It´s nice to be able to contribute to this project here´s my little interview with some others I´ve found very interesting .To watch more visit the the Interviews section of Opensimsim

RODRIGO MEDINA GARCIA: OPEN SOURCE DESIGN from opensimsim.net on Vimeo.

BJARKE INGELS: OPEN SOURCE DESIGN from opensimsim.net on Vimeo.

TATIANA BILBAO: OPEN SOURCE DESIGN from opensimsim.net on Vimeo.

AU Studio: open source design network from opensimsim.net on Vimeo.

IÑAKI ECHEVERRIA: OPEN SOURCE DESIGN from opensimsim.net on Vimeo.

Another great project by the  london based talented visual artist  Quayola . In this occasion bringing one his projects of 2009 an audiovisual installation commissioned by Evento and Lumin for the Bordeaux Art & Architecture Biennale.

About the Project

The term Strata defines a geological formation made of multiple layers of rock. Each one of these layers has its own individual characteristics and history, which combined produce beautiful and unique formations…
The Strata project consist in a series of films, prints and installations investigating improbable relationships between contemporary digital aesthetics and icons of classical art and architecture. Like in geological processes, layers belonging to different ages interact with one another producing new intriguing formations.

An special image based triangulation software with 3D mesh output was made for this audiovisual by Mauritius Seeger. By finding and extracting interest points in photographic stills this tool generates an optimal delauney triangle mesh. Further by averaging the colour in each triangle this software can generate a pixelated image where the smallest unit of representation is a triangle. Software developed using processing.

Strata #3 – Excerpt from Quayola on Vimeo.

UDON , Madrid project was recently completed by architects Quim Girbau & Neus Mateu. For the design of the ceiling architects consulted Medio design and LAN for the implementation of parametric design and digital fabrication.

The ceiling elements were cut from Alucobond by CNC, it was an experiment in form and optimization. Rather than extracting the ribs from a free form surface which represented a 30% of material waste , they inspired in the work of Andrew Kudless’ Zero/Fold Screen.,and by constraining the overall geometry and implementing simple trigonometric functions, they were able to reduce material waste to 5% overall as well as dramatically decrease production time by 50%.As a result they obtained a very plastic and expressive form and great results in terms of time, waste and cost optimization.

Project Architect: Quim Girbau & Neus Mateu

Design Consultation and Fabrication: Medio Design

Parametric Design and Geometry Consultation: @LaN_Luis – LaN

Michael Meredith, MOS Architects, @ The Creators Project NYC from Creators Project on Vimeo.

Here´s an interesting Q+A from Michael Meredith,MOS Architects at the creators project event were they designed an impressive architectural installation for the 1st floor of the Creators Project NYC launch event: a set of blocks that looks like it’s in the midst of collapse, bathed in the light of projectors.

I have to say that the more I heard him talking the more I identify with him, there are some points i share like using the technology to lose some control of the final outcome or result of what we are doing.

He also makes an interesting comment “The profession is built on a mythology of control,” he says. “We tend to be more interested in the chaotic over the ordered.”

Another thing he talks about that also called my attention is fact that Institutions are become more and more irrelevant in the fields of architecture and design , apparently I´m not the only one who thinks this .

A new season of awesome events of design & digital culture took  place during this months, always amazing to see how artists and designers push the boundaries of  technology to create new stuff  as an example of this we have the opening titles sequences  of the events  which are always amazing.

OFF 2010 , Paris Opening Titles

This year OFFF´s Opening Titles were in charge of  The Mill NY ,who  took the opportunity to debut their new  integrated design and animation team. The languid journey they take us on through the forty-five titles for this years OFFF conference and also displays the immense animation potential of   this new division of the Mill.

About the piece

Jeff Stevens(Director): The original, over arching concept was strength vs beauty and the affinity that each has for the other. At the same time, I wanted to create something that was abstract yet ‘seemingly’ natural. So, creating an environment that was underwater mixed with air began to take shape. Texture was important to me, so when Kim began illustrating, the contours and rawness of materials started to create a landscape and pattern for all of our characters. The best part was that nothing needed to be real. We could have suggested more reality but I think the blend of species, environment, and biomechanics perfectly summed up that affinity I was looking for.

OFFF Paris 2010 Titles from OFFF on Vimeo.

MAD MXX , Madrid Opening Titles

MAD MXX an event that gathers the  best designers and creative minds,to share their ideas with more than 2000 people.This years edition opening titles were commissioned to Physalia Studio which made use of  a 3d scaning scanning technology for creating the   visual effects of the oppening sequence, which were popularized in Radiohead’s House of Cards video and open source code.

Don´t forget to watch the making of  video at the bottom , It´s always nice to watch the creative process of this kind of works which helps a lot to understand how they were created. If you are interested in creating a similar project I will strongly suggest you to visit Create Digital Motion blog you´ll find more information and resources to make your own 3d scanning scenes.

MAD MMX – Opening Title Sequence from Physalia Studio on Vimeo.

MAD MMX – Opening Title Sequence. Making Of from Physalia Studio on Vimeo.

What would it be like to reach into a screen and manipulate virtual objects as in real world, that is something that Jinha Lee an interaction designer and computer scientist working at MIT Media Lab has been working on.

Beyond, a novel collapsible input device for direct 3D manipulation. When pressed against a screen, Beyond collapses in the physical world and extends into the digital space of the screen, such that users can have an illusion that they are inserting the tool into the virtual space. Beyond allows users to directly interact with 3D media, avoiding inconsistencies of input and output without having to wear special glasses. Users can select, draw, and sculpt in 3D virtual space and seam- lessly transition between 2D and 3D manipulation. We de- scribe detailed interaction techniques, implementation and application scenarios focused on geometric design and pro- totyping.

Beyond – Collapsible Input Device for Direct 3D Manipulation beyond the Screen from Jinha Lee on Vimeo.

Assemblage in public is an installation commisioned by the Chelsea College of Art and Design designed by Ola Wasilkowska and Michal Piasecki for their Parade event. The event took place on 21-23 May, 2010 at Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground in London.

The installation was made using computational design strategies with a low-tech assembly of repeatable components (4320 crates) on site. The project is rooted in an idea that a repetition of a few simple rules is able to construct complex geometry, which can host different functions.

The core structure of the intervention was obtained through multi objective optimization with genetic algorithms. The optimization was conducted with a purpose built software written in Processing. The goal was to distribute the components according to a predefined “shadow map” and to keep them structurally stable at the same time.

Apparently as their thesis year has come to an end some of the members of the group will be looking to undertake personal projects while others continue with the project by founding a company with all the potentials developed during his years of thesis, let’s hope they continue to particpate together collaboratively since they are a great team.

DESCRIPTION (from the site)
Radiance covers a standalone brick fireplace in a mid century ranch home in Broad Ripple, Indiana. The clients rarely used their existing wood-burning fireplace and wanted to change its function. We proposed an ambient lighting piece that still hosts traditional qualities of the hearth. As an artist and an architect, the clients’ liberal and eclectic design aesthetic allowed for a great degree of freedom and risk-taking during development. They considered this project as commissioned artwork rather than a client-based architectural intervention, adding to their collection in the home. Radiance is intended to exploit the qualities of the hearth by re-centering the focus of the home and providing an ambient environmental effect.

DESIGN:
Radiance was inspired by various shelf mushrooms, based on their form, organizational structure, and component geometry. The mushroom has a distinguishing set of gills that alternate in lengths from the stem’s center point. The lengths of these gills forms a repetitive pattern intended to cover the largest surface area under each mushroom cap. This pattern has been abstracted into our system to arrange each pod, defined as a radial set of 16 plastic components with an LED placed directly behind each. The wiring for the LEDs is embedded within the surface of milled MDF, further expressing the pod’s organizational system. A Passive Infrared Sensor is located at the centroid of each pod, acting as the trigger for the parts around it.

INTERACTION:
There are two pulses that occur after triggering a pod’s sensor. A primary ‘pulse’, that fades to full intensity and quickly fades off, followed by a secondary ‘pulse’ which fades on quickly but dims slowly over nearly a minute. This pattern can be interrupted as new users trigger a pulse creating the dynamic lighting affect seen in our video.

Similar to the lighting effects of fire, Radiance creates dynamic changes in intensities across it surface. This makes the piece enticing to watch and because the pulses fade in and out so smoothly the lighting is not overbearing. There is a distinct difference in the lighting qualities throughout the day and into the night as the piece becomes more and more the central component bringing warmth and light into the home.

Radiance from PROJECTiONE on Vimeo.

Collaborative cloud  has the objective of getting people in contact with the concept of open fabrication,  besides the DIY initiative and local fabrication , collaborative  cloud offers the idea off  sharing design , tools and concepts.

Please take a look at the application they have designed for submit your design is very fun and easy to use.

Description (from LAN site)
Collaborative Cloud is an installation which investigates distributed and decentralized design and fabrication. The interfaceallows you to design and give information to a piece of the cloud, thus anyone can participate in the project’s growth over the next 8 months. The physical construction will take place at the Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHUB) in an exhibition titled: LABORATORI DE FABRICACIÓ:Nous escenaris del disseny i la producció tridimensional.
The Collaborative Cloud is a project created by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (iaac.net), organized by the DHUB, and designed by Luis E. Fraguada (LAN), Victor Viña, Areti Markopoulou, and YOU!

The project was designed using processing for the interface, and GH / Rhnoscript for geometry and population. Once a user submits a design, the interface outputs a data file as well as a PDF of the piece ready for fabrication. As the database grows, these files are matched with a potential position on the cloud.

Augmented Shadow is a project created by Joon Moon a programmer, designer who is exploring the realm of interaction, generative code and motion design on a basis of visual communication design. He is currently studying at MFA Design & Technology, Parsons, NY, USA were he submitted this project for his thesis you can check out more nice projects at the Parsons MFADT Thesis 2010.

Augmented Shadow_document from Joon Y Moon on Vimeo.

Concept (from website)
Augmented Shadow is a design experiment producing an artificial shadow effect through the use of tangible objects, blocks, on a displayable tabletop interface. Its goal is to offer a new type of user-experience. The project plays on the fact that shadows present distorted silhouettes depending on the light. Augmented Shadows take the distortion effect into the realm of fantasy. Shadows display below the objects according to the physics of the real world. However, the shadows themselves transform the objects into houses, occupied by shadow creatures. By moving the blocks around the table the user sets off series of reactions within this new fantasy ecosystem.

This experiment brings augmented reality to the tabletop by way of a tangible interface. The shadow effect is an ‘interface metaphor.’ Second, the unexpected user experience results from manipulating the users’ visual perceptions, expectations, and imagination to inspire re-perception and new understanding. Therefore, users can play with the shadows lying on the boundary between the real, virtual, and fantasy.

(via @chrisoshea )