Living Architecture Fall 2008 Columbia

we're proposing to use our working prototype as a means to explore urban social behavior in relation to sound. by using puredata, an arduino, and a flexinol actuator, we have developed a simple mechanism which reacts to sound set at various thresholds. paired with a webcam or video camera, our prototype acts essentially as a lens cover which, when triggered by sound, reveals the source of the sound and/or the public reactions to the sound. when untriggered, the prototype obscures the lens. 

the sites we are proposing to install our prototype(s) are the public phones located within new york, as well as other various private/public zones found within the sidewalk zones of the city. the public phones indicate a kind of space that are rarely used for their original intent, especially in new york where they're valued more for their advertising space, yet still maintain references to communication and still occupy a substantial amount of urban space. 

our prototype could be consider a kind of modular unit which parasitically could attach itself to these various public zones. as a result of this system, we're proposing three scenarios, which could produce different results. 

1. a singular module as a tool to explore social behavior in reference to urban sound

2. multiple modules located within a localized zone, which could communicate with each other to produce a kind of relationship with particular events, time, and proximity. 

3. modules that could communicate globally, making a connection between different cultures and different urban sound spaces. 

this is our first attempt at prototyping a modular unit to occupy our various locations/scenarios. the standalone unit allows the flexinol lens cover to obscure and reveal a camera based on the given sound input threshold, while the led reacts with pulse width modulation to the same sound source. the opacity of the mylar describes a location for possible video playback from other module sources, giving the unit the ability to record and capture video/sound, as well as project video/sound from other units. the low tech flexinol lens cover is revealed in a way that makes the act of recording explicit, while the variations in led intensity begin to reinforce the understanding of sound as input.  the systems within the unit are contained yet don't attempt to become hidden surveillance. we're more interested in the possibility for a feedback loop with hopes that the input and playback might begin to play an interactive role with the behavior of the people passing by. 

in this video, the flexinol's reaction to sound are only slight. this was mostly due to the acrylic melting upon contact with the heated wire. (by the way, that song is silent kid - pavement)