Ambient Atmospheres
Experiments in light, materials, algorithms, and memories
year
2021
discipline
Interaction Design
with
Frederik Göbel + Mattias Hallin (Principals), Mafalda Samuelsson-Gamboa, A Working Lab, Kollision
Ambient Atmospheres began as an open-ended, exploratory research-through-design project and culminated in an exhibition titled Bright Memories.
Building on a philosophy of "playful hacking", the team created numerous prototypes over six months; experimenting with materials, algorithms, electronics, mechanics, graphic design, lighting design, architectural scale prototyping, software development, and social perceptions.
The design experiments culminated in a room-scale installation Bright Memories at Gothenburg's A Working Lab, exhibited during the summer of 2021. The focal point of the installation: an interactive centerpiece composed of 7 floating light windows, constructed by "upcycling" parts from discarded LCD monitors. A wooden console and cartridges present a tactile means to play back "memories" in the abstract light medium. Flanking the centerpiece, 10 posters open mysterious windows into the design and research process.
As a research project, Ambient Atmospheres demonstrates an archetype for "exploratory research through design" and proposes "threads of design" as a form of analysis and knowledge creation via constructive design research – in addition to revealing a wealth of tactical pointers for fabrication, integrated interaction design and engineering, and lighting design.
Selected Results
Bright Memories exhibition at A Working Lab, Gothenburg, Sweden (2021).
Mattias Hallin & Frederik Max Göbel (2021). Ambient Atmospheres: Topology of Light. Master’s thesis submitted to the joint Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg.