Reviving urban alleyway through interactive installations that responds to human presences and invites activities.
ROLE: Concept, Design
TEAM: William Qian
CLIENT: Ann Arbor Art Center
YEAR: July 2021
Light, Laughter, Jazz, Life !
Reviving post-COVID urban alleyway
Problem: Untapped Spatial Opportunities
Back alleys need some love from designers and citizens. Traditionally these gap spaces are not considered attractive because they are often associated with darkness, potholes, and shady business. (Thanks to popular media) However, recent design precedence has shown that alleyways can become a hub of life full of vibrant activities and human energies with a few creative interventions.
[Previous Design Examples ]
Solution: Design Interactions for Environmental and Contextual Inputs
I wanted to reimagine alleyways from the abandoned urban corridors to the pulsing veins of the city landscapes. I proposed a simple, lightweight installation that can create a unifying experience for all visitors. The installation is equipped with low-budget sensors to detect environmental inputs such as human proximity and audio from conversation, laughter, and music. As the visitors enter and interact with each other near the pavilion, the lighting fixtures will be activated to illuminate the space. As the light shines through the textured panels below, the installation emits ripple-like patterns in the alleyway, creating an underwater-like visual experience.
Opportunities and Impacts
As we come to adapt to the post-COVID world, urban spaces will be again filled with life and energy. This proposal wishes to reactivate the forgotten urban corridors and encourage the local community to actively interact with each other and their surrounding spaces. Playful gestures, body movements, and vibrant conversations are powerful catalysts that bring life to our city. At the time of this proposal submission, I hoped that this immersive human-environment experience could help to mend the fragmented human connections and make people feel comfortable again with traversing through their city.
