Designing for Place-Making in XR: The Process of the Co-Drive Stops and Its Atlas

The study described in this paper shows how the concept of the social construction of space can support the design of the XR experience called ”Co-Drive” by injecting acts of place-making along the design process. Co-Drive is a novel service that allows social virtual travelling by car between a driver of an automated vehicle and a remote passenger connected via virtual reality from home. In this paper, the focus is on the Co-Drive stops, the peculiar spaces where the driver and the remote passenger get to meet for the very first time, and how such spaces turn into places which are bounded by their physical features; the individual and social experiences; and the narratives drawn from those experiences.