This contribution focuses on the topics of identity and memory and how Augmented Reality and Ar-tificial Intelligence are a useful tool for the enhancement of some areas of study still not fully accepted from the cultural point of view. In particular, the objective of the study is the rediscovery of asylum complexes. These, before being conceived as places of therapy, were conceived as places of confine-ment and control of a social ‘problem’, for a long time managed within the walls in which the mentally ill were isolated. Through the application to a specific case in which Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence act in synergy, the contribution presents a research path aimed at restoring value to the identities of individual patients, hidden and denied first by necessity and then by the will of obliteration.
AR+AI = Augmented (Retail + Identity) for Historical Retail Heritage
From the cafés in the dreamlike square in Rimini depicted by Fellini in Amarcord to the movie theater in the village of Giancaldo depicted by Tornatore in Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, historic shops represent a rich and significant cultural heritage. The protection of historic shops is often the subject of specific dedicated regulations throughout the country, aimed at preserving their compositional identity and preventing the impoverishment of their urban image. In this context, starting from the analysis of future scenarios in the field of retail design, the proposed contribution aims to open new perspec-tives on the potential offered by the use of AR and AI technologies in the identity enhancement of the architectural heritage of historic shops. The idea, presented through a real case study, is that the concept of Augmented Retail can represent a strategy to achieve an Augmented Identity, changing the retail space from a ‘product window’ to an ‘experiential theatre’.