Category Archives: Interaction Design

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Architects of Air: Luminaria

Mirazozo, Miracoco, Light installation, inflatable structuresMirazozo, Miracoco, Light installation, inflatable structuresLuminaria, Light installation, inflatable structuresClick to enlarge

The British company Architects of Air is based in Nottingham UK in a 4000 sq ft former textile workshop. There, since 1992, they spend 6 months out of the year creating luminariums and the other 6 months touring to several countries exhibiting them. “What is a luminarium?” you may be asking yourself right about now. Luminaria are monumental inflatable structures that contain a maze of winding tunnels and soaring domes displaying the beauty of light and color. There are six different designs each made up of about 20 elements zipped together on site to occupy a 1000 sq. meter area. The most recent design is Miracoco which was launched this past summer, 2011, but there were 4 other models that toured this summer as well.

They all look spectacular to me. Architects of Air have mounted these  structures at 500 exhibits in 37 countries. Though I see on their timeline that they’ve had installations in New York in the 1990s, being that I missed those I vote for a summer 2012 NYC installation. Or maybe as part of next year’s Bring to Light Festival.

You can see many more photos on their site and on flickr.

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The Joe & Rika Mansueto Library

Joe and Rika Mansueto, University of Chicago Library, Helmut JahnHelmut Jahn, University of Chicago Library, robot, collabcubedHelmut Jahn, University of Chicago Library, robot, collabcubedMansueto Library Diagram LayoutClick to enlarge

Just when you think books are on their way out, the University of Chicago builds a new library that can hold 3.5 million volumes and deliver your requested book within minutes. The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, named after the couple who donated $25 million to the university, was designed by architect Helmut Jahn and completed last May. Both the top and bottom of the library are quite spectacular. The domed, 700-glass-panel reading room measuring around 8,000 square feet, pops up from the lawn, while underground, extending 50 feet deep, is a hi-tech automated storage and retrieval system that uses five mechanized robotic cranes, in conjunction with bar codes on the books, to retrieve any title quickly from the 24,000 metal bins used to store the books in optimal preservation conditions.

It’s all very impressive and the structural volumes, from the 120 foot x 240 foot clear span dome on top to the nearly 1,000,000 cubic feet of subterranean storage space, are challenges that were successfully tackled and executed by Halvorson and Partners Structural Engineers.

Photos courtesy Murphy/Jahn Architects and the University of Chicago.

Thanks to tipster Elaine!

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Christian Partos: E.L.O.

Light art, Light Installation, Istanbul, Borusan Muzik, art installationart installation, lumen, light art, Istanbul, BorusanThis past summer when we visited Istanbul, we popped into a gallery on a stroll down Istiklal Street, mostly because we recognized Ivan Navarro’s piece from the window. The show was Matter-Light 2 at the Borusan Muzik Evi. But this introduction is just to set the stage for the delightful surprise that ensued. While looking around the spare gallery at the various interesting light sculptures in the exhibit, suddenly, almost comically, and completely unexpectedly, a light bulb dipped down quickly and swiftly from the ceiling. And then another; and another. The artist behind this amusing curiosity is Swedish artist Christian Partos. The piece, titled E.L.O. (I am assuming a clever reference to, and/or appropriation of the name, the Electric Light Orchestra) consists of a roomful of light bulbs essentially dancing in the gallery. This is a permanent installation at the Borusan Music House (that’s the translation).

Seeing the stills really doesn’t do it justice, so here are two videos.

You can see more of Christian Partos’ work here, including his installation for a subway station in Malmö, Sweden.

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Magritte Your World iPhone App

Magritte Your World, App, fun gadget, video app, TateMagritte Your World, App, fun gadget, video app

This app made me laugh. The Magritte Your World iPhone App is the creation of the Dorothy collective in Manchester, England, England. It was released to coincide with the René Magritte exhibit that ended last month at the Tate Liverpool.

From Dorothy’s site:
The ‘Magritte Your World’ camera based app invites people to take pictures of their favourite views or landmarks and ‘Magritte’ them, by overlaying an animation inspired by ‘Golconda’, one of the artist’s most famous paintings. Suited, booted and bowler-hatted businessmen rain from the sky in an interactive and contemporary interpretation of Magritte’s own surreal painting.

Available here.

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Peter Kogler: Spatial Illusion

light projection art, installation, dirimart, graphic patternslight projection art, installation, dirimart, graphic patternslight projection mapping, cool installation art, graphic patternsClick to enlarge

Clearly, one doesn’t necessarily need Upside Down Goggles or a Psycho Tank à la Carsten Höller to experience a trippy effect through art. Austrian artist Peter Kogler has been playing with spatial illusion since the 1980s.

Interested in film architecture and influenced by movies from the 1920s such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Metropolis where the architecture plays a central role generating emotion from the viewer, Kogler began working with the “illusionism of space”. Initially working with small models made from cardboard, his work evolved into projections of large-scale graphic images onto walls, trying to absorb or change the actual architecture.

Personally, the rats are a tad too freaky, but the rest of it really appeals to me.

Below is a short video of one of Peter Kogler’s video installations in action.

via Dirimart

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The Tidy Street Project

Energy consumption, info graphic, street art, Urbanized the filmEnergy consumption, info graphic, street art, Urbanized the filmClick to enlarge

I went to see the new documentary Urbanized—the third film in Gary Hustwit’s trilogy starting with Helvetica and followed by Objectified—which looks at city planning issues and stresses the importance of intelligent urban design for the immediate future when 75% of the population is estimated to inhabit cities by 2050. It’s a great film and I highly recommend it. There’s a lot more that could be said about the film, but instead I wanted to share a project that was featured and relates more to art, design, and typography: The Tidy Street Project.

During March and April 2011, participating households on Tidy Street, in Brighton, UK, recorded their electricity consumption. Each day the participants’ electricity usage over the previous 24 hours was marked; and each week participants could choose to add another comparison line that showed how their electricity consumption compared to another region in the UK or even a different country. The residents, in collaboration with the local graffiti artist Snub, produced an engaging street infographic that stimulated the street and passersby to reflect on their electricity use. In Urbanized, several of the participants are interviewed as well as the project creator, Jon Bird from Open University. It was interesting to see the enthusiasm in the project and how the tenants were made aware of which appliances used the most electricity as well as a general awareness on how to lower their consumption, resulting in a 15% usage reduction.

Definitely a fun way to get people involved and interested.

The Tidy Street Project is part of CHANGE, an EPSRC funded research collaboration between The Open University, Goldsmiths, Sussex University and Nottingham University.

Photos courtesy of The Tidy Street Project, Sare, thelastretort’s flickr, Kevan’s flickr, and boxman’s flickr.
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Tsang Kin-Wah: The Seven Seals

Dynamic projected type installations, Mori Art MuseumDynamic projected type installations, Mori Art MuseumClick to enlarge

Oh yes, this is right up my alley. Hong Kong based artist Tsang Kin-Wah incorporates text and type to create dynamic installations. From painted floral-like wall patterns that upon closer inspection are made up of letters and Chinese characters, to his ongoing video installation series titled The Seven Seals, Kin-Wah envelops the viewer in type. The texts formed by that type pose questions on existence drawing from biblical, political and philosophical writings, in many cases meant to provoke a range of feelings from the spectator reminding us of issues like war, terrorism, revolution, death, murder, suicide, self-denial, etc.

Presently the latest installation in The Seven Seals, The Fifth Seal – HE Shall Deliver You Up To Be Afflicted And Killed As HE Was, is being shown at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo through January 15, 2012.

via Mori Art Museum

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Flow by Carlo Viscione

installation, Heathrow Terminal 5, contemporary art, Boarding Passinstallation, Heathrow Terminal 5, contemporary art, Boarding Pass

Click on images to enlarge

London based spatial designer Carlo Viscione proposed a design, in collaboration with Amy Harris, for an interactive installation, titled Flow, to be placed in Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport. Made up of 4,000 ‘pixels’ measuring 10 sq cm each with a discarded boarding pass ticket stub protruding from the center of each square, the responsive wall reacts to the movement of passers-by. Triggered by ultra-sonic sensors hidden in the ceiling, the installation creates flowing motion by moving the ticket stubs in a synchronized movement across the wall.

From the artist:
The idle state represents a coral reef movement; flow swinging softly left and right. When people are passing by, it reacts to speed, group size and proximity and tracks the people along the 20m length of the installation. The computer assessing the information triggers different algorithms that create different responses to the people passing – from a simple wave to repeating patterns.

We hoped that this little intervention creates a little smile on people’s faces and creates an experience that positively links back to visiting London.

Watch the video above for the full effect. And visit Carlo Viscione’s website to see more of his work.

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Youth Factory: Selgas Cano Architects

Mérida, Youth Center, skateboarding, rock climbing, Spain, contemporary architectureMérida, Youth Center, skateboarding, rock climbing, Spain, contemporary architectureMérida, Youth Center, skateboarding, rock climbing, Spain, contemporary architectureMérida, Youth Center, skateboarding, rock climbing, Spain, contemporary architectureClick to enlarge

SelgasCano Architects’ design for the new Youth Factory (Factoría Joven) in Mérida, Spain is all about welcoming and protecting. The colorful youth center is very open with its, possibly, most notable feature being a huge orange, organically shaped canopy that protects from rain and the strong hot rays of the sun, typical of Mérida. The architects refer to this prominent aspect as a plastic ‘cloud’.

With a curvaceous skate park that can be used for skateboarding, rollerblading, or cycling, a large climbing wall, an open amphitheater encouraging shows, as well as music and dancing, what teenager would stay away? The open and inviting structure, meant to welcome all, is supported by the oval pods that house the activity rooms as well as the offices.

I’d say the whole edifice screams fun.

via the archhive and architectural review

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Nils and Sven Völker: Captured

art installation, inflating foil, colored lights, collabcubedart installation, inflating foil, colored lights, collabcubedClick to enlarge.

If you’ve ever popped some Jiffy Pop on the stove, it’s likely that that experience will come to mind while viewing Nils and Sven Völker’s recent installation, Captured: An Homage to Light and Air presented at MADE Space in Berlin.

The German brothers – Sven a graphic designer and Nils a machine artist (see our previous post) – collaborated by combining four walls with 304 framed graphic pages surrounding a field of 252 inflatable silver cushion-like air bags. The bags were programmed by Nils Völker to create sequences according to chapters of his brother’s “books on wall”. The inflating and deflating of the bags, along with the colored lighting system, create a very dramatic and intensified effect.

You can watch it in action below.

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Bring to Light/Nuit Blanche 2011: Follow-up

Bring to Light Festival, nuit blanche, greenpoint, marcos zotes-lopez, eye, collabcubedBring to Light Festival, nuit blanche, greenpoint, marcos zotes-lopez, eye, collabcubedBring to Light Festival, nuit blanche, greenpoint, video, art installations, collabcubedClick to enlarge.

Last night, a night bookended by heavy rain showers here in NYC, fortunately offered a 2- to 3-hour precipitation-free window. Just enough time to ferry on over to Greenpoint and catch the Bring to Light Festival.

Though the ferry was quite empty, I was happy to see that the crowds obviously made it over by other means of transportation. It was one of those really nice NYC events, where everyone seemed so happy in sharing such a fun and unique experience. The brick and corrugated metal façades of the industrial warehouses on the Brooklyn waterfront made for the perfect backdrop and canvases for the various video projections and colorful light installations. There were over 50 works displayed, so naturally I can’t go over all of them here, and some I am not sure of the names or artists, but some of the highlights are pictured above starting with, possibly my favorite, a very Buñuelesque image:

Marcus Zotes-Lopez’s CCTV/Creative Control TV; a projection of an eye on the bottom of a water tower looking over the crowds.
Devan Simunovich & Olek, Suffolk Deluxe Electric Bicycle.
Not sure of this but possibly Colin Snapp, Sylvania.
Jason Peters, Structural Light.
BOB, Columbia Architecture Students, inflatable structure (left and right pics, outside and in).
Glowing pedestrians walking around in self-made light costumes.
Not sure about the colored bulbs.
Camilled Scherrer, In the Woods, interactive projection converting people’s shadows into creatures.
Chakaia Booker, Shadows, silhouettes on installation.
Others include a bench with light emanating from the slats and a person lying down within (à la Vito Acconci): projections of hands morphing into latex gloves; a glowing lung-like object that breathed; and Raphaele Shirley’s Light Cloud on a Bender, a glowing mist sculpture.

It was all very bright, colorful, and animated. You can watch the short video clips below for a better sense of the atmosphere. Next year, I’ll at least hang a glow stick around my neck before heading over.

Top photo courtesy the artist, Marcus Zotes-Lopez. Second photo from Alix’s flickr. All other photos taken by collabcubed.
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Andrei Molodkin: Transformer No. V579

Light sculpture, Light installation, Lumen, London, Art Sensus, collabcubedLight sculpture, Light installation, Lumen, London, Art Sensus, collabcubedLight sculpture, Light installation, Lumen, London, Art Sensus, collabcubedClick to enlarge

Oh how I wish I were in London to see this!  Russian artist Andrei Molodkin has created a site-specific installation titled Transformer No. V579. The exhibit consists of three galleries: the first, a monumental corridor of transparent acrylic tubes filled with light and oil; the second gallery, shows a video with details of the installation’s construction; and the last, is a ‘laboratory’ of drawings and photographs that outline the project’s development.

Visitors are encouraged to interact and walk through the six cubed modules and corridors. The effect of the bleeding oil and its glowing white light counterpart is reminiscent of blood coursing through the human body.

From the gallery’s site:
While the oil and light represent simple dichotomies of life and death, purity and greed, the dissimilar substances unite to highlight the interchangeability of these labels. Oil is both a natural substance of an ancient earth and yet the fuel of urban, technological and unnatural power. It is Molodkin’s intention that visitors will directly experience an unlikely physiological affinity to this substance and will find themselves « true revolutionaries » upon exiting the installation, « capable of achieving a variety of mutually exclusive goals »

Hard not to be reminded of my last trip to London and one my favorite light exhibits ever.

Transformer No. V579 will be on view at Art Sensus in London through December 17, 2011.

via ArtSensus and Frame

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Rafaël Rozendaal: Internet Art

Interactive art, internet art, domain name art, collabcubedInteractive art, internet art, domain name art, collabcubedClick to enlarge.

Dutch-Brazilian, world-traveling artist Rafaël Rozendaal uses the internet as his canvas, in addition to the more traditional installations, drawings and writing. Much of his art, however, is in the form of websites. Mostly interactive, these sites are playful and many times simple in their execution; each with their own URL. As a result the URLs of Rozendaal’s art are for sale.

Rafaël Rozendaal is also the creator of Bring Your Own Beamer, an international series of one-night exhibitions where artists bring their own laptop and/or slide projector (beamer) to show their work. Anyone can make a BYOB exhibition, according to Rozendaal’s website: 1) find a space; 2) invite many artists; 3) ask them to bring their projectors. Upcoming BYOB cities includ Sao Paolo, Portland, Maine, Darwin, Australia, Milan and Melbourne. You can check the calendar here.

Above are stills from a few of Rozendaal’s websites. The individual names link to their respective URLs and are definitely worth checking out in their interactive mode.

From top to bottom and left to right:
Carnal Fury (x2); Color Flip; Tossing Turning (x2); Flaming Log; Paper Toilet; The Persistence of Sadness.

via +81

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IBM THINK Exhibit at Lincoln Center

IBM Think, interactive screen, digital wall, IBM100, data visualization, collabcubedIBM Think, interactive screen, digital wall, IBM100, data visualization, collabcubedIBM Think Exhibit Lincoln centerClick to enlarge.

Today, my dad and I went to explore the new IBM THINK Exhibit at Lincoln Center here in NYC. We were greeted at the entrance by the very familiar (my father is a retired longtime IBMer) ‘THINK’ logo, still looking fresh today in the same slab serif type that I remember from the 1960s.

The exhibit is in celebration of IBM’s 100th anniversary and illustrates – via multimedia – the possibilities that science and information technology offer to ‘make the world work better.’ Beginning with its 123-foot digital visualization wall which streams real-time data from the surrounding Lincoln Center area with respect to traffic, air quality and water consumption, to its interior 12 minute immersive film, which then converts to multi-panel interactive walls mostly displaying the changes in science, technology and comparisons in the way we display information in the past and today.

It’s all beautifully executed. The Data Wall, in particular, is mesmerizing. Designed by the transmedia studio Mirada (started by director Guillermo Del Toro) in conjunction with a team of mostly faculty and graduates of the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts who designed the software, it’s a perfect example of art and science merging; animated infographics at their best. Also quite lovely, are the print exhibition graphics throughout the exhibit that are clearly a nod to the great Paul Rand.

The IBM THINK Exhibit is on the inclined Jaffe Drive at Lincoln Center through October 23, 2011. It’s hard to miss the spectacular digital wall from Broadway.

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AnnMarie van Splunter: Rubbertree

Tire Installation, playground, Thailand, Tree sculpture, collabcubedTire Installation, playground, Thailand, Tree sculpture, refugeesHere’s an interesting concept for reuse of tires in a positive way. Rubbertree, designed by Dutch designer AnnMarie van Splunter, is a proposal for a school playground for refugee children in Thailand. By constructing an oversized sculpture of a rubber tree made of recycled rubber tires, the tires, in a sense, come full circle.

Imitating the long and expanding roots of a real rubber tree, this installation would be relatively easy to build requiring only local materials including motorbike tires, bamboo and rope. No metal parts are necessary. The frame would be made from the bamboo and the tires could safely hug the frame (see small illustration of tire and bamboo above.)

From the designer:
This tree with long and expanding roots offers an open and inviting landscape on different levels: spaces to roam and explore, for spontaneous play.
It provides shelter and shadow and places where children can sit in, on, under, or lean against and find a place where they can make a den and find privacy or can be alone with friends.

Nice!

via Open Architecture Network

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Yael Davids: Anatomical Performance Art

Performance art, body, humor, Israeli artist, Amsterdam, collabcubedPerformance art, body, humor, Israeli artist, Amsterdam, collabcubedArtist Yael Davids, born in Israel but based in Amsterdam, explores the human body and its different expressions within space, architecture and the object world in general. More often than not she will use performance as the means of exploration. Using boundaries such as walls and tables to function as masks, Davids creates sometimes humorous, other times slightly disturbing art installations with people/performers as her subjects, creating, in many cases, a sense of oppression. Though these works are labeled as performance art, they are almost static by nature.

From top to bottom:
Table © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens; Head; A Line, a Word, a Sentence photos by Christian Fusco; Aquarium © Yael Davids; Thread © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens

via atti democratici

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Michelangelo Pistoletto: Serpentine Gallery

Installation, Mirror of Judgement, London, Contemporary ArtInstallation, Serpentine Gallery, London, Contemporary ArtInstallation, collabcubed, Contemporary Art, cardboard mazeA leading figure in conceptual art, Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto has combined several elements from previous works to create the site-specific installation The Mirror of Judgment at the Serpentine Gallery in London. In the labyrinth of corrugated cardboard one comes upon sculptures/objects that include a Trumpet of Judgement, a Buddha, and a prayer kneeler, to name a few. Pistoletto says the gallery is like a temple – in a spiritual sense, not religious – where we come up against the mirror and are meant to judge ourselves.

From the gallery’s website:
Pistoletto’s exhibition will draw visitors through the galleries, leading them via a winding maze to hidden installations and sculptures. Responding to the architecture of the Serpentine galleries and using an economy of materials, the exhibition will manipulate visitors’ perceptions of space, making them an integral part of the work itself.

The exhibit runs through Saturday, September 17th, so if you’re in London, rush on over and check it out!

via Serpentine Gallery

Photos courtesy of: Serpentine Gallery, Galleria Continua; Politicus; Sebastiano Pellion; Bertrand Huet; and Oak Taylor-Smith. ©2011 Michelangelo Pistoletto
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Baguettes to Bentleys: Vending Machines

Cool Vending Machine, Fashion Week, Hudson Hotel, semi automatic, Morgans, NYCCool Vending Machine, Fashion Week, Hudson Hotel, semi automatic, Mondrian, BaguettesThis week as part of Fashion Week here in NYC, the Hudson Hotel’s already impressive, over-sized Semi-Automatic vending machine has been stocked with products from up and coming designers. Some of these include: Alice Ritter, Grey Ant, Jolibe (rabbit fur jacket), Public School (wool ties), Sang A (python clutch), and Ruby Kobo (Diamond bracelet). This is just one of many in a growing trend of nontraditional vending machines. The Mondrian Hotel in Miami has had their purple-illuminated machine for a couple of years, offering everything from sundries to extreme luxury items including a Bentley.

Recently the three of us (plus cousin Moni) were on the The Standard Hotel’s rooftop (Le Bain) checking out the view as well as the waterbed poofs and jacuzzis, when we noticed a vending machine selling bathing suits on our way out.

In Paris, French baker, Jean-Louise Hecht invented and installed a 24-hour baguette dispensing vending machine this past summer. The loaves are partially precooked and finish baking after the customer makes their selection.

Two summers ago on a trip to Barcelona, we happened upon the largest vending machine we had ever seen right in a subway station next to the turnstiles. It looked like the refrigerated section of a deli built right into the station wall.

And in Nanjing, China, a crab-selling vending machine has been installed with much success, selling live crabs in specially patented plastic cases!

Photo credits: top two Hudson Hotel; Mondrian Hotel; Baguette machine photos: Michael Euler, AP. Crab photos: screen shots from Hood News Network.