“Lumina Foresta is a project that explores the interstice of nature and the digital or the ecological and the artificial. This project stems from the cries of the current environmental crises evident as quantified data from carbon emissions in urban areas affecting also our natural habitats – evoking a sense of responsibility within the citizens interacting with the installation..”
There is a problem that has been made aware to us for a very long time. Since 1990 CO2 has increased by almost 50 per cent. Cities are responsible for approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions; in Catalonia, the average annual temperature has gone up by almost 1.2ºC in the last 65 years. Barcelona’s Climate emergency declaration proposes a change of the urban model, but more importantly the collaboration of the urban citizens.
The concept is simple. By planting 500 trees, the average EU citizen could offset their yearly carbon footprint. It sounds like a lot of trees, but when you think about it, that is your carbon footprint gone for the rest of your life and the life of the person to come after you.
How do we aim to visualize this. We will project the structure of a bare tree waiting to be filled. As you approach the installation, Lumina Foresta will start to visualize your CO2 particles. As you watch your particles attract to the branches, they begin to transform into O2 particles and are then released from the tree.
We aim to introduce individuals to the power and impact they could have in the great crisis by illustrating the possibility of their capacity for change through the growth of a digital tree projected into the space before them. Through this, we aim to address climate change through the awareness of cultural change.
// SITE
The location for this year’s installation in Parc Central de Poblenou was an important factor in the development of the concept of the intersection between natural and artificial/ digital.
As part of the development of the project and the interaction on the site, the team put together a photogrammetry point cloud model of the chosen location and the installation’s placement on site. This location provides opportunities for accessibility and visibility, while the positioning of the installation in between 4 trees allows the projected particles to be refracted onto the surroundings, immersing the viewers and the natural environment into the experience.
// DESIGN DETAILS
The circular configuration of the proposal allows for a 360* interaction area around the installation. The team conducted a series of projection tests on scale models, which concluded that a radial configuration would create a 3dimensional effect of the co2 particles.
The proposed elevation displays the scale range (increasing) of layered polypropylene sheets onto the circular layout of the structure. This configuration enhances the projection effect further.
In a radial display, from the exterior towards the interior, there will be 3 night vision cameras, mapping the position and movement pattern of the audience. At the center 3 projectors will display the computationally processed information transmitted by the cameras and transform them into CO2 particles projected on the polypropylene layered sheets.
The structure is composed of 3 main elements: a base wooden structure that is meant to elevate the installation off the ground, the vertical composed columns and the top structure, on which the night vision cameras will be installed.
The main goal of the structure was to keep the installation as light and transparent as possible. For this reason, transparent acrylic tubes will be used as main vertical columns, blending in with the polypropylene sheets, supported with several connection details.
As mentioned before, we are proposing elevating the installation off the ground for 2 main reasons: achieving a 2.5 m height for a better camera angle at the top and for the protection of electrical equipment at the bottom.
// INTERACTION
The night vision cameras will map the number, speed and direction of the viewers. This data will be processed and visually mapped as particle flow graphics.
In terms of the input, this is the process of mapping the viewers at different stages of the interaction, by detecting the users and their movements.
This will be shown as an output in different stages as well, varying on the density of the audience. When there is no one interacting with the installation, there will be an ongoing projection of oxygen particles around the virtual tree.
As soon as the users start approaching the installation, the O2 particles will start being replaced by CO2 particles.
//CONCLUSION
We aim to take our proposal one step further from the digital tree to a physical tree through the partnership of organizations like reforestation. By creating a social media campaign tied to the engagement of our installation, the audience can plant their tree through a donation that can be planted by reforestation.
It is our great effort and hope that Lumina Foresta can play a part in transforming climate change by addressing the most important figure, the individual; thus, perpetuating the cultural change that overpowers climate change
//Project Credits
Students: Abhishek Sharma, Aditya Ambare, Aditya Ravindra Mandlik, Alisa Iureva, Andrea Giacomo De Stasio ,Eve Nnaji, Harsh Vora, Léa Carole Solène Pauline Garguet-Duport, Matthew Gordon, Muhammad Mansoor Awais, Roberto, Vargas Calvo, Siddharth Aryamane, Sneha Vivek, Stefana – Florina Zapuc, Vatsal Kapadia, Yash Palshetkar
