Event

EventExhibitionInstallation

Design Informatics Pavilion: Future Play

For this year’s Edinburgh Festival we will be part of the Edinburgh Art Festival and the Fringe with the Future Play Festival. We will be taking out the Design Informatics Pavilion again on to George Street to create a pop up exhibition space designed by biomorphis architects featuring a range of objects and experiences that invite you to step into the future. The exhibition will be interactive, mixing design with technology and exploring a number of explore a series of themes aimed at provoking discussions on what it means to “design with data”. Objects will range from digital jewellery which evokes memories and emotions by using synthetic biology; an innovative light system that displays architecture in new ways; an app that looks at issues of value and trading more than just money and a surrogacy suit which would enable fathers and transgender couples to help take the load of childbearing.

The Design Informatics Pavilion has been designed by biomorphis, an Edinburgh-based architecture practice led by Pierre Forissier. Interested in how digital technology can be efficiently used to design an affordable modular structure, biomorphis developed an algorithm to test and generate different cellular divisions to form a self supporting lightweight building envelope.

The outside of the Pavilion visualizes data from the Edinburgh Festivals to celebrate their 70th Anniversary starting from the launch of the Festival in 1947 to 2017. This timeline is then continued inside with the exhibition where you can imagine what the future might look like. On the exterior the top line graph represents rainfall in Edinburgh in August in 5 year periods between 1947-2017. The bottom of the pavilion represents the elevations of Edinburgh during a walk through the cities most popular venues so starting on George Street and going to the Castle, the Meadows, The pleasance etc. The data visualisation has been realised by Anais Moisy and the exhibtion graphics by Sigrid Schmeisser.

As part of Future Play our co-director Chris Speed will lead a discussion on Designing for Near Futures with Bettina Nissen and Larissa Pschetz on the 17th August 11.30am. The short talks will offers a glimpse into the near future of a society without money and biological civil war. For more information and to book tickets visit the Future Play website.

Exhibition will be free and open to all, so come down and have a play!

Featured image of Olfact; a digital jewellery piece by Design Informatics Master students – Katie Dobberstein, Fabien Florek and Karen Campa. Assisted by Corinna Hartinger scientific consultant from Biology Programme. Photography by Olivia Auld.

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George Street, outside Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, EH2 2LR