Projections of Reality engages in augmenting design processes involving physical models with real time spatial analysis. The work was initiated at smartgeometry'13 at UCL London in April 2013 and is currently continued at ETH Zurich’s Value Lab Asia in Singapore.

The work explores techniques of real time spatial analysis of architectural and urban design models: how physical models can be augmented with real-time 3D capture and analysis, enabling the architect to interact with the physical model whilst obtaining feedback from a computational analysis. We investigate possible workflows that close the cycle of designing and model making, analysing the design and feeding results back into the design cycle by projecting them back onto the physical model.

On a technical level, we are addressing the challenge of dealing with complex, unstructured data from real time scanning, e.g. a point cloud, which needs processing before it can be used in urban analysis. We will investigate strategies to extract information of the urban form targeted for design processes, using real time scanning devices (Microsoft Kinect, hand held laser scanners, etc.), open source 3D reconstruction software (reconstructMeQT) and post-processing of the input through parametric modelling (e.g. Processing, Rhino scripting, Generative Components).

The goal of the workshop at smartgeometry'13 was to create a working prototype of a physical urban model that is augmented with real-time analysis. We worked with the cluster participants to formulate a design concept of the prototype and to break down the challenge into individual modules, e.g. analysing and cleaning the geometry, algorithms for real time analysis, projecting imagery onto the physical model.

Cluster Champions: Stefan Arisona, Eva Friedrich, Bruno Moser, Dominik Nüssen, Lukas Treyer
Cluster Participants: Piotr Baszynski, Moritz Cramer, Peter Ferguson, Rich Maddock, Teruyuki Nomura, Jessica In, Graham Shawcross, Reeti Sompura, Tsung-Hsien Wang
Year: 2013

ASR 2013 Call For Proposals

Please find full call and application forms here: https://www.digitalartweeks.ethz.ch/web/DAW13/ASR2013

Arts/Science Residency with focus on Transmedia at ETH Zurich’s Future Cities Laboratory

The Singapore-ETH Centre, in collaboration with the Arts and Creativity Lab & the Interactive and Digital Media Institute, are pleased to announce a 2013 Arts/Science Residency at ETH Zurich’s Future Cities Laboratory (FCL). The selected artist will be invited to spend 2 months working at the FCL with researchers, students and the local arts community as she or he conduct a project exploring and making connections between art and science.

The artist will be invited to present the project at ETH Zurich’s Digital Art Weeks Festival (May 6 – 19 2013), thus the residency must start no later than beginning of May 2013.

The Art/Science Residency is made possible with the support of ETH Zurich’s Future Cities Laboratory and IDMI Art/Science Residency Programme.

Theme: Explorations in Transmedia for Urban Research

The Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) is a transdisciplinary research centre focused on urban sustainability in a global frame. It is the first research programme of the Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC). It is home to a community of over 100 PhD, postdoctoral and Professorial researchers working on diverse themes related to future cities and environmental sustainability.

In September 2013, the 3rd FCL Forum will take place at the NRF CREATE Campus in Singapore. The event is planned and realised through three main pillars, which are a conference, an exhibition, and the library. All pillars collected and showcase FCL work established over the last three years.

The goal of this Art/Science Residency is to propose and realise a bridge that connects the pillars. Thereby, the general topic of investigation is the use of transmedia storytelling approaches to support large, heterogeneous, and complex research projects in terms of coherently integrating the overall mission, research questions, works in progress and results across multiple platforms and formats. Consequently, proposals should radically question and innovatively revise current standards in academic communication. While including web- and game-based transmedia approaches, as typically known from advertisement, they should go beyond the norm of such techniques.

In particular, we are looking for proposals that include other areas and formats, and adhere to the following guidelines:

• Proposals should include use of the Value Lab Asia, a large collaborative, digitally augmented space, equipped with several multi-touch surfaces and displays, a 33 megapixel high-resolution video wall, and video conferencing systems. It is used by the FCL researchers for urban visualization, scenario planning and stakeholder participation applications.
• Proposals should have the openness to incorporate output from on going design research studios, seminars and research projects.
• Proposals should incorporate the evolving Future Cities Laboratory exhibition and the upcoming September 2013 conference, and the outcome of the project should be directly applicable for the exhibition and conference.
• Proposals may include design and production of physical models through digital fabrication.

For all formats and areas you will work closely with FCL faculty and PhD students, and will have access to FCL space and technical infrastructure, including the Value Lab and the FCL model-making workshop.

As we are working hard on the preparations for Digital Art Weeks 2013, which will take place in Singapore in May 2013, our new DAW Facebook page is now online at:

https://www.facebook.com/DigitalArtWeeks

The page contains lots of materials from previous DAWs. The featured picture above is from DAW 2007 in Zurich, with Computer Pioneer and Rebel at Work Joseph Weizenbaum, ETH Professor Jürg Gutknecht, Art Clay and me, during a panel at ETH Zurich’s VisDome.

Good news to start the year with: Our cluster proposal “Projections of Reality” has been accepted for this year’s smartgeometry at The Bartlett of UCL from 15 - 20 April 2013 in London.

Cluster gurus: Stefan Arisona, Eva Friedrich, Bruno Moser, Dominik Nuessen, Lukas Treyer.

Projections of reality will engage in augmenting design processes involving physical models with real time spatial analysis.

The cluster will explore techniques of real time spatial analysis of architectural and urban design models: how physical models can be augmented with real-time 3D capture and analysis, enabling the architect to interact with the physical model whilst obtaining feedback from a computational analysis. We will investigate possible workflows that close the cycle of designing and model making, analysing the design and feeding results back into the design cycle by projecting them back onto the physical model.

On a technical level, we are addressing the challenge of dealing with complex, unstructured data from real time scanning, e.g. a point cloud, which needs processing before it can be used in urban analysis. We will investigate strategies to extract information of the urban form targeted for design processes, using real time scanning devices (Microsoft Kinect, hand held laser scanners, etc.), open source 3D reconstruction software (reconstructMeQT) and post-processing of the input through parametric modelling (e.g. Processing, Rhino scripting, Generative Components).

The goal of the workshop will be to create a working prototype of a physical urban model that is augmented with real- time analysis. We will work with the cluster participants to formulate a design concept of the prototype and to break down the challenge into individual modules, e.g. analysing and cleaning the geometry, algorithms for real time analysis, projecting imagery onto the physical model.

Workshop applications are now open - check out these links for further information:

smartgeometry @ web: https://smartgeometry.org smartgeometry @ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Smartgeometry

The energy scenario planning tool, developed by Eva Friedrich, has been presented at the ADDIS 2050 conference in Addis Ababa on October 9th and 10th 2012. The basic concept of the work is to create an intuitive and playful tool that allows for collaborative, interactive exploration of possible energy supply and consumption scenarios in Ethiopia. The users can move in time and compare different approaches to energy development in their effect: centralized hydro power, less-centralized wind power with local support, and completely decentralized solar power for rural, disconnected areas - thereby obtaining a better understanding of the effects of mid- to long-term energy planning.

The tool’s interface is built in a minimal style in order to keep the focus on the relevant points. It supports multi-touch surfaces, and borrows concepts from game engines, e.g. physics based animations for connecting networks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymLicY8RHVY

The conference ADDIS 2050 – an alternative pathway into Ethiopia’s future – was held on October 9th and 10th 2012 at the campus of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development EiABC in Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa belongs to the fastest growing urban centers in the world. Migration from the rural areas as well as massive redevelopment strategies of the City Government put the African capital under enormous pressure. Infrastructural deficiencies, water and energy shortages, environmental hazards and mobility challenges question the current modus operandi in place.

The Green Forum Ethiopia under the leadership of Heinrich Boell Foundation in Addis Ababa commissioned the Chair of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel at FCL Singapore in collaboration with the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development EiABC to invent an alternative “green” scenario for the city of Addis Ababa in the year 2050. The conference concentrated on the issues of Energy, Mobility, Cultural and Social Space, Housing and Information. The event was visited by more than 500 people and arose immense interest from the media as well as the City Administration. As guest of honor, the Swiss Ambassador H.E. Dominik Langenbacher attended the conference as well as delegates from several federal ministries and the UN-Habitat. In the meantime, the Department of Masterplanning and Vision of the City Adeministration invited the speakers to present the work in their offices.

Team FCL Singapore: Dirk Hebel, Felix Heisel, Marta Wisniewska, Alireza Javadian, Gerhard Schmitt, Stephen Cairns, Remo Burkhard, Eva-Maria Friedrich, Matthias Berger, Stefan Mueller Arisona, Ludger Hovestadt, Jorge Orozco, Alex Erath, Max Hirsh, Sonja Berthold, Ying Zhou, Edda Ostertag, Naomi Hanakata, Lindsey Ann Sawyer, Cheryl Song, Noor Faizah Binte Othman, Kevin Lim, Amanda Tan
Team EiABC: Joachim Dieter, Bisrat Kifle, Addis alem Fekele, Tewedaj Eshetu, Yosef Teferri, Eyob Wedesu
Team Green Forum/Heinrich Boell Foundation: Patrick Berg, Ayele Kebede, Jonas

Software Design and Development: Eva Friedrich
Energy Modelling: Matthias Berger
Principal Investigators: Gerhard Schmitt & Stefan Arisona
Institution: Future Cities Laboratory, ETH Zürich
Period: August / September 2012