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week 01 / propose a final project
I'm interested in the interface of people, architecture, and the natural environment. What would happen if our built surroundings sensed and communicated natural phenomena?
Utilizing wind, temperature, and humidity data recorded by MIT's existing local microclimate stations, I propose to design and build a furniture prototype containing embedded technology to convert weather data into changing light.
This bench prototype would explore a physical manifestation of the perceptual experience of a particular climate phenomena. I will consider how, for example, changing wind speed might affect an integrated digital display or LED color temperature, and how its enclosure would take form.
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Update 10/15/2013:
Above: A scene from The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte (images from the Municipal Art Society's vimeo page). What if the bench protoype can not only log local weather data, but also sense sitting patterns? Could the incorporation of a piezo or thermal sensor in a bench reveal how urban furniture is used by people?
As Whyte tracked human behavior patterns in the Seagram's Building plaza through manual counting and tracking of time-lapse photography, perhaps a modern prototype of urban seating can automatically yield this data, in addition to overlaying information about a site's environmental conditions.
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Update 12/4/2013:
With having invested so much time, resources, and sweat towards my "make something big" assignment, I've decided to make my bike shelter my final project. I really hope to see it to completion! Some of the initial thoughts from my previous concept (weather sensing bench) can still be integrated into this newer version of the project. I'll be documenting my progress on the week 14 page.
