Interaction design

By fabric | ch

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Note: last end of May was the opening of the exhibition Poetics & Politics of Data at the Haus der elektronischen Künste in Basel. This was the occasion to present the temporary results of the design research I'm leading at ECAL/University of Art & Design Lausanne, in collaboration with Nicolas Nova from HEAD - Genève, EPFL and EPFL-ECAL Lab. But for that matter, fabric | ch realized the scenography of the whole exhibition, in particular the "hidden" part hosting the presentation of the design research itself.

The whole spatial display we designed looks like some sort of "heterotopy": an archive and (computer) cabinet of curiosities within the white cube. A little bit like the "behind the scenes" of the exhibition, occupying its center, yet articulating it. It is basically made out of the modular elements that constitutes the "white cube" itself. Just that we maintained the hidden parts of these walls open and visible, widen and turn them in a pathway and an archive.

Also present in the space and scenography are different works from fabric | ch: Deterritorialized Daylight is used to drive the lighting of the inner part of the cabinet, a new work Datadroppers --an online data commune, reminiscence of the now dead Pachube-- is used to collect and re-use random data from the exhibition, several Raspberry Pis in their dedicated 3d printed casing are collecting these data (which includes, in addition to the traditional ones more surpising ones like "curiosity", "transgression", etc.) and "dropping"  them on the online service. They are then searchable and be used in third parties applications.

The exhibition will still be on view until the end of August in Basel, with works by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Moniker, Aram Bartholl, Jennifer Lyn Morone, Rybn and several others.

Pictures by David Colombini and Marco Frauchiger

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Intro text to the exhibition and credits:

Inhabiting & Interfacing the Cloud(s) is an ongoing design research about Cloud Computing. It explores the creation of counter-proposals to the current expression of this technological arrangement, particularly in its forms intended for private individuals and end users (Personal Cloud). Through its fully documented cross-disciplinary approach that connects the works of interaction designers, architects and ethnographers, this research project aims at producing alternative yet concrete models resulting from a more decentralized and citizen-oriented approach.
Halfway through the exploration process, the current status of the work is presented in the form of a (computer) cabinet (of curiosities).

http://www.iiclouds.org

Project leaders: Patrick Keller (ECAL), Nicolas Nova (HEAD)
Tutors: Christophe Guignard (ECAL), Dieter Dietz, Caroline Dionne, Manon Fantini, Thomas Favre-Bulle & Rudi Nieveen (EPFL), Nicolas Henchoz (EPFL-ECAL Lab)
Assistants: Lucien Langton (ECAL), Charles Chalas (HEAD), David Colombini
Partners: James Auger, Christian Babski, Stéphane Carion, Matthew Plummer-Fernandez

Students (ECAL): Anne-Sophie Bazard, Benjamin Botros, Caroline Buttet, Guillaume Cerdeira, Romain Cazier, Maxime Castelli, Mylène Dreyer, Bastien Girshig, Martin Hertig, Jonas Lacôte, Alexia Léchot, Nicolas Nahornyj, Pierre-Xavier Puissant
Students (HEAD): Sarah Bourquin, Hind Chamas, Marianne Czwodjdrak, Patrick Donaldson, Alexandra Gavrilova, Félicien Goguey, Eunni Sun Lee, Vanesa Lorenzo, Etienne Ndiaye, Mélissa Pisler, Camille Rattoni, Léa  Thévenot, Saskia Vellas
Students (EPFL): Anne-Charlotte Astrup, Francesco Battaini, Tanguy Dyer, Delphine Passaquay

Scenography: fabric | ch

ECAL director: Alexis Georgacopoulos
HEAD – Genève director: Jean-Pierre Greff

ECAL/University of Art & Design Lausanne, HEAD – Genève, EPFL-ECAL Lab, HES-SO