2017
Brillen en la foscor
Small robots printing large-scale structures
Brillen en la Foscor is an interactive installation built by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) for the LLUM BCN festival which is held in Barcelona, Spain, in February 2017.
Located in an enclosed patio in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona, the installation, an interactive audiovisual instrument, transforms the space through a musical performance based on citizen participation. From the narrow winding streets of the neighbourhood, the visitor enters the patio space and is invited to play with the strings of light, composing music melodies based on the citizen’s real-time interaction.
By pulling the interactive strings of light distributed around the patio, the user activates the different chords, which interplay with the melodic background sound. Piezoelectric sensors, located in the base of each string, capture the vibration from the visitor’s interaction, sending the information to the Raspberry Pi plata and then activating the speakers embedded in the digitally fabricated wooden islands, located at the base of the strings of light.
This mechanism creates a direct sound response to the user action. The strings of light are illuminated thanks to black lights located throughout the patio, making them inherently attractive to the curious visitor, who is invited to pass through the installation thanks to distribution and form of the digitally fabricated wooden structures – Island – that enclose all the technological elements of the installation.
Llum Festival Barcelona
Project and Design Team
- Faculty
- Maria Kuptsova, Ángel Muñoz
- Students
- Nikolaos Argyros, Lalin Keyvan, Jonathan Irawan, Noor El-Gewely, Robert Staples, Inthat Ueasak-Aree, Karthikeyan Dhanabalan, Maryan Ewais, Andre Resende, Firas Safieddine, Martin Hristov
Seminar Support Team
- Students
- Burak Paksoy, Nisarg Sheth, Fabio Della Barba Menezes, Fernando Baptista, Sureshkumar Kumaravel, Viplav Goverdhan, Yasamin Khalilbeigi, Tobias Deeg, Hsin Li
- Academic Project Team
- Maria Kuptsova, Àngel Muñoz, Luis Fraguada, Klaus Obermaier, Ece Meral Tankal, Alexandre Dubor, Mathilde Marengo
Photo
- Angel Muñoz
The experience is amplified according to the number of actors within the space also allowing the users to interact not only with the installation but between themselves, through the common construction of an intense audio composition. The collective behaviour and rhythm at which each participant plays the strings, activating their surrounding space, allows generation of an immersive audio-spacial experience through a common interactive game.
In this way, Brillen en Foscor establishes a dialogue between the visitor and the public space, as well as between different visitors, allowing the space to become responsive and interactive through sound.
The installation seeks to engage the visitors of all ages through playful discovery, using this engagement to connect people through their senses, rather than through an explicit narrative, to the story of Santa Eulalia. Moreover, thanks to the integration of latest technology within the traditional urban fabric the installation allow movement from the static concept of public space to a more dynamic and responsive model of active public space.
Brillen en Foscor is an immersive and interactive musical experience transforming space through visitor interaction and sound, engaging community, implementing advanced technology and enriching social activity in the area.