Architec Tradure

Author: Julie Knight

  • 23NovThe talking machine

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    This is what I call sound art. An very simple design that can have such an impact.

    I believe we forget what an object can naturally do without computing technology. By simply reproducing the vocal tract and pushing air through it, artists can make a acoustic speech synthesizer such as what Martin Riches achieved with his Talking Machine.

    While I was voicing the pipes for a mechanical organ I noticed that when they were playing incorrectly they would sometimes make sounds quite similar to human speech. I wondered if it would be possible to make special speaking pipes and whether it would be possible to make them talk.The result was the Talking Machine — an acoustic speech synthesizer.The speech sounds are produced using a flow of air and resonators just as in natural speech.The machine has 32 pipes, each one a simplified version of the human vocal tract. They reproduce the spaces which are formed in the mouth, nose and throat when we speak.The pipes are built according to measurements of X-Ray photographs taken of a person speaking. In other words, the E-pipe reproduces the narrow shape of the human mouth saying E, the OO- pipe has something like the small round OO-shaped lips and so on. S, F, Sh and similar sounds are produced by special whistles which reproduce the shapes made by the lips, tongue and teeth. The valves which control the flow of air are operated by a computer.

    More info

    Audio from the talking machine


  • 23NovThe shadows of objects

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    Playing with light and shadows, artist can give sens to a magma of clothing, metal, clouds and so forth.

    Simple elements of design, yet strong impact. Playing with our expectations of what an object can and/or cannot do, artists can impress us. I discovered the work of Fred Eerdekens on the blog of Etienne Mineur.



    Life itself is not enough, 1999, Clothing, glass, steel, light projectors, 700 x 120 x 90 cm by Fred Eerdekens


  • 16NovSeamless-sensory Interventions

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    Based on my previous work on haptics for psychotherapy, I am now designing Seamless Sensory Interventions for the treatment of mental and neurological disorders.

    My current research proposes haptics as the key to bringing treatment into the social sphere through devices, and providing new ways to mediate between the patient and the therapist both in and outside of therapy. Self-mutilation is a perfect test-case, because of the definitive “physicality” of the symptoms. However, the broader solutions that I am proposing have implications for diseases as diverse as autism, depression, and schizophrenia.


  • 08NovCore sample

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    Material: wax and plaster

    I took the perspective of a child trying to understand the meaning of the term Core Sample, an intuitive translation from the French analogy. Core sample then means ‘le corps sampl’, i.e. dismembered body.
    An immediate reference to the dismembered body is a serial killer, the one that would be prompt to body sampling. Starting with an obsession for the neck, to a more tool-istic approach to body members: arms, legs, feet. I made a rock that symbolizes le plan de travail.

    I chose to dismember a Barbie doll that I created out of wax. The Barbie being for a while a representation of the woman for a child. I chose the white wax, the wax being a way a woman suffers regularly by trying to reach an ideal. The white is the symbole of purity thus the contrast between the canvas fabric & the plaster sculpted with chisel, and the angelic face of the doll made of white wax.

    This sculpture is a tool-kit box for understanding serial killing for children. The tools are also made of wax and represent legs, arms, hands, feet. A tool is normally very hard, here it is very fragile as a mean to represent the complete chimre, i.e. pipe dream, the serial killer is immersed in.

    More pictures on Flickr

    I made this sculpture for the sculpture class taught by Helen Mirra at Harvard University, VES.

    In doll and sculpture

  • 27OctVolume and Light

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    Three states

    This semester I follow a sculpture class taught by Helen Mirra at Harvard University, VES.

    I am a big fan of light, from perceptive to illusory, such as in the work of James Turell. For my second assignment I integrated the playful intervention of light within my sculpture. It also integrates the three numbers that define my volume as stated in the assignment.

    scenario





    I calculated my volume to determine the number of boxes and shadows.



    I installed light boxes made out of brown paper in a cubic room. I controlled the direction of the light sources to build consistent shadows around the boxes and bring the light in and out of the boxes.

    Out of the three boxes, the third box moves to create different cubic light patterns on the walls, e.g. from three to two patterns.



    Material: brown paper, wooden sticks, strings.

    In volume, light and sculpture


  • 27OctVolume and Light

    If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to receive the latest Architectradure’s articles in your reader or via email. Thanks for visiting!



    Three states

    This semester I follow a sculpture class taught by Helen Mirra at Harvard University, VES.

    I am a big fan of light, from perceptive to illusory, such as in the work of James Turell. For my second assignment I integrated the playful intervention of light within my sculpture. It also integrates the three numbers that define my volume as stated in the assignment.

    scenario





    I calculated my volume to determine the number of boxes and shadows.



    I installed light boxes made out of brown paper in a cubic room. I controlled the direction of the light sources to build consistent shadows around the boxes and bring the light in and out of the boxes.

    Out of the three boxes, the third box moves to create different cubic light patterns on the walls, e.g. from three to two patterns.



    Material: brown paper, wooden sticks, strings.

    In volume, light and sculpture


  • 21SepSleep disorders interventions through technology mediated environment

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    Exploring the synthesis of temperature deployed through haptic systems, I have found that researchers have previously considered the effects of an electric blanket on sleep stages and body temperature in young healthy men. They conclude that use of a temperature-controlled electric blankets under low ambient temperature may decrease cold stress to support sleep stability and thermoregulation during sleep.

    Reference of the paper

    Okamoto-Mizuno, Kazue; Tsuzuki, Kazuyo; Ohshiro, Yasushi; Mizuno, Koh (2005) Effects of an electric blanket on sleep stages and body temperature in young men. Ergonomics, Vol. 48 Issue 7, p749.

    Based on research on seasonal affective disorders (SAD), designers have also created bedding that synchronizes the body clock. It is a poetic and transparent manner to support patients with seasonal affective disorder in which the insufficience of day-light causes the onset of depression. Designers have also created the SRE – Sleep & Recovery Enhancer. The SRE guide the user through autogenous exercises to lower the stress-level and reduce time to fall asleep.


  • 21SepSleep disorders interventions through technology mediated environment

    If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to receive the latest Architectradure’s articles in your reader or via email. Thanks for visiting!

    Exploring the synthesis of temperature deployed through haptic systems, I have found that researchers have previously considered the effects of an electric blanket on sleep stages and body temperature in young healthy men. They conclude that use of a temperature-controlled electric blankets under low ambient temperature may decrease cold stress to support sleep stability and thermoregulation during sleep.

    Reference of the paper

    Okamoto-Mizuno, Kazue; Tsuzuki, Kazuyo; Ohshiro, Yasushi; Mizuno, Koh (2005) Effects of an electric blanket on sleep stages and body temperature in young men. Ergonomics, Vol. 48 Issue 7, p749.

    Based on research on seasonal affective disorders (SAD), designers have also created bedding that synchronizes the body clock. It is a poetic and transparent manner to support patients with seasonal affective disorder in which the insufficience of day-light causes the onset of depression. Designers have also created the SRE – Sleep & Recovery Enhancer. The SRE guide the user through autogenous exercises to lower the stress-level and reduce time to fall asleep.


  • 12SepThe creation of meaning in interaction design

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    But how, Donald, tell us how?: on the creation of meaning in interaction design through feedforward and inherent feedback

    In Section 06: objects in space: But how, Donald, tell us how?: on the creation of meaning in interaction design through feedforward and inherent feedback By Tom Djajadiningrat, Kees Overbeeke, Stephan Wensveen

    June 2002, Proceedings of the conference on Designing interactive systems: processes, practices, methods, and techniques. Publisher: ACM Press.

    Abstract is below.

    In recent years, affordances have been hailed by the interaction design community as the key to solving usability problems. Most interpretations see affordances as ‘inviting the user to the right action’. In this paper we argue that the essence of usability in electronic products lies not in communicating the necessary action and instead shift our attention to feedforward and inherent feedback. With feedforward we mean communication of the purpose of an action. This is essentially a matter of creating meaning and we discuss two approaches to do so. With inherent feedback we try to strengthen the coupling between the action and the feedback. The sensory richness and action potential of physical objects can act as carriers of meaning in interaction. We thus see tangible interaction as indispensable in realizing feedforward and inherent feedback. We illustrate our ideas with examples from our teaching and research.


  • 12SepThe creation of meaning in interaction design

    If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to receive the latest Architectradure’s articles in your reader or via email. Thanks for visiting!

    But how, Donald, tell us how?: on the creation of meaning in interaction design through feedforward and inherent feedback

    In Section 06: objects in space: But how, Donald, tell us how?: on the creation of meaning in interaction design through feedforward and inherent feedback By Tom Djajadiningrat, Kees Overbeeke, Stephan Wensveen

    June 2002, Proceedings of the conference on Designing interactive systems: processes, practices, methods, and techniques. Publisher: ACM Press.

    Abstract is below.

    In recent years, affordances have been hailed by the interaction design community as the key to solving usability problems. Most interpretations see affordances as ‘inviting the user to the right action’. In this paper we argue that the essence of usability in electronic products lies not in communicating the necessary action and instead shift our attention to feedforward and inherent feedback. With feedforward we mean communication of the purpose of an action. This is essentially a matter of creating meaning and we discuss two approaches to do so. With inherent feedback we try to strengthen the coupling between the action and the feedback. The sensory richness and action potential of physical objects can act as carriers of meaning in interaction. We thus see tangible interaction as indispensable in realizing feedforward and inherent feedback. We illustrate our ideas with examples from our teaching and research.