Year: 2017
Project type: Introductory Studio "Machinic Protocols" project
Location: Barceloneta, Spain
Tutors: Edouard Cabay, Rodrigo Aguirre
Students: Gabriele Jureviciute, Daniil Koshelyuk, Wei-Hong Wang, Bhakti Loonawat, Kedar Undale, Ozge Tektas
Project type: Introductory Studio "Machinic Protocols" project
Location: Barceloneta, Spain
Tutors: Edouard Cabay, Rodrigo Aguirre
Students: Gabriele Jureviciute, Daniil Koshelyuk, Wei-Hong Wang, Bhakti Loonawat, Kedar Undale, Ozge Tektas
Introduction
Composition of the buildings, the squares, the alleyways and the relationship between density and openness are the elements which determine a places expression of an urban area. Spaces are formed with different identities, inviting people to linger or function as transit areas. Streets and mobility axes create a sense of identity and are essential components of the way we design. However, 20 years from now, these axes will have to change competely. We are demonstrating our vision of a future without cars, where the public space is human-centric and energy self-sufficient.
Mapping:
Oour mapping strategy revolve around people and open spaces. The quality of a space is determined by the users’ intuitive acceptance of it. Human behavior on the site was chosen as a key element to determine the cognitive effects of the urban environment of the users of the space.
Intervention:
The data we collected on the site, reflects the present day situation. We use this data to initiate our intervention, with a people-centric approach towards the project. In the local territory, with the removal of cars, we speculate that the roads and sidewalks would merge and new pathways would emerge from human intuition.
An average person can generate 14 joules of energy in one second while walking. This number increases up to 25 joules while running. The movement of the sand on the game board represents this capacity to generate energy. Eight speakers below the board orchestrated the vertical movement of the sand – emanating frequencies based on the mapped data.
Protocol:
Thus, our intervention in the open space is to generate energy from modular triangular tiles using piezoelectric technology. The area used by cars would now be used by people and the entire ground surface would be covered with these tiles generating energy to be used for public activities like music events, outdoor performances, playgrounds for kids and interactive learning spaces. The spaces for the public activities would also have the ground covered with the piezoelectric tiles which would sense the movement of the crowd and transfer the collected energy and transfer it to various places on the site. The generated energy would be also used for localized interactive lighting in the public spaces.
While we were designing the space, we envisioned the space from the point of view of a daily user, a woman who takes her dog for a walk every day. On their walk, the interactive street lighting captivate the dog. Almost trying to chase the light. On their path, she stops at a music event in a crowd of a few hundred people, generating energy that is being used for the event.