press release
4 April 2005
During the Milan Furniture Fair 2005, Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, in collaboration with Tecno, presents �Strangely Familiar Future. Unusual objects for every day working life�. A collection of working prototypes for office environments that reveal the playful and poetic element of interaction design.
In the evocative atmosphere of the Old Post Office, located inside the Milan Central Station, the students of Interaction�Ivrea display nine objects for every day working life. Taking cue from mundane devices like a telephone, radio, answering machine or an alarm clock, the students have created a series of electronic interactive prototypes that amplify the lost qualities of the physical and tangible world. From a radio which can only be tuned by moving it across a flat surface, to a working desk that transforms itself into a answering machine and an egg shaped scheduling device that works like an hourglass, many are the possible scenarios devised. In the field of design for office environments, the projects of Interaction-Ivrea aim to suggest more meaningful and poetic interactions with the objects that surround us.
The Interaction-Ivrea show takes place within Tecno�s presentation of working environments and products revisited and interpreted by Piero Lissoni, as if to underline a continuous thread between Interaction-Ivrea and the important legacy of Italian design, one which is very much alive today and that looks at the future. The collaboration with Tecno confirms the widespread interest that industry has towards the Institute�s design research.
The ideas on show were generated during several class workshops held at Interaction Design Institute Ivrea. The Associate Professors responsible for the workshops were Massimo Banzi, Neil Churcher, Heather Martin, Yaniv Steiner and Reto Wettach. Edoardo Brambilla provided all physical prototyping on show and Gianluca Martin assisted with the electronic prototyping. Dario Buzzini participated in the workshops as a project assistant and was also responsible for coordinating this exhibition with Heather Martin in collaboration with Tecno and Lissoni Associati.
Interaction Design Institute Ivrea Projects
Message Table
by Shawn Bonkowski with Dana Gordon
Message Table is a desk merged with an answering machine. It can receive, play and store telephone messages. When a message is left, a box representing that message slowly rises from the desk.
Box of Sound
by James Tichenor with David A Mellis
Box of Sound is a single radio station.
The exterior surface of the radio is made with hundreds of rubber bands. When the user wedges an opening in the box the volume increases.
Feel the Music I
by James Tichenor and David A Mellis
Feel the Music I is a radio with only a tuning knob. The knob itself indicates potential stations through tactile feedback.
Feel the Music II
by James Tichenor and David A Mellis
Feel the Music II is a radio on wheels. By moving the radio on a table surface, the user can feel phantom �peaks and troughs� that indicate different radio stations.
Quattro
by Didier Hilhorst and Nicholas Zambetti
Quattro is a radio alarm clock. As you approach Quattro, it detects your presence and reveals the relevant controls. Its functions are also determined by its orientation. Quattro works in tandem with a soft �object� for remote �snooze� operation.
Tok Tok
by Aram Armstrong with Haiyan Zhang
Tok Tok connects you to your distant loved ones in far away cities. Knocking on one box transmits a sonar-like pulse to a �twinned� box in the remote location. The further away the city is, the longer the delay.
Tug Tug
by Haiyan Zhang with Aram Armstrong
Tug Tug are dedicated telephones whose cords are connected via the handset to the base on both phones. This forms a shared interactive object, allowing each person to physically affect the other object by pulling the cord.
Not So White Walls
by Dario Buzzini with Massimo Banzi
Not So White Walls is interactive wallpaper. It works like a display, giving you the possibility to change patterns and content on your walls. Resistors placed behind the paper surface make the color of the paper change, giving the possibility of a continuously changing content.
The Egg
by Jennifer Bove, Thomas Stovicek and Nicholas Zambetti
The Egg is a scheduling device. It allows you to shift meetings and reshuffle appointments by simply shaking it and turning it upside down. This action causes any connecting Egg to reshuffle accordingly.
Sara Manuelli
[email protected]
0125 422 148
335 1035604
www.interaction-ivrea.it
