Proposal for the Avesta Steelworks Visitors experience

3.3 Design is built communication

The disciplines of architecture, interior and industrial design are about to change. Physical spaces and objects are not just shaping our surrounding, but they also define our relation ship to the respective tangible environments.

The visible and tangible qualities are the first impression the visitor receives from the place, but the design should help him to easily recognize the potential for interaction. For example, the hotspots are physical yellow rings positioned in the interactive zones. They mark areas of potential interaction. In that they are an iconic detail, as much as a physical feature of the space.

The material quality of the installed panels is also showing, how the physical and the ephemeral can work together to create new types of hybrid materials. The stainless steel mesh is a reference to the material that was produced on this site. But it also acts as a veil.
When the area behind the screen is lit up, the metal mesh almost disappears, it becomes transparent That way, original features of the blast furnace behind the panel become visible. However, when a projection occurs from the front, anything behind the panel disappears, and the projected image is magically overlaying the lightly structured mesh.

Another consideration must go into the organizational layout of the site, this is an architectural problem. How does the time based movement of visitors overlay with the time based experience of media? And how can the zones be set up, so that the interference between different media events is kept to a minimum.

The hybrid nature of the installation is rooted as much in the media effects, as it is hard-wired in to the built space. Most of all it is site-specific, it extends, instead of replacing the existing condition.

SMART studio EMOTIONAL studio