The Transdisciplinary Nature of Virtual Space

This paper presents a transdisciplinary view on virtual space, through a description of how different domains of knowledge inform the concepts of virtuality and space. The aim is to show how these different perspectives come together in the virtual space that facilitates combining science and technology with cultural aspects coming from arts and other domains of knowledge. The argument leads to two models of the understanding of virtual space. The first model is an explanation of virtual space as a hybrid that has emerged from both nature (represented by sciences) and culture (represented by arts). The second model puts the observer in the center, exploring the physical-virtual space through an embodied interaction. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it presents virtual space as a platform for transdisciplinary work, exposing its underlying processes from both theoretical and practical point of view. Second, it introduces a model for the way transdisciplinarity can inform the understanding of virtuality that is taking increasing part of our everyday lives as well as variety of knowledge production in form of advanced visualizations, simulations and virtual reality approaches.