Tuesday, December 12, 2006

LOBSTER loves origami

Origami, the ancient art of folding paper, is enjoying a renaissance.



On 14 december artist and origamist Stephanie Pan will teach you how to create almost anything out of a couple of sheets of paper and a bit of PATIENCE. Mediamatic organizes a workshop wich explores both traditional and modular origami, using multiple sheets of paper folded into modules, and assembled to make larger, more complex structures. Do you still get it? Do you manage to origami a LOBSTER, please do share - you might be rewarded!
Swans and flowers are nice too.

http://www.mediamatic.net/artefact-13166-en.html

Increasing energy awareness with the Flower Lamp

How aesthetics can serve to increase energy awareness. In order to make the lamp more beautiful, a change in behaviour is needed. Nomitated by TIME: one of the Best Inventions 2006.



Household lamps typically have very basic functionality with respect to energy - expressed in lit states of ‘on’ or ‘off’ or somewhere between. In the ‘Flower Lamp’ example, it is not just the light of the lamp but its very form that reflects energy used. The lamp ‘blooms’ – changing its shape and thus lit expression – when energy consumption in a household has been low for some time, thus reflecting the cycles of local energy use. In order to make the lamp more beautiful, a change in behaviour is needed.

STATIC! is a collaborative research project led by the Interactive Institute's research groups POWER and DESIGN Göteborg. Worth checking the STATIC website: http://tii.se/static/flower.htm and http://w3.tii.se/index.asp?page=more&id=6

See also 'appearing Pattern Wallpaper' and 'Disappearing Pattern Tiles'.