window vision

SKILLS : mechanical prototyping, physical computing

Ideation

PURPOSE

Window Vision is a reactive sculpture that highlights changes in the outside environment by shifting between transparent to opaque states to reflect the changing levels of daylight. Exhibited at ITP’s Winter 2008 Show, it was part of Make Magazine’s Top Five in Show.

The work comments on our perception of the environment.  On the one hand, this piece emphasizes the architectural nature of the human need to have an interaction with the outside world and the other is biological.  Window Vision reflects the way that our eyes physically sees the world, namely through the cellular structures residing in our retina known as cones and rods.  Cones generally allow us to see objects and color during the daytime, and rods take over during moments of darkness.  In order to express this dichotomy of vision in terms of light and dark, I created two interfaces: solid for day and transparent for night.

PROCESS

The work is mechanized through a series of pulleys and a stepper motor that creates enough torque to lift up the structure similar to a window blind.  The motor is activated by photocell sensors that are triggered by outside light levels.