Wednesday, June 23. 2010Arctic Opening (Fenêtre Arctique)
By fabric | ch ----- Arctic Opening is a new installation by fabric | ch, curated by Seconde Nature (curatorship: Pierre-Emmanuel Reviron) that we will install next week on the Frioul Islands in Marseille (South of France, Mediterranean Sea), in the context of the Festival MIMI (Festival des musiques innovantes et actuelles). The installation will be freely accessible to everyone from the 30th of June to the 14th of July and is part of an outdoor exhibition presenting several works of art / experimental architecture (among which Nicolas Reeves, Lee Patterson).
The aim of the project is to let appear a "second day" made of a large artificial ligthing, between Marseille's sunsets and sunrises, when everything becomes dark and quiet on the islands. This illumination will have its source up north, beyond the polar circle, where the sun shines 24 hours long during summer. Thus the continuous day of the arctic summer will be transported to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Arctic Opening will light up a zone of the arid landscape of the Frioul close to an industrial ruin, channeling a fictional catastrophic future of an Arctic Ocean free of ice with the present of this mediterranean island, already surrounded by sea routes and heavy tourism. The result will become a metis landscape, all nights long: an arctic mediterranean, remote day at night.
The overall installation will look a bit like a scientific expedition, with sensing devices and climatic interfaces set up under a tent, which will analyze the polar meteorologic data and control the variations of intensity of Arctic Opening. -------------------------------- ARCTIC OPENING
-------------------------------- Original Text (in French):
FENÊTRE ARCTIQUE Chaque jour, lorsque la nuit tombe sur nos paysages urbanisés, dans nos villes, nos rues ou nos ports, un autre jour se lève, électrique. C'est littéralement une " seconde journée " qui commence : celle des néons et des enseignes, des éclairages publics au sodium, au mercure ou à la fluorescence, celle encore des fenêtres et des vitrines illuminées, celle enfin d'une effervescence nocturne que nous ne connaissions pas il y a encore deux siècles. Bien qu'aujourd'hui nous n'y pensions plus guère, tant ce " deuxième jour " fait dorénavant partie de notre quotidien de citadins, cet éclairage fut une conquête : par le feu en premier lieu, par le gaz ensuite, et plus récemment par l'électricité. Cette lumière " fabriquée " permit d'abord de prolonger de façon artificielle le jour durant la nuit, d'éclairer la pénombre, mais aussi d'architecturer et de transformer de façon radicale notre relation au temps, au paysage, à l'espace. Elle permit surtout de dépasser cette donnée naturelle, immémoriale et incontournable qu'a toujours été le cycle du jour et de la nuit induit par la rotation de la Terre sur elle-même, et de redéfinir ainsi l'espace architectural et urbain. Cependant, ce jour devenu " perpétuel " grâce à l'électricité interféra dès le XIXème siècle avec nos rythmes naturels, produisant des modifications spectaculaires : émancipés de l'alternance diurne et nocturne imposée par la nature, les habitudes sociales et les usages des habitants bénéficiant de cette " découverte " se retrouvèrent immédiatement et irrémédiablement transformés. On se mit à vivre et travailler la nuit, à se divertir de plus en plus sous un éclairage artificiel, et parfois, en compensation, à dormir le jour… à l'abri des persiennes (autre système, mécanique celui-ci, de contrôle du climat et de la lumière). On se mit aussi à concevoir de nouvelles architectures qui ne nécessitaient plus d'éclairage naturel. En quelques décennies, l'éclairage artificiel modifia en profondeur les modes de vie des citadins, mais pas uniquement : les oiseaux se mirent à chanter la nuit à proximité des lampadaires, les insectes à s'agglutiner sous les projecteurs et les étoiles à s'effacer partiellement du ciel nocturne urbain, ouvrant ainsi la porte à un univers étrange, transformé et où se mêlent cycles naturels et artificiels. Pertes et gains donc. Ce nouvel environnement fut également marqué par la volonté des hommes d'en maîtriser l'" aléatoire " ou le " sauvage " pour prendre le contrôle d'un nombre grandissant de facteurs et de dimensions constitutives de leur habitat. Aujourd'hui encore, cette " deuxième journée ", historiquement " industrielle ", demeure souvent un jour à la lumière monotone, à vocation essentiellement fonctionnelle (voir, sécuriser, travailler, mais aussi lire, cuisiner, etc.). La plupart du temps, elle n'évoque rien, et si elle varie, c'est pour rester dans une zone de confort préprogrammée, au contraire des climats lumineux naturels qui jouent continuellement avec le paysage pour offrir différentes occupations et perceptions d'un même environnement. De plus nous commençons à peine à prendre la mesure du coût énergétique de cette entreprise et de sa participation au bilan écologique global négatif de l'humanité. Pourtant, cet environnement, parfois magique, parfois inquiétant, développe pour nous, incontestablement, une poésie des décalages. Ces décalages qui mêlent présents et futurs, il s'agit de les déployer dans une réflexion d'ensemble sur notre espace contemporain et notre consommation d'énergie. Conçu pour le Festival des Musiques Innovantes (MIMI) 2010 à Marseille, sur les îles du Frioul, le projet Fenêtre Arctique n'a donc pas pour objectif de nier cette " deuxième journée ", mais d'en amplifier les aspects sensibles et positifs. Fenêtre Arctique cherche ainsi à développer le potentiel d'imaginaire(s)de l'illumination artificielle, tout en intégrant les nouvelles technologies et les cycles d'éclairage intelligents à faible consommation énergétiques. Dans un environnement désormais mondialisé, perpétuellement interconnecté, où se développent de nouvelles mobilités, temporalités et comportements sociaux aux croisements des fuseaux horaires, ce jour artificiel offre l'occasion d'une ouverture vers d'autres jours, simultanés et distants : une " connexion " imaginaire ou médiatisée avec des contrées où précisément et littéralement, au même instant, il fait jour. Par le biais d'images satellites et de capteurs de données, il est désormais possible d'imaginer ouvrir une " fenêtre " sur une lumière sensible et éloignée dont l'intensité varie, continuellement, où le ciel est ensoleillé, puis couvert, puis éventuellement ensoleillé à nouveau. Une fenêtre " téléportant " de façon abstraite une atmosphère distante, sans mobilité physique, sans moyen de transport autre que le transport des données, de là-bas à ici. Avec Fenêtre Arctique, fabric | ch se propose de créer une telle " ouverture " à large échelle, vers un autre jour, durable et distant : une clarté artificielle, sensible, révélant certains motifs géographiques, lumineux et météorologiques, à l'échelle du globe (à l'été d'un hémisphère correspond en opposé l'hiver de l'autre, au clair l'obscur, au jour perpétuel d'un pôle la nuit de l'autre, etc.). Lorsque la nuit tombe sur Marseille, ce " deuxième jour " se lève en prenant sa source quelque part au nord du Cercle Arctique, aux confins des zones habitables (Hammerfest, Murmansk, Prudhoe Bay, Tuktoyaktuk, Igloolik, Clyde River, Scoresbysund, etc.), où une fois les glaces fondues de nouvelles routes maritimes s'ouvrent et s'ouvriront plus encore à l'avenir. Alimentée par la lumière de contrées, où, en cette saison, le soleil à l'éclairage horizontal ne se couche jamais, où son lever se mêle à son coucher, Fenêtre Arctique reproduit les modulations continuelles de l'été septentrional. Composée de centaines de diodes électroluminescentes (LEDs), cette bande lumineuse longue de dix-huit mètres éclaire un paysage rocailleux, balayé par les vents. Au lever du soleil, elle s'éteint lentement pour laisser apparaître une installation temporaire de tubulures, plantées là pour mener cette expérience en lumière distante. Dressée à proximité, au voisinage d'un vestige militaire et industriel du XXème siècle, une tente abritant des instruments de contrôle évoque une possible expédition scientifique en milieu " hostile ".
La combinaison de l'éclairage produit par cette fenêtre et le paysage des îles du Frioul engendre un territoire composite : Méditerranée arctique, jour distant nocturne. Ce territoire métisse en lumière mélangée est créé à dessein comme environnement prospectif des motifs contemporains de la mobilité et du croisement des fuseaux horaires, des flux et des réseaux, de l'artificialité et de la médiatisation, ou encore pour signaler les étranges similarités topographiques entre les îles arides du Frioul et les territoires arctiques où aucun arbre ne pousse. Comme si ce lieu temporaire au large de Marseille, éclairé par une lumière reconstruite et transportée de l'arctique, pouvait révéler le futur lointain, catastrophique et fictif, de ces territoires nordiques : réchauffés par les dérèglements climatiques, parcourus par le va et vient des bateaux lancés sur les nouvelles routes maritimes ouvertes par la fonte des glaces, les rives du Grand-Nord pourraient commencer à ressembler celles de la Méditerranée. Cet environnement se métisserait alors, lui-aussi, à la façon des populations devenues de plus en plus mobiles au fil du temps : mélanges d'ici et d'ailleurs, de futurs et de présents, de matériel et d'immatériel. Fenêtre Arctique : territoires mélangés.
fabric | ch, juin 2010.
-------------------------------- Project, conception and programmation: fabric | ch Ligths: Lumens8 On site supervision: Etienne Fortin, AMI MIMI Direction: Ferdinand Richard, AMI Curatorship: Pierre-Emmanuel Reviron, Seconde Nature
With the support of Marseille-Provence 2013, MIMI Festival and Lumens8. Arctic Opening is a MIMI 2010 creation by fabric | ch.
Related Links:Personal comment: Note: the MIMI Festival is the occasion to listen to some of the most innovative or profiled musicians in the incredible context of the Frioul Islands. I can for example highly recommend the evening of the 11th of July: Carsten Nicolai a.k.a. Alva Noto in concert with Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten). This promises a lot!
Posted by Patrick Keller
in fabric | ch, Architecture, Art, Territory
at
21:32
Defined tags for this entry: architecture, art, design (interactions), exhibitions, exhibitions-fbrc, fabric | ch, interface, interferences, landscape, lighting, phasing, territory, variable, weather
Wednesday, March 03. 2010Dan Hill - New Soft CityDan Hill-Keynote: New Soft City from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo. The way the street feels may soon be defined by the invisible and inaudible. Cities are being laced with sensors, which in turn generate urban informatics experiences, imbuing physical space with real-time behavioural data. The urban fabric itself can become reflexive and responsive to some extent, and there are numerous implications for the design and experience of cities as a result. Multi-sensory interaction design merges with architecture, planning and an urbanism informed by the gentle ambient drizzle of everyday data. Drawing from projects in Sydney, Masdar, Helsinki, Seoul and elsewhere, I’ll explore the opportunities implicit in this new soft city – how we might once again enable a city alive to the touch of its citizens – and what this means for an urban interaction design.
Biography Dan Hill is a designer and urbanist. He’s been working at the forefront of interaction design since the early ‘90s and is responsible for shaping many innovative, popular and critically acclaimed products and services. He is currently a senior consultant at Arup in Sydney. As Head of Interactive Technology & Design at the BBC in London, he led design across their award-winning websites as well as conducting significant strategic work, re-thinking the organisation for the on-demand age. He co-founded the global media product Monocle, and is one of the organisers of the acclaimed architecture and urbanism event Postopolis!, running in New York and Los Angeles. He also writes City of Sound, generally thought of as one of the leading architecture and urbanism websites. For Arup, Dan is exploring the possibilities of urban informatics from a creative, design-led perspective, re-thinking how real-time information networks change streets and cities, neighbourhoods and organisations, mobility and work, play and public space. He works on major urban development projects worldwide. ----- Related Links:Personal comment:
We met last year with Dan Hill during Postopolis!L.A. and just collaborated on a "IBA Smart House" competition, along with Philippe Rahm who was in chare of the main design.
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Architecture, Interaction design
at
15:24
Defined tags for this entry: architecture, data, information, interaction design, interface, interferences, ubiquitous, urbanism
Friday, January 29. 2010Emotiv Epoq brain-control headset gets reviewed: frustrating
Emotiv’s brain-reading Epoq gaming headset has been floating around for a while now, but it’s only recently that customers finally received their orders. One such early adopter is Rick Dakan over at Joystiq, who slapped down $299 for an Epoq of his own. Unfortunately, while the theory may be great, the implementation is sadly lacking. From the start, the Epoq is difficult to wear, with sixteen individual head-pads that each need to be separately moistened and slotted into place. Unfortunately Rick found that then trying to don the headset generally popped a few of those pads off; you also have to factor in the removal process, retrieving each pad and carefully stowing it in its box. Once you’re actually wearing the Epoq, it doesn’t get much better. Learning how to use it is frustrating, given there’s no indication of what you’re actually doing wrong when it fails to work (or, conversely, what exactly you did right when it responds), and even the three basic games – including Emotipong, shown below – were difficult to control. You can map the commands from Emotiv’s software to general keyboard and mouse shortcuts, but if you can’t even master the up/down movement of Pong then more advanced system navigation seems unduly ambitious. The conclusion? ”Seldom has the early adopter tax (one I’ve paid often) felt more onerous” says Rick. Monday, January 11. 2010Links for 2010-01-10 [del.icio.us]
----- Via Pasta & Vinegar Personal comment: Many links here that comment on different digital culture things. But each one is quite interesting and meaningfull in itself: from the evolution towards a public life "by default" (instead of the contrary a couple of years ago. Rem: this idea has already been recently quoted here) to the learning of multi-touch and mobile gestures...
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Culture & society, Interaction design, Science & technology
at
10:58
Defined tags for this entry: artificial reality, culture & society, interaction design, interface, interferences, mobile, monitoring, science & technology
Thursday, January 07. 2010Light Touch projection technology turns any flat surface into a touchscreen
We’ve seen virtual keyboards before, but the technology has never quite taken off. But this is quite exceptional. UK-based Light Blue Optics (LBO) has unveiled a revolutionary compact projector that lets users interact with images projected onto a flat surface, essentially turning it into a touch screen. Remarkably, it has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, which allows users to access and connect with internet-based applications and engage in social networking and multimedia sharing via the projector itself, which runs Adobe Flash Lite 3.1. The Light Touch projector transforms the usually static image created by a projector into interactive multimedia content using Light Blue Optics’ proprietary holographic laser projection technology. The device can project a virtual 10-inch interactive display onto any surface and the integrated infra-red touch sensing system enables users to interact with the virtual image in the same way they would use a handheld touchscreen device. The device is set to be showcased in an invite-only event on Thursday, January 7th at CES. LBO also announced a list of global companies working with the Company to bring its unique projection technology to market; Adobe, CSR, Foxconn, Interbrand, Microsoft, Micron, Nichia, Photop, Opnext and Toshiba. It comes equipped with 2GB of onboard Flash memory and has a Micro SD card slot for up to 32GB of storage, running wall-powered or battery-operated, with a run-time of two hours before recharging is required. The Light Touch certainly looks very interesting, but there are no details on pricing or availability yet. Friday, December 04. 2009Co-presence in the 21st centuryTwo persons in the same place, as represented on the Foursquare interface. A depiction of co-presence mediated by technology. Co-presence, as described by Zhao can refer to the sense of being together with other people in a remote or a shared virtual environment. To refer back to Goffman, it’s a form of human co-location in which individuals become “accessible, available, and subject to one another“. The advent of location-based services lead to a new class of situation where people can b both physically copresent (what Zhao calls “Corporeal Copresence”) and located in electronic proximity (what Zhao calls “Corporeal Telecopresence”). Which is what happens with the Foursquare interface. The categories are then not mutually exclusive. Why do I blog this? curiosity about what this kind of constraints can lead to, in terms of location-based services in a physically co-present context. ----- Via Pasta & Vinegar Personal comment: Not that it is a new concept, just to underline it one more time!
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Culture & society, Science & technology, Territory
at
11:31
Defined tags for this entry: culture & society, interface, presence, science & technology, territory
Friday, October 02. 2009New Apple Multitouch Patent Enables Typing on a Large ScreenMost sci-fi fans remember the movie Minority Report, and the scene where Tom Cruise manipulates data on a large, vertical, virtual screen using only his hands and fingers. Although I prefer to do my computer work sitting down, it was the stuff geek dreams are made of, and now Apple has applied for a patent that sounds eerily similar. AppleInsider has the details, but the gist of it is this: Apple’s multitouch functions currently implemented on the iPhone and on Macbook trackpads are nice enough, but aren’t good enough for a larger screen (a larger screen on a mythical Apple tablet device, that is). Therefore, Apple’s new patent describes a far more sophisticated multitouch input method, allowing for use of all ten fingers, complex movements and, yes, proper typing. Built-in sensors should be able to distinguish various hand configurations, detect when the user wants the cursor to move, and enable various types of input (typing, manipulating 2D objects, and handwriting). We can’t say all of this is definite proof that an Apple tablet is coming, but it’s painfully easy to imagine all of this applied on such a device. ----- Via Mashable Personal comment: Minority Report syndrom again... This time possibly coming to a table(t) near you. Tuesday, May 26. 2009See-through toiletAnother item I found curious while spending time in Lausanne the the other day: a see-through toilet. Based on a steel-and-glass architecture, the toilet is based on a transparent system: when pressing the “voir” button (which means “see”), the glass gets transparent and it turns opaque when someone is inside and presses the button again. A motion sensor also turn the glass transparent if there’s no motion during a certain amount of time (to prevent people from staying there for too long or in case of a problem) OR if there is TOO MUCH ACTIVITY (no party is allowed in there). It’s questioning as well to see that the button has been called “VOIR” (”see”), as most of the people who enter the toilet do not want to “see” but instead to “not be seen”. My guess is that it’s on purpose, to disrupt people’s behavior (who would want to press a button anyway to see how to make the glass opaque). From what I’ve read, the point is to find an answer the recurring problems of toilet trashing. By looking at the inside, people can have a direct overview of the toilet state. Designed by Oloom in 2008, the whole point of this is explained on their website:
An important feature in this design is the presence of a pine tree next to the transparent toilet. This tree has been especially chosen to be planted there because it’s aimed at bringing more pleasant smell. A sort of high-tech/low tech combination. Why do I blog this? An intriguing piece of furniture with curious combinations (the pine tree, the syringe trash can). Is this the Everyware-like city toilet of the future? I don’t know but it’s certainly interesting to understand more the way the glass gets transparent or opaque. The rules embedded in the system, that I described at the beginning of this post, tells us captivating insights about what is considered as normal or not in society. ----- Via Pasta & Vinegar Related Links:Personal comment: Petit essai socio-fonctionnel sur nos toilettes du Flon! ;) Tuesday, May 19. 2009Enough Already: MLM Invades Twitter’s Trending TopicsWikitude is an Android-based application which, based on your current GPS location and physical address, augments your physical experience with information drawn from an online database of over 350,000 points of interest. To gain a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of Wikitude you should watch the following video: The second mobile augmented reality application (platform) highlighted this week is zcapes, a unique microblogging platform which augments the “physical web” with “smart filters and situational content” drawn from the “live web”. [The following diagram positions zcape within the matrix of the "Live" and Physical" web.] ----- Via Mashable Personal comment:
De nouvelles applications "AR" (Augmented Reality). Le mélange d'inputs "live" provenant du réseau avec des lieux physiques me parait être une voie plus intéressante (quels commentaires trouvés sur les différents réseaux sociaux par rapport au lieu où l'on se trouve) qu'un guide touristique statique . Friday, May 08. 2009Real-Time Online Energy Usage Dashboards
While the PowerMeter project is still in "private beta", other online energy dashboards can already be admired. . The Energy Detective project merged the actual energy output of an everyday family with a Google Visualization API Timeline visualization, which itself is based on a Twitter-based feed from the smart metering device. Remarkable events or peaks are regularly annotated, and one can easily make out when typical household activities have taken place. . The flashy Radisson Hotel Building Dashboard seems to offer near real-time statistics about water, electricity and natural gas usage, and the weather. As a hotel, it should really try to consider offering some real data behind those ambivalent "Please use our towels multiple times, for the sake of nature" signs. Other recent websites focus on using group pressure and social encouragement by publishing one's efforts in more sustainable living within the framework of an online social network. - Make Me Sustainable allows users to calculate and reduce their carbon footprint, which is then represented as a simple history bar graph or translated in the metaphor of "trees saved" or "cars taken off the road". - Carbon Rally focuses on reducing one's carbon footprint impact by proposing group challenges, and aggregating the efforts of all its members on a large CO2 Impact Map. Finally, the Carbon Monitoring for Action portal is a massive database containing information on the carbon emissions of over 50,000 power plants and 4,000 power companies worldwide, visualized on a world map. By providing complete information for both "clean" and "dirty" power producers, CARMA hopes to influence the opinions and decisions from consumers to policy makers. ----- Personal comment: Quelques ressource en ligne pour essayer de réduire son impact "carbonique" ou simplement des interfaces qui vont dans le sens d'un monitoring personnel et quotidien de son empreinte. Intéressant que Google s'y mette également. A suivre mais il faudrait également engager de lourdes rénovations au niveau du parc immobilier pour rendre tout ceci "intelligent" ou tout au moins "pilotable".
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fabric | rblgThis blog is the survey website of fabric | ch - studio for architecture, interaction and research. We curate and reblog articles, researches, writings, exhibitions and projects that we notice and find interesting during our everyday practice and readings. Most articles concern the intertwined fields of architecture, territory, art, interaction design, thinking and science. From time to time, we also publish documentation about our own work and research, immersed among these related resources and inspirations. This website is used by fabric | ch as archive, references and resources. It is shared with all those interested in the same topics as we are, in the hope that they will also find valuable references and content in it.
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