, media, and culture with a particular interest in digital/immersive spaces. He led and collaborated on large projects in the architecture, creative arts, and entertainment sectors in the UK, China, and Singapore.