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📽️ Projections / futurecities

October 1, 2011 at 12:00 AM

October 2011

A gallery exhibit at pinkcomma (Boston) and WUHO (LA) speculating on the urban future featuring a mix of digital and paper media.
~ docs at overunder.co

Projections is a research exhibit about the past, present, and future of urban design speculation. The research traces twenty five themes across nearly 300 projects in a variety of media. Each research item is represented in two interactive tools for cross-referencing themes, a postcard showing the project’s visual representation, an art wall full of QR codes which links to the live project in the database, and static infographics highlighting the interrelatedness of each topic.

As the research team’s developer, I built and maintained the content management system for cataloging the research, coded the interactive projections in Processing, created the API’s (XML and JSON feeds) for the postcard and art wall content, and transformed that data using XSLT to create the physical media.

The Exhibit

Interactive tool #1, Los Angeles exhibit
Interactive tool #1, Los Angeles exhibit
Full exhibit in Los Angeles
Full exhibit in Los Angeles
Interactive Tool #2 in Los Angeles
Interactive Tool #2 in Los Angeles

Interactive Tools

Developed in Processing to visualize the research archive behind Projections, these tools parse the database’s live XML feeds to bring the visitor a complete view of the research. Each entry in the archive is represented by it’s publication date, timeframe of study, and publication themes.

Interactive #1

This view maximizes the visual impact of connections between research topics and shows a broad view of the works included in the exhibit.

Help overlay for users
Help overlay for users
Highlighting a single entry to view themes and timeline
Highlighting a single entry to view themes and timeline

Interactive #2

This layout is zoomable and granular, highlighting project details more clearly. The user can also clearly compare a project’s publication mark against it’s scope to understand whether it is past-retrospection or future-speculation.

Help overlay with tool explanation
Help overlay with tool explanation
Highlighting one theme over time (zoomed-out)
Highlighting one theme over time (zoomed-out)
Highlighting single entry (zoomed-out)
Highlighting single entry (zoomed-out)
Highlighting a single entry (zoomed in)
Highlighting a single entry (zoomed in)

QR Wall, Postcard Walls and Tag Groups

Each of these physical installations shows the body of work in a specific facet. The QR code wall is a visual abstraction of each item, prompting the visitor to randomize their search; While the tag grouping is the collected prints of each entry in the database. Each is a physical collection meant to highlight the comparative ease of the same digital tool.

QR code wall in Los Angeles exhibit
QR code wall in Los Angeles exhibit
Postcard wall in Los Angeles
Postcard wall in Los Angeles
Physical database tags in Los Angeles
Physical database tags in Los Angeles
Exhibit in Boston space at over,under office
Exhibit in Boston space at over,under office

Projections was exhibited at Pink Comma gallery in Boston, MA and the WUHO Gallery in Los Angeles.

The Projections exhibit was developed as a member of the design team at over,under inc. in Boston, MA

  • Built research catalogue tools and data structures
    (WordPress + structured data plugins)
  • Coded interactive tools from the underlying research
    (Processing, JSON APIs)
  • Converted SQL DB into QR codes, postcards, tag groupings
    (PHP, XML, XSLT)

Publications and Credits

Photos credit: Mark Pasnik over,under

Screenshots credit: Spencer Gregson

☕ built in boston