[FAST] Lightbridge illuminates the crossing

LightBridge from Pol Pla

These videos of the FAST installation Lightbridge came out recently.  The project, conceived by the Media Lab's Susanne Seitinger and Pol Pla of the Fluid Interfaces Group, illuminated the Harvard Bridge with 10,000 LED lights back in May 2011.

See more images and animations on the project's Flickr site.

[FAST] SOFT Rockers, to scale

photo courtesy of Phil Seaton (fellow MArch)

Thanks to a Phil-induced studio break, Yushiro and I - along with the String Tunnel crew - became models for Sheila Kennedy's SOFT Rockers.  This latest FAST installation takes place on the grounds of the now-faded Icewall (which, we hope will return by this coming Saturday in floral form).

Loungers orient the rockers towards the sun so that the flexible photovoltaics attached on the rocker's outer hull can transform solar radiation into the energy needed to charge a cell phone, iPod, or even a laptop.  At night, the stored power then illuminates the interior with a cool aqua glow, making for a place to chill out in daytime or at night.

Phil's comment: "Emily, you're to scale!" (as in, you're small enough to look comfortable inside of these rockers)  See the website for more artfully-captured photos.

Soundscapes

For Activating the Mundane, I've been researching some sound installations as precedents for a sound piece I'm working on for May.  Some of these examples are particularly interesting in the way that they amplify or morph existing sounds that are typically not perceived or noticed in the surrounding natural environment.  These pieces are located in the NOAA Art Walk park in Seattle and each incorporate a reused material from a repurposed naval base.

Canadian artist George Trakas' "Berth Haven" amplifies the sound of the lake, through the echoing of moving steel under a hollow cedar deck.  The series of decks rest on existing foundations leftover from an old airstrip on the naval base.

Douglas Hollis' "A Sound Garden" seems somewhat typical as a wind chime, but is more than visual effects as each metal tube funnels and changes the pitch of the wind blowing through, depending on the direction and velocity.

This video captures some of the mournful sounds of the sculptures - until the end of the clip, where that mood is broken.

All photos courtesy of Eric Magnuson

[FAST] The ICEWALL complete!

Reception #1 for the Icewall // photo courtesy of Marcus

This weekend, I had the privilege of helping Yushiro and Kian build their IceWall installation for the MIT 150 FAST festival.  The idea stemmed from our class last semester, and they thankfully got to build this 6 foot+ tall, undulating wall of ice blocks.  Did I mention that it was also freezing (or below freezing) cold during the process?  Marcus and I helped out just during the daytime, but the rest of the building team - comprised of architecture friends and various groupies from Japan and Hong Kong - were building into the night as well.

seeds "floating" inside each block, waiting to bloom

It took about 4 days to build (estimated 2...), but it turned out beautifully and was well worth the effort.  Sadly, I didn't feel so great and so didn't make it to the reception today...  But it will be up for at least however long the weather decides to cooperate.

The idea is that the wall creates a new but ephemeral facade for MIT (situated in front of Killian court and the iconic building 10 dome).  Once the wall melts, the flower seeds within will be (hopefully) planted and grow, leaving behind a legacy parallel to MIT's own growing future.  (Or, something along those lines.  I was helping Y a bit w/ his description last semester.)  In any rate, it will be something cool that people can come to see, and the melting of it will be a pretty sight as well.

- - -

Title: IceWall

Created by: Yushiro Okamoto, Kian Yam

Built by: many friends and Eric, an ice sculpting guru

Location: in front of Killian Court along Memorial Dr.