Whoops

The last post was a bit of an overreaction. A massive overreaction. The kind of reaction you get when you put a mentos into a coke bottle. Turns out I had Richard and Karina. And I scared the crap out of them with my research and enthusiasm. I was feeling a little lack-luster after so I took a day and jumped onto evolo and found some random inspiration. 


ChairBedStool
Design & Construction by Thoman Hiemann and Markus Dilger
Creates in the project group ID5, UdK Berlin with Prof. Burkhard Schmitz (no relation) and Katina Sostmann. 

I think, from the evolo page, that it was about "permanent adaption of the surface to the human body." By itself, the object looks like a reincarnated medieval torture device, due to its plastic clusters and elastic rods and geometric patterning and rigid segments and whatnot. BUT IT IS FREAKING AWESOME. It reacts to body movement and alters perceptions (or at least my perceptions) of static or stationary furniture. 

Im not entirely sure why this project is so interesting. Its a bit star-trekky. I want to see it in a long expansive structure. Adult trampoline.

Kinetic Energy Lamp

Designed by Dr. Margot Krasojević, the 3D printed nylon polymer lamp is suspended by a spindle. Its weight and form dictate the momentum as it spins which is affected by minor environmental change eg temp and current, all which change light patterns. Then there are some rather interesting words which talk about technology and physics. What I can decipher is that the light has been influenced by the physics behind ice skaters and spinning tops.

I think they are so interesting due to their convergence over a number of disciplines. To me they could represent energy efficiency, organic structure systems, dance, sea life, new forms of technologies, the combination of physics and design for interiors, art, etc etc. Maybe its ambiguity is what is intriguing to me. Without information on the product and no real conventions to rely on, its hardly a known object. Yep. It could be anything. I like that idea most of all.

Breathing Metal

USC architect Prof. Doris Kim Sung design this "Bloom" installation made of 14,000 pieces of thermobimetal. That is, two thin sheets of metal with different expansion rates laminated together. The metal reacts to temperature with a direct correlation to the sun. I dont find the structure nearly as impressive as the technology itself. Metal that moves. Paradox!

Archilume

Saleem Khattak designed this energy efficient LED lighting, a luminaire that evokes the best qualities of incandescent lights: warmth, comfort and intimacy. Diffusers and cylindrical casing stops the glare from a visible light source. This is a perfect example of subtle complexity pwning overtly complex systems. I WANT ONE. Or a bunch. Put me down for a bunch. They have invert candle like qualities, in LED form.

Photophore

A 3D responsive veil operated by a smart phone. Designed for the Luminale 2012 in Germany, Kollision installation is a 5 story veil of light. People are able to scan those stupid QR codes into their phones and swipe the installation to the side. Jochen Schroder & Katja Winkelmann who planned the project along with Martin Professional (hardware & installation) and Kollision who developed the interaction & programmed the interactive player. They used photoshop software built in C++ and Cinder library to create the real-time 3D responsive wall. A website was built to assist the interaction.

I really like works that invite the audience to participate, engage and direct the result in some way. They provide a realisation of the audiences' affect on design and prove that the works are acknowledged on various levels of understanding.