Architec Tradure

Category: product design and technology.

10DecA message table

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Dana Gordon (currently with us in Cambridge, MA) hacked an existing answering machine and rewired some of its original functions (such as recording a message, play, pause and delete). The result is super fun and inspiring. Imagine in your living room a reactive table instead of a regular answering machine! She called the machine the “message table” as in an answering machine merged into a wooden table. For each message received, a box appears on the table. To listen, open the box – and to delete, push it back into the desk.

Designed with Shawn Bonkowski, she exhibited the table at the Victoria & Albert Museum, at the Salone del Mobile 2005 in Milano and at the Gallery AB+, Torino.

You can watch the video here.

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure

Technorati Tags: table, interaction design, furniture, art

September 3, 2025
20MarA video for the WOW Pod!

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Here it is, the video about the WOW Pod, a collaboration Cati Vaucelle and Shada/Jahn that you can visit at MIT Museum from March-September 2009!

The WOW Pod is an immersive architectural solution for the advanced WOW (World of Warcraft) player that provides and anticipates all life needs. Inside, the gamer finds him/herself comfortable seated in front of the computer screen with easy-to-reach water, pre-packaged food, and a toilet conveniently placed underneath his/her custom-built throne.

When hungry, the gamer selects a food item (‘Crunchy Spider Surprise’, ‘Beer Basted Ribs’, etc.) and a seasoning pack. By scanning in the food items, the video game physically adjusts a hot plate to cook the item for the correct amount of time. The virtual character then jubilantly announces the status of the meal to both the gamer and the other individuals playing online: “Vorcon’s meal is about to be done!” “Better eat the ribs while they’re hot!” etc.

When the food is ready, the system automatically puts the character in AFK (‘Away From Keyboard’) mode to provide the gamer a moment to eat. When the player resumes playing, he/she might just discover his/her character’s behavior is affected by the food consumed in real life — sluggish from overeating or alternately exuberant and energetic.

The exterior of the WoW Pod mimics the look of authentic WOW architectural structures, whose swaths of flat, pixellated surfaces digitally recreate the built environment of an imagined past. But upon crossing the threshold and entering into the WOW Pod’s interior, the player finds the digitized look actually becomes the real life experience that World of Warcraft simulates.

WOW Pod web site

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure
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September 3, 2025
01NovCup communicator

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Cup communicator by Duncan Wilson. Tug the cord to activate, squeeze to talk and hold to the mouth and ear.

The design of the Cup Communicator is focused on the gesture of use and the relationship between the users and object. I aim to explore the potential of the product as a medium for interaction and reassess the way we use technology.

The form and function of the Cup Communicator refer to the two-cans and string’ children’s toy and the physical factors involved with that device. This typology and its associations remind us of the magic and playfulness of our first communication devices.

September 3, 2025