Final presentation for the bootcamp: a poster + interactive map of the Barcelona subway that shows time instead of distances.

Interactive version and more info here.

So what it all about!

Concept:

The idea is to experience the Wild in a urban space not in a visual way, but in a acoustical manner.

We live in cities and we will die in cities. Such is the nature of modern human life. The time before became an urban dweller. Man was in tune with nature. Man was able to feel and listen the wild variety of animals, hence open a dialogue between him and his wild worlds.

•            This sound installation is a reflection of that. The aim is to open a meaningful dialogue man and his fellow inhabitant of earth.

Location:

The location for the project is the metro intersection in Placa Catalunya.

Schematic:

So As you see in the diagram below. Every person how enters is assigned  a sound of  an animal based upon the color of his cloths. So as the person is approaching the center of the space the sound played on speakers would get louder and louder, and when he exits it the sound is gone. If he reenters it. he or she would be assigned a different sound.

Here is a video sample at work.

final video from Arfurqan on Vimeo.

We would not play the same kind of animals over and over again. There is an element of time. The diagram below explains it.

Process of unravelling of a knitted fabric and then reusing its threads again
has always been part of this technique due to the quality of the cotton and its
ability to be re-knitted.
The proposed knitted wearable object will appropriate this technique in order
to be able to unravel and transform itself into a physical record or trail mark.
Wearing this knitted object while walking in an urban or natural environment
one will be able to let this object dissolve into the record of the movement in a
real time, leaving the trace behind for someone to be found, followed, deciphered,
appropriated and eventually reused again.
Using a smart materials such as fluorescent yarn or retro-reflective thread can add
properties such as  light emitting or back reflection of the mark during the night
while almost invisible during the day.
The transformation of the object through the movement raises questions about
how we perceive and define our environment, how we act in it, read the “terrain”,
leave the marks or traces on its surfaces or abandon objects.

smart threads research: optical fibers, shape memory alloy, retro-reflective thread

smart threads research: CNT cotton, conductive yarn, light-emitting textiles

smart threads research: EL wire, nitelite, electroluminiscent light

Unravelling concept poster

Unravelling test 1.0

Unravelling Test 2.0

]]> http://legacy.iaacblog.com/mai2012-2013-bootcamp/2013/01/unravelling-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_/feed/ 0 http://legacy.iaacblog.com/mai2012-2013-bootcamp/2013/01/g-for-generator/ http://legacy.iaacblog.com/mai2012-2013-bootcamp/2013/01/g-for-generator/#comments Sun, 27 Jan 2013 10:02:52 +0000 martin.lukac@iaac.net http://legacy.iaacblog.com/mai2012-2013-bootcamp/?p=452

In what ways can we capture or record our walk in the city or in nature?

Small, portable DIY devices, capable of recording, capturing and transforming the
kinetic energy produced during the movement and transform it into the AC voltage,
generated by spinning or shifting neodymium or ferrite magnet inside the copper
wire coil.
This small generator can transform the movement into the the electricity and thus
bring a different kind of record. Connected to a static point via a thread the moving
object will spin the magnet inside the coil and produce voltage in a period of time
during which it is in motion.
The AC voltage generated by the device can be subsequently measured, consumed
or possibly stored, using a simple small device with diodes for transforming the
voltage and capacitors to store the electricity for future use.

1_The road to Valldaura. The students believe a simple way, ecological and social for making the journey between Barcelona city and hilly Valldaura.

2_To design a simple, austere and contemporary graphic symbol. “Ecologica Valldaura” have been selected as a name.

3_To design a simple web page. The graphic symbol would be used as main design in the web page proposal.

4_ To advertise this new service in two initial points close to Barcelona and Cerdanyola del Vallés cities.

_ To design a teaching workshop. It would be taught at the youth centers of Barcelona city and Cerdanyola del Vallès city.

5_Driver and co-driver could select their future shared journey using the web page http://www.ecologicavalldaura.com.

6_Driver would receive social points as food and culture tickets. Its should collect a significant discounts.

7_ Incentive/Stimulus: To realize many shared travels means to obtain more tickets.

8_Co-Driver would receive social points as food and culture tickets. Its should collect a significant discounts.

9_Chat, social, ecological and shared trip. A different way to travel between short distances.

10_ Shared trip is a way to travel between non communicayed areas.

11_This system could be applied to other tricky areas and tricky citizens.

12_It could become in a profitable as fashionable social trend.

References:

http://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de. To realize shared trip inside and outside of Deutschland country.

http://www.carrot.mx/site. To rent social cars by hours and days are being used in Mexico D.F. city.

http://mexico.itdp.org. Now what is needed is that people understand the value of the use, car´service,

not so much the product. Xavier Treviño, specialist in transport and urban planning.

Actually, I owe it to the nice lady who took us down from Valldaura to the metro station.  She summed up the idea of how sound can transfer a person from one reality to another and she stated her theory in a few brilliant words. She lives in Sants and makes a daily trip to Valldaura where she teaches at a school above the hill. Of course, I didn’t plan to record the conversation, but once she started to talk about nature and sounds in a very articulated way, I felt like I need to push the record button, as something interesting is coming. So, I unfortunately missed the first few words where she talked about how the soundscape of the ride from the city to the hill is so powerful in terms of feeling the spaces she is moving between, but at least I managed to capture her conclusion.  Just click the link above to listen to her wisdom   “It is pretty hard to work..so I have to _disconnectrar_ disconnect..switch OFF, and then I go home and have to Switch ON to a different reality”

Switch On — then Switch Off —. Like plugging then unplugging yourself to a different space, or maybe a different reality, if I can use the lady’s own words.

Imagine that we will have a parabolic speaker built in Valldaura _no army stuff or sonic waves to transmit, it is just an innocent reflector _with the right geometry and electronics, we can broadcast Valldaura natural sounds and transfer it to the city on FM waves –bringing an absolute random, spontaneous, natural broadcast to Barcelona citizens 24/7.  We can also make cool DJ effects with the reflector

But what does that mean?

Is it a literal transfer through sound – maybe?

Is it bridging a gap between city and suburb and making a point in transferring and availing the sounds of the nature to the city at every second – maybe?

But . . .

Basically, how does Valldaura sound like?

Do we need to amplify it, or do we need to listen to each and every sound?

Does anybody actually care to listen to Valldaura?

Conversely, do we need to transfer the city to Valldaura as well?

There is no input of any kind at the moment, which makes it difficult to make any assumption, but it will be interesting to take this project forward to research and analyze how the Valldaura soundscape sounds like, what is the significance of transferring it to somewhere else,  and how do people in city react and interact with that, most importantly, how can we decide _collectively with the people who will listen to these sounds_ what do they actually want to listen to, or even don’t want to listen to.   I assume experimentation will be in two aspects, technical and social.   Technical by researching and analyzing possibilities of dealing and transferring Valldaura sounds , the social one, is develop this experiment along with the people, the audience, who will receive this sound.  Just like how the idea started by the lady’s observation, similarly capturing those smart gestures from the citizens have the potential to take the idea to interesting and more sophisticated venues.

If I can list ideas in steps that would be:

0.0 — Find out how Valldaura sounds like and take a time to research and analyze that using low tech and high tech tools. I think we can transfer sounds without the parabola, but I assime analog part has a significance in making this sound transfer more intimate (I guess!)
0.1 — Take the small findings to the people and see how they interact with them. Get more input into the experience (this could be a workshop designed to transfer Valldaura sounds to downtown Barcelona, and see how the general public react with that)
0.2 — It is hard to decide at this step, given that I don’t have input, but obviously this involves moving forward with more hardware (or making aspect) of how availing Valldaura sounds to citizens can be done in many creative was through FM waves.
0.3 — This seems to be implementing what we found at step 0.2 which of course I don’t know at the moment

..and of course, most importantly, I will finally get my chance to host my show on FM, Yaay!

more to follow..

The idea of walking the distance all the way to the Valldaura, without mixing with car traffic, can be realized in the valley. The valley can serve as a natural transition area from the city limits to Valldaura. Its existing trails bring the opportunity to walk the  territory, feel the distance between the site and outskirts of city and understand the remote qualities of the future Valldaura Green Fab Lab.

Using the existing trails, combined with a new system of cableways can signal a new flux of activities to this area.  Thinking while walking – a mixture of individual physical and mental abilities, exhaustion, fatigue in
a specific climate and spectacular surroundings. The idea of having two tracks, one on the ground, the other above the surface, mutually connected, can form an interesting relationships and links.

Network of cableways, pulleys, cable cars, and poles defines the system of transportation of persons or supplies. Cable cars can be towed uphill by a cluster of hot-air balloons or can use water and gravity to tow one another to top of the slope. An easy way of deploying the elements and appearance – disappearance of this network can become a part of the forest area, along with the old direction marks and other artificial remnants.