The New Normal

Like students around the world, RISD’s Interior Architecture seniors were faced with unprecedented circumstances in the spring of 2020. In response to the challenge of designing an exhibition without a space, they chose to adapt their work to the virtual dimension. Using an augmented reality smartphone app, the students transformed the museum’s Grand Gallery into an exhibition space for their senior projects. These projects envision new adaptive-reuse practices. The New Normal investigates the potential of space-making when movement is not possible, adapting and rethinking architectural language in altered design conditions, allowing the students to congregate in new ways.

To download the app and experience The New Normal, visit the students’ website.