Spatial Interaction FS2018

_{The Lore of the Lyrebird, Ambrose Pratt, 1932}

Instructors

Dr. Joëlle Bitton
Luke Franzke
Joël Gähwiler
Dr. Daniel Hug
Olav Lervik

Partners

Stefan Heller  neeracherried(at)birdlife.ch
Valentin Amrhein v.amrhein(at)unibas.ch

Timeframe

The module takes place over 5 weeks, from 20.02.18 to 23.03.18, from Tuesday to Friday, 9.30-17.00 - see timetable below for detailed hours and classrooms. Class sessions include lectures, discussions, mentoring sessions, in-class exercises, assignments and independent study blocks. Projects are conducted individually or in a team of three students at most.

Overview and Objectives

The Spatial Interaction course engages students with the notion of public space and the types of interaction that can be designed with and for that space: from observing public uses, proposing interventions, defining installations, etc.

This year, the module is conceived in collaboration with Birdlife-Centres Neeracherried and La Sauge in order to investigate ideas and prototypes for a future exhibition where visitors interact with bird songs.

BirdLife Switzerland and the University of Basel invite us to experience bird’s songs. Why do birds sing? How do they sing? What are the similarities of the communication of birds an human beings? Does man-made noise disturb the communication of birds? In exhibitions at Birdlife-Centres Neeracherried and La Sauge, visitors shall experiment and interact with bird’s sounds and slip into the skin of birds. In the Spatial Interaction course, students will develop working concepts for this exhibition, through the tools and methods of spatial interaction, sound and exhibition design. The developed prototypes will be presented to our partners and should serve as the basis of a further design of the planned exhibition.

Main Project Brief

In an exhibitions in Birdlife-Centre Neeracherried and La Sauge, visitors shall experiment and interact with bird’s sounds and slip into the skin of birds. In the Spatial Interaction course, students will develop working concepts for this exhibition, through the tools and methods of spatial interaction, sound and exhibition design. The developed prototypes will be presented to our partners and should serve as the basis of a further design of the planned exhibitions in Birdlife-Centres Neeracherried (2019 - 20) and La Sauge (2021-22). 

The sounds of birds are the central topic of the exhibition. We expect that the visitors record a large part of the content of the exhibition by listening or by producing sounds themselves.

Didactic aims of Exhibition 

• The visitors are fascinated of birds and their songs
• They learn and understand certain aspects of bird’s sounds
• They learn basic methods of acoustic research (sonograms)
• They are motivated to contribute to the protection of birds

Expectations and Grading

Students learn in the process tools and methods to track people and their interaction and environmental changes, and notions of exhibitions set-ups.

Grades will be based on in-class presentations, class participation, documentation (journal) and final work. Contributing to constructive group feedback is an essential aspect of class participation. Regular attendance is required. Two or more unexcused absences will affect the final grade. Arriving late on more than one occasion will also affect the grade.

• Final Work: 50%
• In-class presentations: 20% 
• Journal Documentation: 20% 
• Class participation: 10% 

Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade.  

Deliverables

• Functional exhibtion prototype 
• Oral presentations
• Documentation including photo and/or video documentation of final exhibit 
• Journal/Blog

A separate 'Journal' is developed by each group that reflects on learnings from the seminar. It should be in the form of an online blog (ie. WordPress, Tumblr or other):

• The journal should be structured in a generally comprehensible manner
• The lecture notes, including annotations, are stored
• Notes, sketches for each lesson should be included as well
  

Use of "Modellbauwerkstatt"

The students may use the "Modellbauwerkstatt" in the last two weeks for working on the project.

Material

• Joël's slides on Spatial Interaction
• Stefan's slides on Birdlife Center

• Research Exercise 

• Brain Storm Exercise (sketches)

• Readings and Links

• Plan Obergeschoss Naturzentrum.jpg
• Plan Erdgeschoss Naturzentrum.pdf
• Valentin's Slides: DDE/BDE_VIAD-MATERIAL/01_VORLESUNGEN & PROJEKTE/18FS/Spatial Interaction
• Link to ADB Reaper with new section on multichannel output and using / automating a VSTi / Synthesizer

Blogs:

• Aurelian Ammon
• Daria Babco
• Adri Bodor-Pék
• Stephanie Dickerson
• Tobias Dupuch
• Daniel Holler (group blog)
• Vinzenz Leutenegger
• Manuel Leuthold (group blog)
• Ismael Möri
• Carlo Natter
• Shaën Reinhart
• Ju Young Yi
• Michael Schönenberger

Teams

1. Ju: "Sensory Nest"
2. Adrien, Daria: "Storytime"
3. Daniel, Tingting: "Flock the game"
4. Aurelian, Ismael, Carlo
5. Alessa, Michael, Tobias: "Build A Bird"
6. Jerome, Vinzenz, Shaen: "Nightingale"
7. Katharina, Manuel, Stephanie

End Pressentation 

plan_galerie_1.pdf

9:00 Greeting and general Introduction

9:15 Katharina, Manuel, Stephanie

9:30 Jerome, Vinzenz, Shaen

9:45 Alessa, Michael, Tobias

10:00 Aurelian, Ismael, Carlo

10:15 Coffee Break

10:30 Daniel, Tingting

10:45 Adrien, Daria

11:00 Ju

11:15 Continued exhibition/live demo time

Calendar