aLf

Interactive installation, completed for the Vivid Light Festival in Sydney 2011. This outdoor Light art festival runs during the winter rainy season. It is in Sydney CBD, Circular Quay, next to the Opera House and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA). The festival runs for 4 weeks with around 500 000 people every year. ALF was designed using digital fabrication. CNC cut formply were put together with CNC cut acrylic polymere ribs to form the structure holding the LED system. The light system includes motion sensors and strips of LED. People density and motions would trigger a series of scripted Light responses of various intensity. aLf: was among a series of light installations exhibited during the Vivid Light Festival 2011 in Sydney Circular Quay, next to the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) and the Sydney Opera from the 27th of May to the 13th of June 2011. aLf: is an artificial biomorphic entity that glows when people interact with it and sleeps with a subdued blue pulse when it is solitary. When awakened, aLf: emits a spectrum of colors and various intensities of light dictated by the movement, sound and density of the viewing crowd. aLf: is inspired by the symbiotic nature of the blue bottle (Australian Jelly Fish) which is formed by an ecosystem of zooids that respond intuitively to their surrounds. When awakened aLf: engages in a visual conversation with the public acting as a catalyst for the activation of public space. aLf: is fabricated from a series of elements with sensored receptors that respond to the urban environment via a performative information system. Thereby, revealing the cognitive coherence of the complex social network by responding electronically to the urban ecology. The aLf: team consists of Kim Nguyen Ngoc, Victoria Bolton, Catherine Kuok and Guy Hanson of Woodhead architects collaborating with Steven Brims of Umow Lai, Osram, Waterman, Philips Dynalite and Powersense. Kim Nguyen Ngoc is interested in contextual performative design and digital fabrication. aLf: is an experimental application for environmental responsive structures and interactive architecture systems. aLf: comes from our interest in nature and biological science. We think that Australia has a fantastic biodiversity. Nature like the City and the cosmopolitan condition is a complex network of activities, full of contradictions, conflicts, symbiotic or parasitic relations. aLf is part of the ecology of the City of Sydney, it is part of its artificial/natural environment. aLf: is a Carte-Blanche experimentation for more efficient and sustainable structure, and façade system where elements of the façade form a network that would change according to weather, people, noise, pollution. It is part of a global architectural research on responsive and performative architecture. aLf: is digitally designed and fabricated from recyclable resin and form ply panels, taking advantage of Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machining to maximise efficiency and minimise material waste. It is lit using an array of energy-efficient LEDs controlled by motion sensors. Sponsors: 1. Woodhead 2. Umow Lai 3. Osram 4. Waterman 5. Philips Dynalite 6. Powersense Team: Kim Nguyen Ngoc, Victoria Bolton, Catherine Kuok and Guy Hanson Dimensions and weight loading: - 3360x2820x1370 - Weight estimated 200kg Lamp type and consumption: - LINEARlight POWER Flex - High-FLUX LED –Systems with COLORMIX - Light and Motion Sensors