Urbantine Competition
Digital media and technologies managed to change the perception of space. On the contrary, they did not fulfill their promise on a physical level in relation to the body: in ‘scale 1:1’, the gap between digital speed and real world seems to shift further apart.
We propose an archaic setup of ‘base, column and roof’. Instead of using this setup to enclose a space, we try to convert the traditional understanding, in which a space is defined by its borders, and exchange it with a condition of fullness.
By utilizing flexible cords, spanned between two datum planes, it is possible to create an almost digital environment of instant connectedness (real-time force feedback), reversibility (Ctrl-Z) and permanence.
The default condition is a coordinate system of strings in the equilibrium of tension. This equilibrium is a place of inherent forces and possibilities.
This defined ‘stringed space’ works as a multi user interface. By means of physical interaction with the proposed setup, it becomes a laboratory of conditioned interaction.
By entering this multitasking environment, the user is inscribing his presence into the coordinate system. Additionally by pasting a ‘place-mark’ he is able to define a personal space. This space can be erased by removing the ‘place-mark’ or it can remain as an ‘impression’- a trace within a flexible territory, which is able to return to its default condition.
Moreover, this personal space has a direct visual and physical impact on its surrounding. It forces interaction and can be seen as a tool for negotiation. What is a generic coordinate system becomes a physical computing environment, a user-based design space. In this sense we offer a simple spatial condition directly reflecting our body’s emergence in space.
