Archive for November, 2005
Here’s a cool little sensor product that uses capacitive sensing technology (the measure of minute electrical changes in elecrical capacity caused by objects moving in the immediate proximity of the sensing electrodes). What that means is that large conductive objects like the human body are easily detected. The sensors can not see through metal or other conductive materials as they block electric fields. The Sensacell can be ordered with or without on-board lighting. What’s nice is that they are modular and can be plugged together to make up larger grids for interactive architecture of differing scales.
Sensacell modules have various operation modes applicable for interactive architecture. In autonomous modes, modules perform actions without any interaction with the outside world, eg. they light up and change state when a sensor is triggered. They can also run in a passive mode updated by an external connection.
Website
November 30th, 2005
The Hello.Wall is an ambient display that emits information via light patterns and is considered informative art.
As an integral part of the physical environment, Hello.Wall constitutes a seeding element of a social architectural space conveying awareness information and atmospheric aspects within organizations or at specific places.
Interaction in Public Spaces
To contribute to a social architectural space, we focused on user interactions in rather public spaces within office buildings and designed a medium and mediator for conveying social awareness and atmospheric aspects at specific places in order to support informal communication.
Social Awareness
Communicating social awareness and atmospheric aspects within an organization includes general and specific feedback mechanisms that allow addressing different target groups via different representation codes and displays [implicit vs. explicit]. Individuals as well as groups can create public and private codes depending on the purpose of their intervention. The content to be communicated can cover a wide range and will be subject to modification, adjustment, and elaboration based on the experience people have.
See Website
November 29th, 2005
Here’s HMC Medialab’s Lacuna Project which is up and running at the Portland Square Building in Plymouth, UK.
Lacuna is a response to the relationship between body and architecture in the cyborg era. Existing in the perceived ‘gap’ between physical volume and electronic volume, Lacuna is customised software that communicates between the visual medium of the screen and a high resolution electronic skin of real world architecture. This in turn creates virtual counterpart architecture, enhancing the electronic Cybrid dimension of construction.
Lacuna is a new architectural experiment that allows physical architecture to extend itself into the realm of zero physicality to become a Hyperflexible Space. Movement, temperature, gasses, wind, sound, data, water usage, electrical information, fans, and lift position are among a few of the hundreds of sensors used to alter the Lacuna software in real-time, allowing a unique representation of the building not in traditional space and time or virtual electronic space, but somewhere between the two.
Visitors to Plymouth’s unique Portland Square building interact not through the key-press, or mouse-click associated with computing, but their very presence, or lack of presence, and usage of the building is converted into electronic signals. This, for the first time, allows visitors to exist simultaneously in the real and the virtual, they are everywhere and nowhere. Lacuna is in a constant state of flux, and intelligently updates, modifies and mutates itself many times a second.
November 28th, 2005
film for discovery channel
“The Mascarillons are the first rigid aerobots developed for the [ SAILS ] project. They are flying cubic automata able to develop collective behaviors and assemblages through swarm-intelligence protocols.”
Website Link
Interesting idea for constantly re-arranging interactive architectural space without the usual need for cranes or heavy duty actuators. Whats most interesting is how they are proposing these could be used in the event of an emergency to act as moving protective screens, boats, etc. Flying interactive architecture is apon us?… well not just yet, these designs are up and flying but is still a lot more development ahead.
from Tropolis
November 24th, 2005
I had a really great time talking about interactive architecture and my project ‘Reciprocal Space‘ on Monday so thanks to the guys at Dorkbot and I look forward to coming along to more dorkbots in the near future. Also speaking was Chris O’Shea a digital artist who works with interactive tangible interfaces for sound and runs the ‘sonic forms‘ website promoting an open source approach to taking this interesting area of interactive design further.
Here’s just a few photos from the night, thanks to Yaxu
November 23rd, 2005
I’m really looking forward to going up to Lincon to see this Publin Installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer in action this Friday. The installational will be running from the 25th of November till the 4th of December 2005
UNDER SCAN is a large-scale public art project commissioned by the East Midlands Development Agency in England. Thousands of “video-portraits” taken in Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Northampton and Nottingham will be projected onto the ground of the main squares and pedestrian thoroughfares of these cities. At first, the portraits will not be visible because the space will be flooded by white light coming from the world’s most powerful projector. As people walk around the area, their shadow will be cast on the floor, revealing the video-portraits. The short video sequences begin with the subjects in a still position turned away from the camera. As they appear within pedestrians’ shadows, their bodies move and their heads turn to look straight at the pedestrian, potentially giving rise to an interesting range of interactions. When a shadow moves away from a portrait, the portrait likewise reacts by losing interest and looking away.
Its Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s 11th Relational Architecture project. I’ve recently posted his well known Relational Architecture 4 which is absoultely beautiful. ‘Under Scan’ looks like it will be too.
See Concept Details (pdf)
under scan is touring on these dates
Lincoln: Nov. 25 to Dec. 4, 2005
Leicester: Jan. 13-22, 2006
Northampton: Feb. 3-12, 2006
Derby: Feb. 24 to March 5, 2006
Nottingham: March 17-26, 2006
from Networked Performance
November 22nd, 2005
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