Spatial Interaction FS2020
Lecturers
Dr. Roman Kirschner , Florian Brugisser
Guest
Theun Karelse, Kaspar König
Timeframe
Corona update: The module takes place over 5 weeks, from 24.03.20 to 24.04.20.
Initial information before Corona curfew: The module takes place over 6 weeks, from 17.03.20 to 24.04.20, 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.
Room
Corona update: At home 
and here: https://zhdk.zoom.us/j/4710337215
Initial information before Corona curfew: ZT 4.K16. (on some few days: 5.K07). Additionally, we have a reservation of Modellbau Projekte ZT 2.E20-UU.
Overview and Objectives
The module 'Spatial Interaction' challenges students to deepen their practical and conceptual knowledge of human interactions in their immediate surroundings. Starting from a location in Zurich where public life and „tamed nature“ overlap, they will develop spatio-technical frameworks for situated interactions. The student projects will connect people and environmental processes with the aim of investigating local impacts of urban (or everyday?) behavior as well as long-distance effects of individual actions. They will learn how to interface the present mesocosm (collecting environmental data, identifying relationships) and how to experiment with advanced techniques like remote sensing or machine vision. Designing in such situations requires the development of strategies for public outreach and communication as well as basic knowledge about intervening in complex systems. In addition, students learn how to connect spatial and conceptual complexities and structure their approach in relation to their project goals while iteratively adapting their methods. Students will work in groups and in a form of self-governed organization developed specifically for this course.
Schedule
(to be developed on the fly due to the circumstances.)
past ZOOMmeetings:
Zoom with the whole group, Friday, april 24, 10:00 - 12:00
Zoom with the whole group, Friday, april 24, 14:00 - 15:00
Zoom with the whole group, Friday, april 17, 10:00 - 11:30
Zoom with Roman, Tuesday, april 7, 16:00 - max. 17:30
Zoom with Kaspar,Tuesday, april 7, 14:00 - max. 15:30
Zoom with Florian, Friday, april 3, 13:00
Zoom with Roman, Friday, april 3, 10:00 - 11:30
Zoom with Roman, Thursday, april 2, 11:45-12:00
Zoom with Roman, Thursday, april 2, 10:00 - 11:30
Zoom with Roman, Tuesday, march 31, 16:00 - max. 16:15
Zoom with Kaspar, Tuesday, march 31, 14:00 - max. 15:30
Zoom with Florian, Tuesday, march 31, 11:45
Zoom with Florian, Tuesday, march 31, 10:00
Zoom with Florian, Friday, march 27, 10:00
Zoom with Theun, Wednesday, march 25, 10:00
Kickoff Q&A sesssion on Tuesday, March 24, 12:15-13:00
| Week 2 | Tuesday, 24.03. | Wednesday, 25.03. | Thursday, 26.03. | Friday, 27.03. |
| morning | - read introduction paper 12:15 ZOOM | 10:00 ZOOM Workshop Theun Karelse | 10:00 ZOOM Workshop Theun | 10:00 ZOOM Technology 1: Image & Video Processing (Blob Tracking) |
| afternoon | read Maedows "Leverage Points" | Workshop Theun 17:00 ZOOM | Workshop Theun 15:00 ZOOM | Technology 2: Computer Vision (OpenCV) |
| Week 3 | Tuesday, 31.03. | Wednesday, 01.04. | Thursday, 02.04. | Friday, 03.04. |
| morning | 10:00 ZOOM + 11:45 ZOOM Technology 3: Depth Sensing / Machine Learning (Deep Vision) | Individual Work: "Leverage Points" | 10:00-11:30 ZOOM Presentation Task "Leverage Points" 11:45-12:00 ZOOM Start Task phase 1: action-effects research + related art & design projects | 10:00-11:30 ZOOM Presentation Task phase 1 Start Task phase 2: concept development |
| afternoon | 14:00-15:30 ZOOM Kaspar König: Deep Listening - 16:00-16:30 ZOOM Start Task "Leverage Points" | Individual Work: "Leverage Points" | Individual work: Task phase 1 | 13:00 ZOOM Technology 4: Data Analysis |
| Week 4 | Tuesday, 07.04. | Wednesday, 08.04. | Thursday, 09.04. | Friday, 10.04. |
| morning | Individual work: Task Phase 2 | group building + concept preparation | individual mentoring (round 1 compulsory) | KARFREITAG |
| afternoon | 14:00-15:30 ZOOM Kaspar König: Deep Listening 16:00-17:00 ZOOM Presentation Task Phase 2 Concepts | group building + concept preparation | individual mentoring (round 1 compulsory) | |
| Week 5 | Tuesday, 14.04. | Wednesday, 15.04. | Thursday, 16.04. | Friday, 17.04. |
| morning | individual mentoring (round 2 compulsory) | free mentoring | free mentoring | 10:00 - 11:30 milestone presentation |
| afternoon | individual mentoring (round 2 compulsory) | free mentoring | free mentoring | |
| Week 6 | Tuesday, 21.04. | Wednesday, 22.04. | Thursday, 23.04. | Friday, 24.04. |
| morning | free mentoring | free mentoring | free mentoring | 10:00-12:00 final presentations |
| afternoon | free mentoring | free mentoring | free mentoring | 14:00 feedback session |
Literature
- Theun Karelse: Spatial Interaction Random Forests Reader.
- Donella Meadows: Leverage Points - Places to Intervene in a System.
- Franinovic & Kirschner: Microbiospherians. (to come)
Further Reading
- Jakob von Uexüll: Streifzüge durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen. Ein Bilderbuch unsichtbarer Welten. (1956)
- Gillian Barker et al.. Entangled Life. Organism and Environment in the Biological and Social Sciences. (2014)
(provided on request)
Technical Inputs
Please have a look at the special page about Computer Vision.
Mentoring
We will prepare doodles for mentoring with time slots of different length depending on the progress of the overall project. Reserve your slot and try to be on time. Questions can be asked anytime – also via email.
Presentations
- First Concept (everybody)
- Second Stage (informal and optional – some approaches might not be presentable at this time. But if you want your project to be discussed by the whole group, present it here! Otherwise show up for a mandatory mentoring the same or the following day.)
- Final (this really counts!)