Mixed reality pop up books

I coni cAr chi t ect ur e: Pr oj ect i onmappi ng popupbooks

acknowledgement Dr Jignesh Khakhar, for the constant guidance, mentorship and encouragement that allowed me to push myself harder throughout the duration of the project and the two years of the course at NID. Dooj Ramchandani and the entire team of Blink Solution, Mumbai for giving me the opportunity to learn about new technology and experiment with the same in an exploratory environment.

Arshad Pathan, for always being there when help was needed with prototyping.

Suvani Suri and Simran Chopra and the New media design 2011 batch for their ideas, feedback and company during the difficult phases of the project.

Manav Khadkiwala, for helping me with the sound for the project and for always lending an ear when I needed to rant.

The workshop staff and the IT Department at NID, Gandhinagar for the construction of the prototype and hardware.

My family and friends for all their love and support.

contents SYNOPSIS: - 1.1 - 1.2 - 1.3 - 1.4 - 1.5 - 1.6 - 1.7 - 1.8

About New media Abstract Motivation Sponsor Initial Brief Background Purpose Context

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING - 2.1 - 2.2 - 2.3 - 2.4 - 2.5 - 2.6 - 2.7 - 2.8 - 2.9 - 2.10 - 2.11 - 2.12 - 2.13

Technology Hardware Software Definitions and terms Projection mapping : Techniques Projection mapping : Limitations Precedent studies Information : On Architecture Architechture : Historical timelines Iconic architecture: a study Architecture : Representation & new media Pop-up Books Origamic Architechture

23 25 32 34 36 39 41 47 49 52 69 71 75

IDEATION : - 3.1 Brainstorming - 3.2 Initial Concepts - 3.3 Museum based Installations - 3.4 Books: Narratives & digital augmentation - 3.5 Interaction guidance - 3.6 Final Concept

82 84 88 89 91 92

PROTOTYPING : - 4.1 Data organisation - 4.2 Narrative structure - 4.3 Storyboards and Script - 4.4 Book Design - 4.5 Structure and hardware - 4.6 Projection Mapping : Prototype

97 99 101 106 108 112

LEARNING : - 5.1 - 5.2 - 5.3

Mistakes and feedback Way forward Reflections

118 119 120

CONCLUSION : - 6.1 - 6.2 - 6.3 - 6.4

Conclusion Glossary References Appendix

124 125 126 128

01.

SYNOPSIS About new media Abstract Motivation Sponsor Brief Background Purpose Context

1.1

about new media New Media attempts to examine the impact that technologies may have on mankind in the future. The thoughtful and appropriate application of technology at an individual, organizational and national level can lead to significant economic benefits, while being aware of its cultural impact.Through a historical grounding in art, craft and design practices; surveying of scientific and technology landscape of the world; and building an ability to keenly observe the cultural fabric of the country, students of new media develop integrated and context relevant solutions for addressing contemporary issues.

There are three primary objectives of the programme.

1. Exploring and critically examining the relationship between technology and culture.

2. Gaining competency in judging the appropriate application of technology.

3. Developing insights leading to the invention of new technology.

Contemporary practice and study of new media is at the intersection of art, craft, science, technology and design.

In this sense the programme is truly transdisciplinary. Students of new media design should be capable of creating associations / cross linkages across the fields of art, science, technology and design. They should be able to function in situations where lack of definition persists, and define their own practices and grounds, informed through practice and research.

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1.2

abstract The area of interactive installations for museums and/or exhibits has seen a growing interest over the past decade.

Using technology in novel ways for the purpose of information visualisation and aiding understanding about a specific subject is goal that drives many new media designers.

Projection mapping, or spatial augmented reality (SAR) as it is called in the academia, is one of the many new media that has generated a lot of attention due to its extremely visual and experiential nature.

Traditionally, all moving images were projected onto flat screens; projection mapping however uses 2D or 3D objects as display surfaces. The illusion of 3D is created using a number of advanced motion graphics techniques, also relying on highpowered projectors and manageable levels of ambient light. The magic of projection mapping lies in the suspension of disbelief, the creative use of light and the careful selection of appropriate structures that can heighten the experience. With the right techniques the illusion can be extremely powerful, structures can appear to be morphed, moulded, and warped, creating alternative 3D anatomies.

Architecture, with its 3D facade and geometry provides infinite opportunity in the area of spatial augmentation. Most

spatial AR projects are performance-centric and border on the edge of experimental theatre and film. Adding interactivity to the SAR project can enhance the experience of the viewer in a multitude of ways. Creating a virtual and immersive environment, SAR can become a tool for educational and informational purposes; allowing rich audiovisual and multi sensory narratives to be told with ĂŠlan.

Throughout the history of architecture and construction, many different styles and movements have emerged. As a supremely functional form of art, architecture has always been revered and studied in various ways and has also been an important source of inspiration for other forms of artistic expression like paintings, photography, film and performance art. As a student of design, to trace the history of architecture through the ages and study a few landmarks in detail in order to create a narrative about the same became an exciting and novel challenge for me.

This project took the form of a pop-up book to create an immersive narrative about architecture and its history. The installation is a proposal for a museum context and can be widely adapted across various subjects and spaces.

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1.3

sponsor Blink Solution is a young company in Mumbai and they provide services that range from interactive installations, augmented reality applications to websites and games. Finding the right balance between creativity, research and technology is always a challenge, especially within the new media advertising and marketing industry being as young as it is, in India.

However, with the excitement that comes from doing something novel and the willingness to experiment and learn, it becomes easier to delve into unknown waters. The process of designing solutions for a range of clients at Blink is extremely hands-on and collaborative.

The basics of a lot of technology and its applications were made aware to me during my time there.

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1.4

motivation I undertook a project which involved physical and tangible interfaces in my final semester at NID.* Also, my background in graphic design has always made the areas of film, moving images, storytelling and information design interesting to me.

Most of the previous applications of Spatial Augmented Reality have revolved around advertising and marketing. I wished to use the medium in a content driven manner for installations that provide information and add elements of interactivity to the experience to enable better understanding.

* Distant Ties: www.manasiagarwal.com ; http://vimeo.com/33723643#at=0

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1.5

project brief Initial Brief To use the medium of projection mapping to effectively convey an idea/subject and to push its boundaries further by exploring avenues for addition of interactivity.

Evolved Brief To enhance and augment museum experiences and objects using digital media and spatial augmented reality techniques.

Explore and study iconic architecture of the world and find ways to represent concise and interesting information about it through interactive content.

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1.6

background In the past few years, augmented reality has reached the general public. This is due to the availability of webcams in laptops and mobile phones and software such as ARToolKit. The augmentations are overlaid on reality and visualized though a screen.

Although it is convenient to have a view of the digital elements through a screen, it will create important limitations on the field of view.

In order to overcome these limitations, the digital information can be projected into reality; this is called spatial augmented reality (SAR) [1]. In SAR, the visualizations and interactions space are the same; leading to more natural user experiences.

Conversely, SAR applications are bounded to real life, thus it is harder to represent

data behind real objects because the projection support will importantly influence the visualization. Recent work in SAR explores the projection support as the main interaction element.[2] The possibilities of the medium are still being discovered and the research in the subject, though nascent and young, when it is connected to all the studies in computer vision, 3D scanning of space and augmenting the immediate environment, becomes a body of knowledge to fall back upon when undertaking a project like this.

Like Lev Manovich said, “We will see that many of the principles [of new media] are not unique to new media, but can be found in older media as well.�[3]

Levelhead: A 3D spatial memory game by Julian Oliver

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1.7

context Information access being the way it is nowadays, museums and information centres need to provide an extra layer of experience through multi-modal interaction models to encourage the people to visit these spaces and increase understanding. The value addition in terms of sensory enhancement can result in richer, more memorable narratives being told with the help of digital media.

Broadly speaking, 3D projection on physical objects may be defined as a type of mixed reality [4], which refers to systems or installations that blend physical elements with digital, virtual elements.

Using storytelling techniques to provide informative content has always been considered a more wholesome way of increasing understanding about any subject.

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1.8

purpose The purpose of this project is to add a new dimension to a museum display artefact, making it more engaging through the use of an audio-visual narrative. It is to explore a medium of a physical device that allows us to visually experience through them something that is not physically there.

Iconic architecture through the ages has been chosen as a subject for the display artiwfact. Each building that is talked about in the artefact is one that had garnered attention and has become a symbol of the city/country where it is situated. Much has been said and written about these pieces of architecture and the author makes a humble attempt to consolidate and concise the information available in such a manner that the prospective user is left with a macro view of the history and story of the

structure, and is hopefully eager enough to indulge in further study and explorations of the same.

3D spatial augmentation of architectural miniatures is a territory that I wanted to experiment with. There have been a lot of precedents in the area of mapping an actual architectural structure, but the scale of the mapping has not been explored enough.

Also, one of the major requirements of the medium is that the projection device and the projection surface should not be moved/displaced in any way. This severely limits the application of the technology and I wanted to test the boundaries of this premise. I was also fuelled by the need to apply the medium in a previously unexplored way.

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02.

RESEARCH and UNDERSTANDING Technology Hardware Software Definitions and terms Projection mapping : Techniques Projection mapping : Limitations Precedent studies Information : On Architecture Architechture : Historical timelines Iconic architecture: a study Architecture : Representation & new media Pop-up Books Origamic Architechture

2.1

technology The roots of virtual reality and augmented reality are not that far apart. After almost forty years of research and development, however, they do not follow the same technological paths anymore. In the early 1990s, projection based surround screen displays became popular. One of the most well known is the CAVE —a multi-sided, immersive projection room. But there are other examples of semi-immersive walllike and table-like displays or immersive cylindrical and spherical spatial displays. In general, spatial displays detach the display technology from the user and integrate it into the environment.

Compared to head or body-attached displays, spatial displays offer many advantages and solve several problems that are related to visual quality (resolution, field-of-view, focus, etc.), technical issues

(e.g., tracking, lighting), and human factors (e.g., cumbersomeness), but they are limited to non-mobile applications. [5] Beyond such explorations of 3D projection, which primarily focus on the technical aspects of the technology, the most prominent examples of 3D projection are arguably, the works of Pablo Valbuena. His series of installations entitled Augmented Sculptures has been displayed at venues such as Ars Electronica, and has also attracted many views on Internet video services. Valbuena’s installations are typically composed of very angular and clear-cut geometrical shapes that are camera tracked, and in conjunction with which 3D technology is used to create the illusion of light sources moving across the faces of the installations.[6]

First prototype of an autostereoscopic, multi-user capable optical see-through display implemented by the Bauhaus University-Weimar.

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By providing a static 3D surface as a screen, projection mapping is capable of splitting this surface into a multitude of facets and portions. Each such facet or portion then becomes like an individual screen, capable of displaying video or images within it. The content for projection can be created with such a possibility in mind.

Increasingly, the personality of artefacts, whether objects or environments, is made up not only of appearance and materials, but also of behaviour,’ say Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger of Antenna, the New York City-based designers.[7]

Paulo Valbuena’s Augmented Sculpture Series : 2007 to present They are focused on the temporary quality of space.

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2.2

hardware Three-dimensional graphics techniques for flat-monitors and screens have been studied for decades. Compared to CRT monitors or flat LCD panels, projector based displays have three unique and useful characteristics. (i) The size of the projector is much smaller than the size of the generated (projected) image. (ii) Images from two or more overlapping projectors can be effectively superimposed and added on the display surface, hence creating the possibility of massive screens for various purposes. (iii) The final image could be planar, nonplanar or curved depending on shape and dimensions of the illuminated surface.

Using multiple projectors we can create larger images with possibly higher resolution and higher field of view.

When multiple projectors are employed in an installation, one can notice that the projector’s overlapped area becomes brighter, as projectors throw additive light.

To equalize intensity on the screen surface, one needs to make a blend map which represents the overlapped area.

Blend map represents the intensity distribution and color correction for the projection image.

One should multiply this blend map image to projection image which is pre-warped by the distortion map. In this way the overlapped area seems seamless to the observer.

Soft Edging One can smooth the blending edge for seamless intensity distribution using soft edging, which is an option in most new version of the projection software.

1. The size of the projector is much smaller than its display size. 2. Massive displays can be created with multiple projectors and overlapped areas can be made seamless with blend maps. 3. Projector displays can be curved or non-linear

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Problems with projector displays: Some of the major problems with projector-based displays are (i) Shadows: Since projectors are intrinsically throwing and manipulating light, any surface that receives this additive light is bound to create its own shadows (ii) Limited depth of field: This is one of the major issues that one can face during projection mapping. Since the light of the projector is 2D in nature and the lens of the projector has a fixed focal length, the image can be sharpest at only one particular Z position. When we map a complex 3D structure with varying Z position or depth, one has to decide where the image should be sharpest. Usually the point where any sort of text is displayed is chosen to be the point of focus as readability is of utmost importance. (iii) Inter-reflection and dependence on properties of the illuminated surface: Overall, we have less control over the final displayed colours due to ambient light, secondary scattering and orientation.

If an object is made out of a material that reflects more light than receives it, projection becomes very hard. In addition, there are additional calibration requirements that add complexity to projector-based systems.

(iv) Brightness and luminosity : As the amount of light outputted by projectors varies across each model, a standardized procedure for testing projectors for brightness has been established by the American National Standards Institute, which involves averaging together a number of brightness measurements taken at different positions, to give a level of brightness for the projector that is quoted in “ANSI lumens”. The lumen is basically a measure of the total amount of visible light emitted from the projector.

LCD, DLP or L-COS digital projectors with an ANSI lumen rating of 1000 lumens or lower are referred to as low lumen projectors.

Projectors with a luminosity of between 1000 and 2000 lumens are the most common type of projector since they deliver a suitably bright image while maintaining a price affordable to most people or organisations.

Projectors with a luminosity of above 3000 lumens, which can range up to 15,000 lumens, are considered high end projectors.

These high lumen projectors are extremely expensive and can cost well over ten thousand dollars. However, compared to other projectors, the image displayed is of unparalleled quality.

If only low lumen projectors are available, large scale installations often “stack” projectors one on top of the other to increase the brightness and quality of the image.

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Types of Projectors: Slide : Slide projectors were commonly used as a form of entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s.

Slide projectors are still used even though there has been more advanced technology over the years. The slide projectors are usable and convenient devices that use photographic slides to display images on a screen or wall.

The new slide projectors have small built in screens or walls enabling instant and portable viewing. You can view any kind of presentation any where and you have a choice of slide projectors e.g. carousel projectors, dual slide projectors and single projectors.

Now the slide projector has been replaced digital cameras, video/DVD players, televisions etc.

DLP Projectors: DLP technology is based on an optical semiconductor called a DMD chip (Digital Micromirror Device), which was invented in 1987 by Texas Instruments .The way it works

is that a DMD chip is made up of millions of tiny mirrors, that can rotate at a 10-12 degrees angle. These mirrors are literally capable of switching on and off thousands of times per second and are used to direct light towards and away from a dedicated pixel space. The length of time a pixel is on/ off determines the level of gray seen in the pixel. Completely on is lightest (white) and off is darkest (black), although neither are ever pure white or black. The current DMD chips can produce 1024 shades of grey.

On a DMD chip, colour is added using a colour wheel. This is a wheel that spins round anything from 150x per second to 250x and more. Most of the models will be made up of a 4 segment colour wheel. This will be Red/Green/Blue and usually a clear segment. As light is passed through a point on the spinning colour wheel the mirrors switch in accordance to the light.

4 segment colour wheels can produce an effect that is known as rainbow. This is when the projector, in effect, struggles to change between all the colours quick enough, and along a line, the viewer may see a “rainbow affect�.

6 Segment colour wheels are not effected in this way as badly as 4 segment colour wheels.

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I used a DLP project tor in the prototyping of the project, but faced a lot of issues while documentation of the same due to the Rainbow effect. Also, the close proximity of the user to the projected surface made the pixels in the display more noticeable. The resulting projected imagery seemed a little out of focus and not pixel perfect as I had hoped.

LCD Projectors : LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors contain three separate LCD glass panels, one for red, green, and blue components of the image signal being transferred to the projector. As the light passes through the LCD panels, individual pixels can be opened to allow light to pass or closed

to block the light. This activity modulates the light and produces the image that is projected onto the screen. LCD is generally more ‘light efficient’ than DLP meaning that a 850 Lumen LCD projector will produce a brighter image than an 850 Lumen DLP projector. LCD tends to produce more saturated colours. However, the colours being more saturated makes people perceive the projector to be brighter overall, even though the DLP white may be brighter.

LCD tends to produce a sharper image. This can actually be a bit of a disadvantage for video, where it makes the pixilation more obvious.

LCD’s have a low fill factor whereas DLP has a high fill factor: This can sometimes cause what is known as a chicken wire effect.

Left : The rainbow effect that became very prominent on shooting photos of the setup Right: The chicken wire effect, which is more noticeable in LCD projectors.

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CRT Projectors

On display interfaces :

CRT utilizes three tubes, sometimes called “guns.” The three colors combine or converge to make your image. CRTs do not have a fixed number of pixels, making them versatile machines capable of clear images from higher or lower resolution sources.

CRTs also require periodic ‘calibration’ by a trained professional, which can mean additional expense for the end user down the road. These projectors are generally used in fixed installations because of their size. CRTs are typically not as bright as the other technologies, but the refined picture quality of a properly calibrated CRT is tough to beat. Its worth noting that replacing and maintaining the guns is an expensive proposition.

VGA

To conclude, one should look out for four main aspects while choosing a projector for the installation/Project: 1). The type of projector - LCD, DLP, CRT 2). The Lumens output (brightness) of lamp - 800-1000 is good for LCD, DLP at 1000 is considered to be good.

3). The Resolution. For optimal picture the better option is XGA or WXGA. A cheaper option is VGA/SVGA. 4). A very key point is contrast ratios.

300:1 and less is poor meaning blacks look dark grey. 700:1 and higher is good, giving darker blacks and whiter whites (contrast is difference between these two). 1000:1 + is excellent. [8]

The VGA connector – named for the Video Graphics Array standard introduced by IBM for the original personal Computer products in 1987 has been the most successful PC monitor interface to date in the computer industry.

VGA cable connector VGA connections can often show the effects of low bandwidth, overall signal loss, and “ghosting” from impedance mismatches in the system. The use of cable extenders and switches often introduces additional problems of this nature. The popularity of the VGA connector continues primarily because it is inexpensive and has an enormous installed base – and the latter is not a minor concern as the industry tries to transition to newer, more capable interfaces.

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DVI

HDMI

The Digital Visual Interface, or DVI, standard was published by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) in 1999. DVI is available in two forms: DVI-I, which includes both a VGA-compatible set of analog video signals and a digital interface, and DVI-D, which is digital-only. DVI is currently the most popular digital interface for monitors and projectors, and will likely continue in use for several more years. However, due to the size and relatively high cost of the connector, it is now expected to lose PC market share to the newer DisplayPort standard, and has already been virtually replaced in the CE/TV market by HDMI.[9]

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transferring uncompressed video data and compressed/uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant device (“the source device�) to a compatible digital audio device, computer monitor, video projector, or digital television. HDMI is a digital replacement for existing analog video standards.

DVI port types

Microcontrollers : For the purpose of making physical computing related embedded systems, Microcontrollers are widely used. A microcontroller is a small computer on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. They are designed for embedded applications, in contrast to the microprocessors used in personal computers or other general purpose applications.

Our tool of choice in the new media design course was the Arduino. Recent developments have also led to users switching to the Raspberry Pi, but since I was comfortable with the Arduino, and it seemed more than enough for the sort of functionality I was looking for, I used an Arduino Dueminalove for the prototype.

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Arduino

Sensors

Arduino is a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of the physical world than your desktop computer. It’s an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development environment for writing software for the board.

A variety of sensors can be connected with the arduino to detect the changes in ones environment or trace the user’s presence, activity etc. From light detecting resistors, microphones, temperature and wind sensors, proximity detectors and a host of other options, the installation or experience can be made sense able in myriad ways. For different versions of the prototype, I tried out Servo motors, a proximity sensor, LDR’s and potentiometers to give me analog values that could be then mapped to other parameters in the design.

Arduino can be used to develop interactive objects, taking inputs from a variety of switches or sensors, and controlling a variety of lights, motors, and other physical outputs. Arduino projects can be standalone, or they can communicate with software running on the computer (e.g.

Flash, Processing, MaxMSP.) The boards can be assembled by hand or purchased preassembled; the open-source IDE can be downloaded for free.

The Arduino programming language is an implementation of Wiring, a similar physical computing platform, which is based on the Processing multimedia programming environment.[10]

Arduino Duemilanove

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2.3

software Resolume Avenue/Arena for Windows and Mac OS Resolume is a video mixing and manipulation software, that allows us to create and synthesize content in a sequence, when doing a mapping exercise. It includes ‘live mapping’ or the manipulation of content after it has been projected on to the receiving scene. It has a lot of useful features that include sending/ receiving Open sound Control and MIDI messages, integration with a webcam or any other playback program.

perspective and warping. It is widely used in large scale projection and music concerts for stage design.

Interface of Mad Mapper 1.2 Processing/Openframeworks/vvvv

Interface of Resolume 4.0 MadMapper for Mac OS This projection mapping software is one of the most simple tools one can use to map a 3D geometric surface. Input areas can be defined for each surface and the output shape can be manipulated to control the

These programming languages can be used to define the scene in the 3D space, or add an element of interactivity to the projection through integration with web content, kinect data, data from microcontrollers or sound.

Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions. It is structured in a way that makes it easier for people with little or no programming knowledge to create interactive prototypes and use it to interface with other programs. The libraries available for the language as well as the thriving web community and forum base, make troubleshooting easier.

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Video Projection Tool VPT is a free multipurpose realtime projection software tool for Mac and Windows created by HC Gilje.

Among other things it can be used for projecting video on complex forms, adapt a projection to a particular space/surface, combine recorded and live footage, for multiscreen HD playback, for interactive installations using arduino sensors or camera tracking.

VPT has become a popular tool for theatre and installation use, but is also used by VJs.

for each projector.

Adobe After effects/Flash These two softwares are part of the Adobe creative suite and are widely used for animation and motion graphics. Content creation for a projection mapping project was done using a combination of vector software Illustrator and After effects.

Adobe Audition ProjectionDesigner

The sound recording, mixing and editing for the project were done in audition.

Projection Designer is a setup tool for distortion correction and edge blending in multiple projection theater environments with various types of screen shapes. With this tool you can setup virtual projectors and a virtual screen in 3d environment to simulate the projection. You should run this tool in the actual environment to confirm the result of the simulation in real-time.

After the setup, this tool exports the setup result as a ‘Projection data set’ – Distortion map image, Blending map image and View matrix file. This data set is basic information for projection in your environment.

You can use a movie converter tool with this data set to split and distort movie files

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2.4

definitions & terms

Aspect ratio

Resolution

The aspect ratio of an image describes the proportional relationship between its width and its height. Two of the most common aspect ratios for videos are 4:3 (1.33:1) and 16:9 (1.77:1) which is the universal high definition standard.

The display resolution of a device can be loosely defined as the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It is usually quoted as width Ă— height, with the units in pixels. With a 4:3 aspect ratio, 1024by 768 px is the most common resolution for video and web displays. For the purpose of this project, the author has used the same resolution while creation of the content and for the display via the projector.

Throw ratio

Common aspect ratios

Throw ratio, refers to the ratio of the distance to the screen (throw) to the screen width. A larger throw ratio corresponds to a more tightly focused optical system.

A projector with 1.5:1 throw ratio needs to be 7.5 feet back from the source to create a

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Keystone : Keystone correction adjusts for the fact that if a projector is directed towards the screen at an angle, the projected image will be distorted; the edge furthest away from the projector will be wider than the edge closest to the projector. In other words, the image will appear in the shape of a trapezoid.

Optical keystone correction adjusts the image proportions by physically modifying the light-path through the lens system. The correction happens after the light has been reflected off (passed through) the image panel(s) in the projector, hence the full panel remains in use - there is no loss of resolution.

Digital keystone correction adjusts the image proportions by shrinking the image at the edge furthest away from the screen before it is generated by the projectors image panel(s). Hence, the image will lose resolution towards this edge. Digital keystone correction may also introduce artifacts, such as jagged edges.

Horizontal keystone works the same way as vertical keystone, but the projector is moved to the left or to the right of the image’s horizontal center.

without keystone correction

front view

with keystone correction

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2.5

projection mapping: techniques and methods When projecting onto an arbitrary 3D surface, no matter how the projector is positioned and oriented towards the surface the resulting image will mostly look distorted. However, A projection onto an arbitrary surface looks undistorted (ie. exactly as being projected) when seen from the point of view of the projector.

So in order to achieve an undistorted look on an arbitrary surface one has to provide the projector with an image that depicts a view onto that surface from its own (the projectors) position.

Hence, if we assume that a projector can also sense the spatial environment around it, much like a depth sensing camera, then it can project on the illuminated surface

without any distortions in the image.

However, such projectors are not available to us presently.

Therefore, we have to capture the current scene from exactly the same spot of the projection through a camera and manipulate it such that the projector precisely ‘maps’ the illuminated surface. We have 4 options for this: i) Capture an image from the real scene and translate it to the virtual, giving precise x and y cor-ordinates and defining the geometry of the surface in a programming language like vvvv. Each shape within the 3D structure can then be assigned a particular image for display.

Method/ Workflow 1

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ii) A simple image can also be created in a graphics program like illustrator or photoshop that is then sent to a projection software like Resolume, where the whole image is masked only onto the portion of the projected surface.

iii) A depth sensing camera like the Kinect captures the 3D geometry and sends the information to a program like vvvv or openframeworks, where this information is parsed and used to assign different images to differently placed surfaces in the xyz plane. This method can also be used to map moving objects in realtime, like mapping a human body.

Method/ Workflow 2

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iv) Capture an image with a simple camera, making sure that the field of view is exactly the same as that of the projector lens. Use this image to make customised content with the perspective of the surface in mind.

Method/ Workflow 4

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2.6

projection mapping: limitations

For a long time, spatial augmented reality techniques have struggled with the fact that the surface of projection and the projector have to be : a) Perfectly positioned and aligned and b) Stationary for the duration of the mapping exercise Every time the position of the surface or the projector is changed, each point of the illuminated surface has to be remapped and the masks/ xy co-ordinates refreshed so that the image lies perfectly within the contours of the 3D facet. These sort of constraints make the applications of the technology limited, especially in situations and environments where interactivity has to be at the forefront.

However, recent research in this field has introduced a few options where the surface of the illumination can be dynamic, or can be easily remapped if the alignment shifts due to manual errors.

Johny Lee Chung’s research on automated projector calibration methods: If image projection and location tracking technologies were simultaneously deployed and unified, many of the difficult calibration and alignment issues related to projectorbased augmented reality applications can be eliminated simplifying their implementation and execution. “ The fundamental concept of my thesis is to: 1) Embed optical sensors into the projection surface. 2) Project a series of Gray-coded binary patterns. 3) Decode the location of the sensors for use in a projected application. This approach can be used in multi-projector applications such as stitching (creating a large display using tiled projection) or layering (multiple versions of content on the same area for view dependent displays). Additionally, it can be used to automatically register the orientation of 3D surfaces for augmenting the appearance of physical objects.

This technique is also useful for performing automatic touch calibration of interactive whiteboards or touch-tables.�[11]

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Chung’s automated calibration method The Pro-Cam toolkit: Pro-CamToolkit is a collection software and code for openFrameworks aimed at making high level projector-camera calibration more accessible. Pro-CamToolkit is available under the MIT License and can be downloaded from YCAM InterLab Github.

“Most of Pro-CamToolkit is written in an extremely modular way, making it possible to borrow snippets of code, including some chunks that are written with the goal of being contributed to the openFrameworks core. Pro-CamToolkit also includes work in progress towards new installations being developed during Guest Research Project vol.1 at YCAM InterLab. This includes experiments with augmented shadows using multiple projectors, and projection mapping in the YCAM library.”[12]

This system involves measuring and modelling the scene which can take between 5-30 minutes depending on the complexity of the scene, followed by installing and calibrating the projector which takes about 5 minutes. The 3D scene is scanned using gray code structured light, which are basically bands of white and no light alternating horizontally and vertically in different widths. The scan data derived in this way is decoded into a 3D point cloud. This is possible because the camera and projector are calibrated and the position and orientation of each is known in advance.

Design and interaction studios like White Kanga in Poland and Grosse8 in Germany have also recently done research and experimentation of projection mapping dynamic objects.

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2.7

precedent studies 1) Nikola Tesla is Sound and light : This story, conceived by technology whiz and new media artist- marco tempest, is an extraordinary performance art piece that uses projection mapping techniques.

The paper book is turned into a canvas for projection by engineering intricate popups within each page. These pop-ups are backgrounds and elements for the story of renowned scientist Nikola Tesla, and his contributions to the field. Using multiple projectors and tracking techniques, digital animation and imagery is projected onto

pop-ups that unfold the story of Tesla in a magically immersive manner.

Marco Tempest’s engaging narration and the subtle background score add a new dimension to the whole experience.

Despite having watched this performance in the form of a video, and not as a live event, it manages to convey the story and information in a way that has not been previously explored before. Spatially augmenting the pages of a book through pop-up structures and motion graphics becomes a great storytelling tool.

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2) The Icebook : The icebook is a miniature theatre performance that was made as a scaled down model of a full-scale performance with actors, lights, projection and dynamic sets. However, it grew to become more than just a proposal. Inspired by 20th century Russian fairytales, the work of Jan Svankmajer, Flatworld and Georges Melies

and the genre of German expressionism, this story is told through animation and video projected on pop-up structures within a book. The aesthetic is minimal and monochrome, providing an illusion of perspective achieved by rear projection on paper that diffuses the light and forms shadows within the pop-ups.[13]

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3)Listen Reader : The listen readers were part of a museum exhibition that featured interactive experiences made to explore the relationship between technology and reading. The electronic book is almost never conceived as a real book, with real paper pages. Usually, electronically augmented books tend towards 3 models : a) Button based interactive children’s story books with embedded audio buttons.

b) Online or CD/DVD books and storybooks c) The PDA- style electronic reader, usually used for downloadable texts. [14] The listen reader provides rich soundscapes within the pages of a book, soundscapes that can be played around with and manipulated, such that a new experience is forged every time one ‘reads’ the book.

Pages are detected by RFID tags and proximity sensors embedded in the spine of the book control the sounds from the page, their volume, intensity and so on.

Top: The Listen Reader provides a classic immersive reading environment: a comfortable chair, a polished hardwood reading stand, and beautiful paper pages in a soft leather book binder.

Left: The RFID antenna is built onto the binding behind right-hand page. As the page is turned, its transponder moves out of the read range of the antenna; the software notices and switches priority to the next page beneath.

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4 ) The Architectons: The Architectons are two digitally augmented sculptures that represent iconic features and façade elements of prominent buildings designed by 3XN Architects. From February to May 2010, the Architectons were part of an exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center, entitled Mind Your Behaviour. The two Architectons had different content projected onto them, but both had interactive zones in which the content would switch between three different loops, depending on viewer distance.

The Architectons represented two buildings’ distinct façades, which were composed of triangular and parallelogram-shaped elements assembled in a 3D structure

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5 ) Hermes Display: An interactive projection done by SigmaSix design, Geneva involved a small microphone to detect when a user will come and blow a whiff of air on a concentrated area. When the user whiffs into the object, a virtual cloth is shown flying away to reveal a product from the Petit H collection by Hermes. Used in a controlled environment for a brand, the installation is simple and engaging. The transformation of the physical input into the virtual world is seamless and seems to be very well defined. Even though the project does not involve projection mapping in the strictest sense of the term, the interactivity element introduced to digital projections makes it project that has inspired me to try something of similar nature.

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6 ) Miniature architectural projection: Taking an architectural scale model as their canvas, Zurich-based art collective PROJEKTIL used five projectors to create a spatial augmented reality installation that is incredibly detailed and interactive. On the model can be shown various simulations : nightlife, sun, and shadow; and also information like use zones, green areas, transport etc.Not only is the mapped model projection controlled interactively by an iPad, but the whole space, which includes 44 dimmable dali lamps, 6 DMX lamps, 9 beamers, a touchscreen and the audio system is also available for control by the user.

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2.8

the information: on architecture

The planning and design of buildings and structures that affect a large number of people on a daily basis makes architecture one of the most difficult yet poetic forms of art. Since the beginning of time, empires have constructed structures that have left a mark on future generations. In the search for the most apt form for the story of architecture and its vast history, the author came across so many types, styles and varied forms of the art, that deciding what form the narrative should take, was an extremely challenging task.

Segregation and categorisation of the types of architecture and architectural styles, individual structures, the places and famous architects was something that had to be done at the onset. The approach that can be taken to categorize the data about architecture is a multi faceted one.

Buildings are as old as civilisation itself and we have created many systems to organise them according to their myriad geographical, spatial, stylistic and other properties.

STYLE It is a quality; the “historic styles� are phases of development. Style is character expressive of definite conceptions, as of grandeur, gaiety, or solemnity. An historic style is the particular phase, the

characteristic manner of design, which prevails at a given time and place. It is not the result of mere accident but of intellectual, moral, social, religious, and even political situations and conditions.

Gothic architecture could never have been invented by the Greeks, nor could the Egyptian styles have grown up in Italy. Each style has a fundamental basis springing from its surrounding civilization, which undergoes successive developments until it either reaches perfection or its possibilities are exhausted, after which a period of decline usually sets in. This is followed either by a reaction and the introduction of some radically new principle leading to the evolution of a new style, or by the final decay and extinction of the civilization and its replacement by some younger element.

Thus the history of architecture appears as a connected chain of causes and effects succeeding each other without break, each style growing out of that which preceded it.

Technically, architectural styles are identified by the means they employ to cover enclosed spaces, by the characteristic forms of the supports and by their decoration. The plan should receive special attention, since it shows the arrangement of the points of support, and hence the nature of the structural design.

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STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

All architecture is based on one or more of three fundamental structural principles; that of the lintel, of the arch or vault, and of the truss. The principle of the lintel is that of resistance to transverse strains.

The arch or vault makes use of several pieces to span an opening between two supports. These pieces are in compression and exert lateral pressures or thrusts which are transmitted to the supports or abutments. The thrust must be resisted either by the massiveness of the abutments or by the opposition to it of counter-thrusts from other arches or vaults. The truss is a framework so composed of several pieces of wood or metal that each shall best resist the particular strain, whether of tension or compression, to which it is subjected, the whole forming a compound beam or arch.

[15]

Geographically and chronologically, architecture appears to have originated in the Nile valley. A second centre of development is found in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, not uninfluenced by the older Egyptian art. Through various channels the Greeks inherited from both Egyptian and Assyrian art, the two influences being discernible even through the strongly original aspect of Greek architecture. The Romans in turn, adopting the external details of Greek architecture, transformed its substance by substituting the Etruscan arch for the Greek construction of columns and lintels. They developed a complete and original system of construction and decoration and spread it over the civilized world, which has never wholly outgrown or abandoned it.

Structural principles/elements of architecture

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2.9

architechture: historical timelines Prehistoric architectural structures that remain partially intact today were typically religious in nature, because religious architecture was made of more permanent materials (like brick and stone). Such structures vary dramatically in terms of style and appearance, but reveal much about the building technologies the cultural histories of people.

Classical architecture falls into two primary sub-categories: Greek and Roman architecture. The Greeks were perhaps most well known for the subtle and highly calculated visual effects or illusions produced by their incredibly crafted buildings. They would use devices like a subtle taper (narrowing) of a column to change the apparent size, depth or proportion of a structure. Rigid geometries defined their temples and ornaments applied to them. Roman architecture tended to focus less on religious structures

and more on public or civic ones. In terms of style, the Romans borrowed much from the Greeks but were considerably less interested in subtlety - preferring grandeur and opulence instead.

Medieval/Gothic architecture is perhaps most well known for the production of incredible churches. Religious architecture was again at the forefront of society, and in a culture where very few people could read the stories depicted through sculptures and engravings were critical for telling Biblical stories. Medieval churches emphasized heaven by accentuating the thinness of structural elements and using visual devices to focus one’s eye up. Medieval architects were also less exacting in their execution of buildings than classical architects, allowing individual craftsmen to create specific sculptures within the overall system that didn’t match symmetrically with others.

Salisbury Cathedral : High towers and spires

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Renaissance architecture shifted the focus from religiosity to reason, and, in turn, returned to certain Classical ideals of rigorous geometry and proportion. As such, the prevailing Renaissance style could be described as highly restrictive, formal, symmetrical and ordered, as opposed to the more decorative, creative and sublime work of the Medieval period.

Baroque architecture can be best understood as both an extension and rejection of Renaissance architecture.

Flourishing in the 1600’s, it largely draws on the stylistic motifs and organization of the Renaissance. Baroque architecture deformed perfect geometries emphasizing, for example, the ellipse instead of the circle. In a way, it was an attempt to test the limits or question the authority of the rigid Renaissance - a time of creative deformations that pushed the boundaries of convention.

industrial revolution, using new materials in strangely dynamic and often organic ways.

Due largely to its relative expense and incoherence as a movement it did not last long.

The Modern Movement began in the early 1900’s and evolved with the development of new building and transportation technologies, most particularly steel and the automobile (respectively). The modern movement celebrated these new technologies, emphasizing the simplicity, efficiency and speed of them.

Some regional Modernists also tried to blend ideals of the Arts and Crafts with their designs. Some of the most famous, influential and studied Modern architects of the first generation were: Mies van der Rohe, LeCorbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Neo-Classical and Greek Revival architecture became popular as more people turned back to the ancient world for architectural, civic and political inspiration.

The increasing availability of printed texts showing heretofore little-seen actual works of Greek and Roman architecture played a role in the development and refinement of these movements.

Art Deco It was a short-lived but highly creative and expressive collection of styles from around Europe that sought to make sense of the The art deco inspired Chrysler building spire

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The Postmodern Movement started in the 1960’s as a rejection of the overly functional and undecorated buildings of the Modern Movement. Post-Modernists advocated the reintroduction of creativity, complexity and ornament to buildings in various ways. This movement, however, has been largely criticized in recent years for never being able to resolve its philosophies into aesthetically pleasing buildings. Its most notable proponent, Robert Venturi, is widely respected as a scholar, for example, but largely ignored as an architectural designer. The excesses of the Post-Modern Movement reached a climax in the 1980’s, after which time it largely died out as a popular approach to design.

The Deconstructivist movement is a contentious issue and difficult to speak with authority about, given that many believe it describes our currently predominant style of architecture.People who consider this a style or movement would characterize it in terms of it being a fragmentation or rearrangement of Modernist forms. Like Modernism and unlike Post-Modernism, the style tends not to include overt symbols with specific meanings. However, it is also anything but sleek or straightforward in its appearance - often being a rearrangement or ‘deconstruction’ of a pure form. This is said to be in response to deconstructivist philosophies like those of Jacques Derrida, which maintain that everything is subjective and things can have multiple meanings to different people.

The Bilbao Guggenheim museum designed

by Frank Gehry is one of the most respected and famous buildings of contemporary deconstructivist movement.

The Post-modern Sony Building (formerly AT&T building) in New York City, 1984, by Philip Johnson

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2.10

iconic architecture: a study

The growth of an architectural structure as a symbol over time, to represent an area, an era or a country was of immense interest to me. The intention to create impressive and symbolic structures has been around for thousands of years: the seven ancient wonders of the world are all example to this. What makes a building iconic?

According to Charles Jencks, the author of Iconic Building, the white forms of the Sydney Opera House can be read as sails,

waves, seashells, or copulating turtles.

None of which has anything to do with music, but in some vague way seems just right for Sydney’s harbour. Jencks defines iconic buildings as delicate balancing acts between what he calls explicit signs and implicit symbols, that is, between an unusual, memorable form and the images it conjures up. He emphasizes that in an increasingly heterogeneous world, multiple and sometimes even enigmatic meanings are precisely what turn a building into a popular icon.

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1) Taj mahal: The Taj Mahal is the Mughals’ great contribution to world architecture, and, as the contemporary sources reveal, it was conceived as such from the very beginning.

In the words of Shah Jahan’s early historian Muhammad Amin Qazwini, writing in the 1630s: “And a dome of high foundation and a building of great magnificence was founded—a similar and equal to it the eye of the Age has not seen under these nine vaults of the enamel-blue sky, and of anything resembling it the ear of Time has not heard in any of the past ages…it will be the masterpiece of the days to come, and that which adds to the astonishment of humanity at large. “

Not only was the monument to be a magnificent burial place for Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s beloved wife (d. 1631), but also—and this is explicitly pointed out by the emperor’s main historian {Abd al-Hamid Lahawri—it was to testify to the power and glory of Shah Jahan and Mughal rule.

Located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma’mur Khan,

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Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. This large, white marble structure stands on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Persian in origin.

The base structure is essentially a large, multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners, forming an unequal octagon that is approximately 55 metres (180 ft) on each of the four long sides. On each of these sides, a huge pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the iwan with two similarly shaped, arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level.

The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century.

This feature provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements. The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point heavenward. Because of its placement

on the main spire, the horns of the moon and the finial point combine to create a trident shape, reminiscent of traditional Hindu symbol of Shiva.

The minarets, which are each more than 40 metres (130 ft) tall, display the designer’s penchant for symmetry. Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower.

The minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that, in the event of collapse, (a typical occurrence with many tall constructions of the period) the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.

The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes

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the decorations are refined proportionally.

The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stucco, stone inlays, or carvings. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs. Throughout the complex, passages from the Qur’an are used as decorative elements.

level and, as with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall. The four central upper arches form balconies or viewing areas, and each balcony’s exterior window has an intricate screen or jali cut from marble.

Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph is placed at the precise center of the inner chamber on a rectangular marble base of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) by 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in).

Both the base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious gems.

Calligraphic inscriptions on the casket identify and praise Mumtaz. On the lid of the casket is a raised rectangular lozenge meant to suggest a writing tablet.

The principles of Shahjahani architecture, which interact closely with one another, can be identified as follows:

Interior decoration detail The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements.

Here, the inlay work is not pietra dura, but a lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones. The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, although only the door facing the garden to the south is used.

The interior walls are about 25 metres (82 ft) high and are topped by a “false” interior dome decorated with a sun motif. Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground

1. Geometrical planning.

2. Symmetry. Favored in particular is bilateral symmetry, for which we even have a term in contemporary descriptions of buildings, namely, qarona,31 an Arabic word that expresses the notion of pairing and counterparts but also of integration, thus fitting conceptually into the ideas of universal harmony that played a great role in the imperial ideology of Shah Jahan.

In a typical Shahjahani qarona scheme, two symmetrical features, one mirroring the other, are arranged on both sides of a central, dominant feature.

3. Hierarchy. This is the overriding principle, which governs all the others.

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4. Proportional formulas expressed in triadic divisions.

5. Uniformity of shapes, ordered by hierarchical accents.

6. Sensuous attention to detail.

7. Selective use of naturalism.

8. Symbolism. [16] The complex is set around a large 300-metre (980 ft) square charbagh or Mughal garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway with a reflecting pool on a north-south axis, reflects the image of the mausoleum.

The raised marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar, in reference to the “Tank of Abundance” promised to Muhammad.

Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains.

The charbagh garden, a design inspired

by Persian gardens, was introduced to

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1

India by the first Mughal emperor, Babur.

It symbolises the four flowing rivers of Jannah (Paradise) and reflects the Paradise garden derived from the Persian paridaeza, meaning ‘walled garden’. In mystic Islamic texts of Mughal period, Paradise is described as an ideal garden of abundance with four rivers flowing from a central spring or mountain, separating the garden into north, west, south and east.

Most Mughal charbaghs are rectangular with a tomb or pavilion in the center. The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden. With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or “Moonlight Garden” on the other side of the Yamuna, the interpretation of the Archaeological Survey of India is that the Yamuna river itself was incorporated into the garden’s design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.

The similarity in layout of the garden and its architectural features with the Shalimar Gardens suggest that they may have been designed by the same architect, Ali Mardan.

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3

4

The Taj Mahal Plan 1. The riverfront terrace, containing the Mausoleum, Mosque and Jawab 2. The Charbagh garden containing pavilions. 3. The jilaukhana containing accommodation for the attendants and two subsidiary tombs 4. The Taj Ganj 5. The ‘moonlight garden’. The great gate lies between the Jilaukhana and the garden.

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Early accounts of the garden describe its profusion of vegetation, including abundant roses, daffodils, and fruit trees. As the Mughal Empire declined, the tending of the garden also declined, and when the British took over the management of Taj Mahal during the time of the British Empire, they changed the landscaping to resemble that of lawns of London.

An area of roughly three acres was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage, and leveled at 50 metres (160 ft) above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble to form the footings of the tomb.

The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and

were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway.

By imperial command the upkeep of the tomb was financed by the income generated from the bazaars and caravanserais, in addition to that of thirty villages from the district of Agra. In the Taj Mahal, every aspect of the architecture supports the concept of the paradisiacal mansion.

It is expressed in the overall planning of the entire complex. The waterfront garden, a typical residential garden form of Agra, was realized in ideal forms and brought to its ultimate monumentalized design; thus it was raised to a level above the sphere of mortals.

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2) The Tower Bridge: Tower Bridge, built between 1886–1894 is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London.

The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating

machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge’s present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee. Originally it was painted a mid greenish-blue colour.

Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge which is the next bridge upstream.

In the second half of the 19th century, increased commercial development in the East End of London led to a requirement for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A traditional fixed bridge could not be built because it would cut off access by tall-masted ships to the port facilities in the Pool of London, between London Bridge and the Tower of London.

The Tower bridge lit at night

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A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1876, chaired by Sir Albert Joseph Altman, to find a solution to the river crossing problem. It opened the design of the crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs were submitted, including one from civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. The evaluation of the designs was surrounded by controversy, and it was not until 1884 that a design submitted by Sir Horace Jones, the City Architect (who was also one of the judges),was approved.

Jones’ engineer, Sir John Wolfe Barry, devised the idea of a bascule bridge with two towers built on piers. The central span was split into two equal bascules or leaves, which could be raised to allow river traffic to pass. The two side-spans were suspension bridges.

tons of concrete, were sunk into the riverbed to support the construction. Over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the towers and walkways. This was then clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone, both to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance.

Jones died in 1887 and George D. Stevenson took over the project. Stevenson replaced Jones’s original brick façade with the more ornate Victorian Gothic style, which makes the bridge a distinctive landmark, and was intended to harmonise the bridge with the nearby Tower of London Tower Bridge is one of five London bridges now owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation.

Two massive piers, containing over 70,000

The Tower Bridge under construction

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Technical drawing : The bridge and its dimensions The bridge is 800 feet (244 m) in length with two towers each 213 feet (61 m) high, built on piers. The central span of 200 feet (61 m) between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 86 degrees to allow river traffic to pass. The bascules, weighing over 1,000 tons each, are counterbalanced to minimise the force required and allow raising in five minutes.

The two side-spans are suspension bridges, each 270 feet (82 m) long, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments and through rods contained within the bridge’s upper walkways. The pedestrian walkways are 143 feet (44 m) above the river at high tide.

The original raising mechanism was powered by pressurised water stored in several hydraulic accumulators. Water, at a pressure of 750 psi, was pumped into the accumulators by two 360 hp stationary steam engines, each driving a force pump from its piston tail rod. The accumulators each comprise a 20-inch ram on which sits

a very heavy weight to maintain the desired pressure.

In 1974, the original operating mechanism was largely replaced by a new electrohydraulic drive system. Some of the original hydraulic machinery has been retained, although it is no longer in use. It is open to the public and forms the basis for the bridge’s museum, which resides in the old engine rooms on the south side of the bridge.

Tower Bridge is still a busy and vital crossing of the Thames: it is crossed by over 40,000 people (motorists, cyclists and pedestrians) every day. The bridge is on the London Inner Ring Road, and is on the eastern boundary of the London congestion charge zone.

The bascules are raised around 1000 times a year. River traffic is now much reduced, but it still takes priority over road traffic.

Today, 24 hours’ notice is required before opening the bridge. There is no charge for vessels.[17]

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The walkways were closed in 1910 due to lack of use by most pedestrians - they had become home to prostitutes. They stayed closed to the public for over 70 years, although they did house some anti-aircraft guns during World War I, and have since been refurbished and re-opened as part of the visitor attractions for the bridge.

The bridge featured in publicity for the 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London.

In June 2012 a set of Olympic rings was suspended from the bridge to mark one month to go until the start of the games.

With its bascules, the suspension chains and the steam engine, Tower Bridge was a triumph of engineering. Its nickname was “the Wonder Bridge.�

The 2012 summer olympics: Rings suspended from the walkway

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3) Eiffel Tower: In 1889, Paris hosted an Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) to mark the 100year anniversary of the French Revolution.

More than 100 artists submitted competing plans for a monument to be built on the Champ-de-Mars, located in central Paris, and serve as the exposition’s entrance.

The commission was granted to Eiffel et Compagnie, a consulting and construction firm owned by the acclaimed bridge builder, architect and metals expert AlexandreGustave Eiffel. While Eiffel himself often receives full credit for the monument that bears his name, it was one of his employees—a structural engineer named Maurice Koechlin—who came up with

The Eiffel Tower

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and fine-tuned the concept. Several years earlier, the pair had collaborated on the Statue of Liberty’s metal armature.

The tower has three levels for visitors.

Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift (elevator), to the first and second levels. The walk from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by lift - stairs exist but they are not usually open for public use. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants.

The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffel’s was unanimously chosen. However it

was not accepted by all at first, and a petition of 300 names - including those of Maupassant, Emile Zola, Charles Garnier (architect of the Opéra Garnier), and Dumas the Younger - protested its construction.

“We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects and passionate devotees of the hitherto untouched beauty of Paris, protest with all our strength, with all our indignation in the name of slighted French taste, against the erection…of this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower … To bring our arguments home, imagine for a moment a giddy, ridiculous tower dominating Paris like a gigantic black smokestack, crushing under its barbaric bulk Notre Dame, the Tour Saint-Jacques, theLouvre, the Dome of les Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, all of our humiliated monuments will disappear in this ghastly dream. And for twenty years

Construction timeline of the Eiffel Tower

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Initial sketches of the eiffel tower … we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted sheet metal” After some debate about the exact site for the tower, a contract was finally signed on 8 January 1887. This was signed by Eiffel acting in his own capacity rather than as the representative of his company, and granted him one and a half million francs toward the construction costs: less than a quarter of the estimated cost of six and a half million francs.

tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. However, because of the addition, in 1957, of the antenna atop the Eiffel Tower, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building.

Not including broadcast antennas, it is thesecond-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct.

Eiffel was to receive all income from the commercial exploitation of the tower during the exhibition and for the following twenty years. Eiffel later established a separate company to manage the tower, putting up half the necessary capital himself.

The tower stands 320 metres (1,050 ft)

The minimal tight lattice work of the tower, made completely with 3 types of iron parts riveted together, makes the structure lighter than the air around it. As a demonstration of the tower’s effectiveness in wind resistance, it sways only 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in the wind. For a structure of it’s size, 7000

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tonnes in cumulative weight makes it an engineering feat that is noteworthy.

The tower was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna used both for military and other purposes, and the city let it stand after the permit expired. When the tower played an important role in capturing the infamous spy Mata Hari during World War I, it gained such importance to the French people that there was no more thought of demolishing it.- used for telegraphy at that time.

From 1910 and on the Eiffel Tower became part of the International Time Service. French radio (since 1918), and French television (since 1957) have also made use of its stature. Of the 7.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity used annually, 580 thousand are used exclusively to illuminate the tower. More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006.The tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world.[18]

Gustav Eiffel

View of the tower

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4) Colosseum: The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in theRoman Empire, built of concrete and stone. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus.

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era.

It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a shrine.

Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stonerobbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome’s most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church.

The Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society.

Special boxes were provided at the north end for the Emperor providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or podium for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

The Colosseum

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5) Colosseum:

6) Opera house:

Empire state building: The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. . It has a roof height of 1,250 feet (381 meters), and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft (443.2 m) high.

Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world’s tallest building for 40 years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center’s North Tower was completed in 1972.

The Sydney opera house is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, opening in 1973 after a long gestation that had begun with his competition-winning design in 1957.The competition itself received 233 entries from 32 countries.

The Empire State Building is generally thought of as an American cultural icon.

It is designed in the distinctive Art Deco style and has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers

The Empire State Building

The Sydney Opera House was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007. It is one of the 20th century’s most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world.

Contrary to its name, the building houses multiple performance venues. The Sydney Opera House is among the busiest performing arts centres in the world, hosting over 1,500 performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people.

Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honour, in 2003.

The Sydney Opera House

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Pyramids: The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt. There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008.

The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built. The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence.

The most prolific pyramid-building phase coincided with the greatest degree of absolutist pharaonic rule. It was during this time that the most famous pyramids, those near Giza, were built. Over time, as authority became less centralized,

the ability and willingness to harness the resources required for construction on a massive scale decreased, and later pyramids were smaller, less well-built and often hastily constructed.

The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape of a pyramid is thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance.

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.

[19]

The Pyramids of Giza

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2.11

architecture:

representation and new media Architecture practice has changed over the last few decades more than perhaps in any other period of time, not only in the way we work and design but also in the way we see it, understand it and relate to it. These changes have multiple causes, some of them can be traced before the digital revolution but it is the ever growing computing power cumulated with the expansion of the telecommunication networks that brought most transformations in architecture. There has been a surge of interest and research in the capabilities and experience of interactive architecture.

Architectural representations (technical drawings, models, renders) are a very important form to materializing ideas, concepts and control over the design and we can say to some extend they are architecture. When these representations started to be digitized they became part of new media and the language of the computer started to impose over them.

The well-known relation of function- formstructure has been extended with a new one, information-representation-interaction.

New media in essence, uses and takes the support of older media to add flexibility

and variability in the way the message is transmitted and delivered. This intervention of the digital in the artistic realm has led to a plethora of possibilities, as computers aid us in constructing multiple layers of information and provide us with means to access as well as modify them with ease.

[20] With the advent of various forms of new media and tools, the physical form of architecture has also undergone a sea change. Architecture in digital space is a form of new media, be it a parametric design, a virtual environment for videogame or digitally enhanced movie or an air-brushed rendering of a concept building.

Physical spaces and artefacts are in a state of flux, being augmented and used as media facades for an ever changing stream of data and information. Much like the WEB 2.0 logic where the content is user generated, the city now provides buildings with interactive facades. Projection mapping technologies have aided in the formation of custom content which is very different from the large scale urban screens that emulate TV’s inside homes. The facade itself dictates the formation of content that is mostly more abstract in nature but utilises the properties of the facade to create something that has more artistic value than traditional commercials.

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The presence of dynamic images in the urban space gives a major advantage in drawing attention; we are a society fascinated by the visual and the new media has become a constant in our lives (be it on the computer monitor, a smartphone, at the TV or in a bus station, on or in buildings), digital images have become ubiquitous. In the case of cinema and television the public is required the focus their attention almost exclusively for a determined time while given the option of choosing the program to watch. Not the same can be said for the media facades, especially the permanent ones. Temporary media facades have a precise purpose (a sports event, a festival, an exhibit etc.) and usually have wellstructured media content, much like the TV programs or cinemas.

The content issue must be stressed when approaching a permanent media faรงade because their presence in the urban public space makes them a part of the social sphere, people coming in contact with them on a constant basis. For this kind of media facades is not suited a conventional advertising program, alternative means must be developed. The media facades come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, evolving from the premise of fusing an urban screen with architecture.

aiming to give a more and more information about the structure in the best possible way. Mapping and augmenting a 3D model of an architectural piece adds value to it in ways that were not possible before. 3D renders and walkthroughs are restricted to the flatness and two dimensionality of a screen. Small scale prototypes are accurate representations of the actual physical structure but cannot display and offer a layer of information that can be dynamic or change over time. Overlaying media content over architectural models gives us the opportunity to merge the best of two worlds. : the 3-dimensionality of a physical model, and the interactivity or dynamism of digital content. Providing emphasis by isolating sections of the model and increasing interest levels through the use of interactive content that has varied linkages is something that adds so much worth to the model.

Projection mapping and new digital technology can thus be extremely helpful in scenarios where architecture needs to be represented and explained for the purpose of education or exhibitions.

Drawings, photos, small scale models, 3D renders and interactive walkthroughs have been used extensively to depict and explain the nature and function about specific buildings. These tools have evolved to become more detailed and extensive,

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2.12

pop-up books History: Paper as a material is extremely versatile and can be moulded and transformed in ways that allow it to represent almost any 2D or 3D object, structure or abstract concepts. Because books are by design two-dimensional, it might seem impossible for a page to add motion or depth other than through illustrations with perspective and illusion. And yet, for more than 700 years, artists, philosophers, scientists, and book designers have tried to challenge the book’s bibliographic boundaries. They have added flaps, revolving parts, and other movable pieces to enhance the text.

mechanical means (the turning of circles) in the shortest time” Volvelles were utilized from Llull’s time through to the eighteenth century for manuscripts and in printed books. They illustrated a variety of topics, including natural science, astronomy, mathematics, mysticism, fortune telling, navigation, and medicine.

It is not known who invented the first mechanical device in a book, but one of the earliest examples was produced in the 13th century by Catalan mystic and poet Ramon Llull of Majorca who used a revolving disc or volvelle, which he used to illustrate his complex philosophical search for truth.

Through his logic, he divided categories of things and ideas, substances, adjectives and verbs, and knowledge and actions, into superior and inferior groups. Each group was made up of units designated by letters, which were then assigned appropriate sectors on circles of different sizes. The circles were cut out and placed one on top of one another as “a method of obtaining a higher knowledge of all things by simple

A 16th century volvelle from Astronomicum Caesareum by Petrus Apianus Other types of movables, in particular “turn-up” or “lift-the-flap” mechanisms were in use as early as the fourteenth century. They were especially helpful in books on anatomy, where separate leaves,

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each featuring a different section of the body, could be hinged together at the top and attached to a page. This technique enabled the viewer to unfold, for instance, multiple depths of a torso, from ribcage to abdomen to spine. One spectacular example of an anatomical movable is Andreas Vesalius’ De humani corporis fabrica librorumepitome, printed in Basel in 1543. It features a movable illustration in which the human anatomy is shown in seven detailed superimposed layers.[21] The first true movable books published in any large quantity were those produced by Dean & Son, a publishing firm founded in London before 1800.

By the 1860s the company claimed to be the “originator of childrens’ movable books

in which characters can be made to move and act in accordance with the incidents described in each story.” Today, Intervisual Communications, or ICI, produces a large number of the pop-up books on the market.

Although a pop-up book’s design and construction is a group effort, several names, such as Robert Sabuda, Nick Bantock, Jan Pienkowski, and David Pelham, are well-known for their artistry and innovative techniques in the pop-up book world. There are now many fine paper engineers exploring new ideas and ways of making intriguing books. One of the most ingenious of this new breed is Robert Sabuda who stunned the pop-up world with his minimalist graphics and elaborate mechanisms (The Christmas Alphabet 1996 :in the picture below)

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The sheer elegance of his plain white popups and die-cutting demonstrated how sophisticated pop-ups can look. There was a dip in interest when the digital media took off but recently sales have revived as people realise the value of a tactile object to appreciate, share and interact with.[22] Pop-ups have also become hugely popular as individual forms of art, devoid of the form of a book. The usage of a single leaf of paper as a sculpture to display and create stories and structures has grown over the years. Using the principles of making popups, artists have lent particular interest in creating 3D replicas and representations of architectural icons. The intricacies and aesthetics of the construction can be aptly depicted in the precisely cut and folded portions of the paper.

Making pop-ups: Underlying virtually all pop-up designs are two basic mechanism principles : V-folds and Parallel folds. Even the most complex designs can be created using a mix of these two basic mechanisms. Some basic rules

govern the creation of this folds: 1) Every pop-up must span a gully. A gully is a fold line that closes or flattens out as the base is opened or closed. The first gully is the spine fold down the middle of the base card paper piece. It is this gully opening, as the page is turned, that powers (or raises up) the pop-up.

2) Pop-ups must be balanced on each side of the gully. The sum of the angles and lengths of component part must be equal to keep the structure stable.

3) Every pop-up creates gullies and more pop-ups can be built into these gullies.

Each fold line of a pop-up can be treated as a base for another pop-up, resulting in a possibility of complex structures.

Pop-up structures are roughly classified into two types: 90-degree and 180-degree structures. The 90-degree card is constructed by adding cuts and folds to a single piece of paper so that a structure pops up when the card is opened 90 degrees. Such designs are sometimes referred to as origami architectures.

1

2 1. The main gully that lifts the pop- up. 2. The gullies formed by the folding of the pop-up

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The 180-degree structure is constructed from multiple pieces of paper, and a structure pops up when the card is opened 180 degrees. Several geometric constraints must be satisfied when a pop-up card is designed so that the three-dimensional structure pops up and can be folded flat without tearing or crushing.

Less commonly, some designs require opening the paper and folding it completely in the opposite direction, making a 360-degree angle.

Knowledge of the constraints and mechanisms is required, and designing a pop-up card is difficult for the average person. The pop-up mechanisms of the 180-degree card are usually more difficult to understand intuitively, as compared with the 90-degree card, because the 180-degree card is assembled from multiple

pieces. Some 180-degree cards designed by artists have very complicated structures.

A practical approach to the design of a 180-degree card is to combine several prepared primitives, which are guaranteed to flatten when arranged appropriately.

However, problems such as collisions between parts or the protrusion of part of the structure often occur after the cards are assembled.

For the purpose of the project, I experimented with both these styles and found that 90 degree pop-ups can be controlled in a way that the structure comes back to the same XYZ position even after multiple times of opening and closing the lid. This is something that is extremely important for the purpose of projection mapping, as I wasn’t going to use any 3D scanning techniques.

Example of a 180-degree pop-up structure

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2.13

origamic architecture Origamic architecture involves the threedimensional reproduction of architecture, geometric patterns, everyday objects, or other images, on various scales, using cut-out and folded paper, usually thin paperboard. Visually, these creations are comparable to intricate ‘pop-ups’, indeed, some works are deliberately engineered to possess ‘pop-up’-like properties. To create the three-dimensional image out of the two-dimensional surface requires skill akin to that of an architect.

Typically in these pop-ups, there are two outer regions, called backdrop and ground, that meet at a central fold. When the user folds the central fold by moving the backdrop and ground, the rest of the regions “pop-up” as a result of folding along the fold lines.

The distinction between pop-up cards and paper (Origamic) architecture cards is that in pop-up cards a model is - usually - folded out of more sequences of paper. With Paper (Origamic) Architecture however, an object is cut out of a single piece of paper. It is done by a combination of detailed cutting and folding.

The development of origamic architecture began with Professor Masahiro Chatani’s (then a newly-appointed professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology) experiments with designing original and unique greeting cards.

In the early 1980s, Professor Chatani began to experiment with cutting and folding paper to make unique and interesting popup cards. He used techniques of origami (Japanese paper folding) and kirigami (Japanese paper cutting), as well as his experience in architectural design, to create intricate patterns which played with light and shadow. Many of his creations are made of stark white paper which emphasizes the shadowing effects of the cuts and folds. In the preface to one of his books, he called the shadows of the three-dimensional cutouts created a “dreamy scene” that invited the viewer into a “fantasy world.”

Over the next nearly thirty years, however, he published over fifty books on origamic architecture, many directed at children. He came to believe that origamic architecture could be a good way to teach architectural design and appreciation of architecture, as well as to inspire interest in mathematics, art, and design in young children.

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Examples of origami architecture

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Some notable practitioners: Peter Dahmen : Peter is a graphic designer from Germany with a flare for all things paper craft. Specializing in pop-up sculptures his work tends to be designed as single, unique pieces utilising great attention to detail to create a masterpiece.

What is particularly interesting about his works are the realism and detail of each construction and how visually mesmerizing each hand made object is as it opens and moves. According to him, there is a lot of trial and error as well as meticulous measuring involved in creating compelling structures.

Peter Dahmen

Ingrid Siliakus

Ingrid Siliakus : The Dutch artist has been fascinated with paper architecture, ever since she first set eyes on the work of Japanese professor, Masahiro Chatani, who invented this art form, in the early 1980s.

She studied his artworks for years, before starting to create paper buildings, herself.

Over the years, her skilled improved, and she began making origami replicas of some of the most famous structures in the world, like the Colosseum of Rome, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, or the Palace Del Marques De Salamanca.

Her specialties are buildings of master architects and intricate abstract sculptures.

Her source of inspiration by these abstract sculptures is works of artist like M.C. Escher.

Her work has been exhibit and is being sold in The Netherlands and beyond.

Evolution : A lot of research has been done in the field of computational geometry for origami. Drawing on these studies, some research is also focussed on the creation of origami architectural forms through the usage of 3D computer models. Different principles apply to the 90 degree and 180 degree pop-ups as the former is usually made out of a single piece of paper, and the latter employs multiple pieces of paper and mechanisms with threads that pull the structure together on opening a page.

Automatic paper architectures from 3D models

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Top : Work done by Peter Dahmen Bottom : Ingrid Siliakus’ work

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03.

IDEATION and CONCEPTS Brainstorming Initial Concepts Museum Installations Books: Narrative & digital augmentation Interaction guidance Final Concept

3.1

brainstorming During the course of the project, there were a lot of times when I jumped back and forth between deciding that within the larger topic of Architecture, what is the narrative and story that I would like to tell the user?

Architecture is as old as civilization itself and every place, whether a city or country or even an empire has its own set of buildings and structures through which they have expressed themselves. The nature of construction being the way it is: timeless and durable, architecture has helped us today to find out more about the identity, motivations and daily lives of the people that existed years and years ago.

Man changes and modifies his immediate environment to the way he deems fit at the time, and is in turn affected by the creation and interactions that the new space provides him. Architecture turns non-places into spaces : whether by providing a space to pray, read, eat or live as a community.

In this way, the built form becomes an extremely important part of the identity of a place or era. Much like the music, dance, art and language of a particular set of people, the spaces they create for themselves to live and interact in, can give us an indication of their distinctiveness and personality.

Initial brainstorming

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Word clouds Over the years, the cities and the spaces we inhabit have become increasingly commercial and advertising-ridden in nature. The visuals of massive neon signs and billboards feeds into the larger consumerist urban movement. It seems to hide the true form of the city, almost mask-like in its obscuring of the built form.

Advertising thus turns individual unique places in non-places, by indulging in a mass homogenisation of urban areas.

There has been a growing backlash against this trend and a lot of cities are taking steps to eliminate this visual noise from their immediate surroundings. Cities want to project themselves as places that cannot be replicated anywhere across the globe, and to do that they take the support of their unique history and architecture. This

marketing and projection of the image of a place is done majorly to drive tourism, to promise the traveller an experience that is unique in nature.The built form of a city, the famous architecture that it inhabits a place still has an aura around it. It is the reason why millions of tourists travel to places across the world to see an icon like the Taj Mahal or the Big Ben first hand.

Considering these arguments, one can easily infer that in today’s day and age, it has become supremely important for us to make our urban areas reflective of the icons of architecture that the city owns. These built forms are the best identity of a place, in more ways than one. They cease to be just a bridge, a mosque or a temple. They become symbols representing a history and culture that is different from others.

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3.2

initial concepts Concept 1: To show the architectural form through a 3D paper or mdf miniature model. The exhibit will be inside a box, such that the surface of the model as well as the surface behind it can be used to display projected imagery. The content will be such that it tells the visitor a story of the structure with crisp audio visual content.

The narrative will be linear and will be triggered when a visitor comes and stops in front of the display for a moment. This can be achieved through a Proximity Infra red sensor that will send the signal to a microcontroller as soon as the visitor comes within its range.

The model will be about 12-15 inches in height and will be top lit by a set of high power led lights. When a visitor is a specified distance away, he can still admire at the structure as it is. When drawn closer for inspection, and on his interest being piqued enough, the story of the structure will unfold. The lights will make sure that the static sculpture is inviting enough, and when the user is close to the exhibit, the lights will turn off to provide a darker environment for the projected imagery.

Meant to be for a single user to interact with, more users can surround the structure and immerse themselves in the show.

The interactions are passive and minimal, putting the focus on the content.

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Concept 2: To build upon and work on the previous concept, I toyed around with the idea of making the display and information more interactive. Instead of focussing only on a singular unit that has one building inside, many such models of iconic architecture could be made.

Each such model of say, the Eiffel tower and more celebrated structures around the world, could be put on a base of a wooden block. This block will have a fiducial marker, a QR code or an RFID marker embedded on its lower surface.

The blocks and structures are placed in an arrangement that could be chronological, that is time based, or based on their size/

verticality. Where the blocks lie is the passive area. The user is invited to pick up the block in any order that they feel like and place them on a table that is the active area.

The table is embedded with an RFID reader or a webcam underneath its surface. When the user places the structure on the table, the tag of that block is read and recognised by the program and information is displayed on the table about the structure.

The building itself is suddenly brought to life with the use of projected imagery. The exact position of the structure and the rotation angle are detected by the change in the marker’s position. This sort of a setup encourages play and exploration of a particular topic.

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Concept 3:

handheld device like a phone or tablet, that has custom software preloaded in it.

When talking about the architecture of a specific city or area, the use of augmented maps can be extremely interesting. A small scale 3D model of the area with its famous landmarks can be made. This would provide the user with a first layer of information: the relative sizes of the structures, their position and placement on the larger city map and their basic visual form.

When a user come closer to ‘read’ the map, it would get augmented with projected imagery that details out the structures and their history. The user can manipulate the sort of information he wants to receive.

This can be achieved through a physical interface connected to the model or a

For example, the user can toggle between information about the history of the structure, or it’s current status as a protected monument, or it’s construction and materials. In this manner, the buildings of a small area can be linked and compared with ease to give the user a macro view of the architecture of the region.

The physical interface will control the sort of images that will be projected onto the model. These images and video will add that additional part of information to the installation.

Augmented 3D map

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Concept 4: A linear timeline is depicted as a set of models placed against a wall.

Different architectural movements and eras are depicted through the iconic structures made during that time. These reprsentations of the structures are minimalistic and simplified and spatially correspond to the years mentioned in the timeline. This wall serves as a projection surface.

A tangible interface in the form of linear or rotary potentiometers is available to the user to navigate the timeline. The information is provided with mapped

projected visuals. According to the sub categorisation of the data, when the user moves the physical interface element, the images change. The user has an option to isolate individual buildings to know the details of a structure, or compare and contrast the time periods or spatial locations of these structures amongst each other.

The timeline as a data visualisation method is employed because of it’s familiarity and linear structure. Exploration and discovery within the aspects of this timeline are encouraged. Each structure is mapped and overlayed with imagery that highlights more information and stories about it.

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3.3

museum installations: exhibits and interactivity The proposed audience for the project would be children and young adults in urban areas who are interested in the arts and like to visit places of history and culture. The nature of digital environments is to allow for exploration of new possibilities and creativity. “(There is) a clear division into visitors that interact with computational media and those that focus on historic objects.

Although they often seemed to be curious, it was in particular elderly visitors who more or less circumvented anything that looked like a computer and almost exclusively focused on the traditional exhibits. Children and young people, on the other hand, tended to spend most of their visit time in the digital room and in the TV Newsroom studio, and only rarely took notice of any object exhibits.

One of the proponents of ‘Experience Design’, Nathan Shedroff (2000) argued that the most engaging interactive experiences allow for productivity, creativity and/or communication, as these (a) are basic human motivations, and (b) inherently entail interaction by requiring open ended activity of users. This leads us to propose creative, communicative and personal interactions as a valuable avenue for installations in public spaces.

One pathway to create new types of visually enhanced exhibits is the use of Augmented Reality (AR).

In terms of the educational aims of the exhibition this is a sad observation, as visitors tend to focus on the kinds of media that they are familiar with instead of getting exposed to unfamiliar ones.

Besides of fear of technology and limited experience another reason for hesitating from computer-type installations might be techno-fatigue among adult visitors .

The only exhibits that succeeded in reaching all types of visitors were the hands-on interactive exhibits.” [23]

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3.4

books :

narrative and digital augmentation In her book, “Hamlet on the Holodeck,” Janet Murray discusses the properties and aesthetics of digital environments. In doing so, she describes a set of parameters that can be used as a framework for analyzing multi-linear narrative works. Murray’s four properties of digital environments are that they are: 1) Procedural; 2) Participatory; 3) Spatial; and 4) Encyclopedic. Murray’s three aesthetic pleasures of digital environments are: 1) Immersion; 2) Agency; and 3) Transformation. [24] Books as a medium encourage the reader to access them in linear or non-linear ways.

According to the content of the book, the reader can be led through a guided narrative that progresses linearly over time, or is left with a choice to immerse

themselves within any portion of a book that is of particular interest to them. By providing flexible entry points to the user, information can be augmented by discovery and exploration. The power of the digital medium can be used in conjunction with the form of the book to create playful experiences.

So why should the book be interactive?

As users we enjoy interactive experiences because, if done well, they give us a heightened sense of agency by allowing us to customize our experience.

The very aspect of hyperlinking, which forms the basis of most interactive media, objectifies the process of association, which is central to human thinking.

Immersive environments : Oliver Zeller “Cocoon” - 2011

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Unlike traditional books or print, digital realms have the ability to represent a space that can be navigated by the ‘reader.’ A multi-linear work with open architecture means that the virtual space is free to beexplored by the end-user – there are no specific boundaries guiding the user in a particular direction. Closed architecture is more or less the opposite of open architecture, in that the end-user is forced to navigate a specific path.[25] In [26], Marshall et al. have shown that users still love the physicality of a real book which offer a broad range of advantages: flexibility, robustness, etc. These factors support research into another future for

books: digitally augmenting and enhancing real books. This combines the advantages of physical books with new interaction possibilities offered by digital media.

The purpose here was to compress the huge amount of literature on the subject and provide it in interesting nuggets that aims to pique the user’s curiosity and encourages them to find out more. The media providing the information was an augmented mixed reality book, as this seemed the most invisible interface to tell a story.

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3.5

interaction guidance The visual superimposing of real and virtual content creates questions about providing visual information to the user, and showing them where and how to interact. For instance, a user can click on an element of a real book to start a 3D virtual animation.

However, how can this point of interaction be presented to the user? How can the user know where to interact, and moreover, should the guidance be presented using real or virtual information? [27] There are three types of possible solutions: (1) providing no visual guidance, (2) providing virtual visual feedback (hotspot), (3) providing a real physical interface element Transparency and Visibility of Technology: With a real book, the user experience is generally not disrupted by the technology present. In a mixed-reality book the transparency of the technology should also be guaranteed. For a storytelling book, proper design of the physical interface can contribute to this. Examples are making tracking technology invisible or using a meaningful tangible interface to interact.

Visual Surround: Being immersed in a book generally includes loosing ones sense of time, space and surroundings. The extra dimensionality provided by a Mixed Reality Book (i.e. 3D virtual elements) reproduces the experience of 3D book.

However, we can extend this further by not only augmenting the content of the book but also visually augmenting the surroundings, filling the users field of view.

Museums provide all the required conditions to setup and maintain this interactive installation, especially because it is one that is projector based. The ambient light can be controlled, the projector and its wires can be hidden from the user and single user interaction is viable.

The placement of the structure is important according to the theme of the museum exhibit. For the purpose of this project, I propose a theme of “ Exploring iconic architecture in the world� in novel and exciting ways through the use of new media technologies.

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3.6

final concept I have always loved and revered books as a medium for knowledge and information.

As I progressed in the project, I realised that they have been the best medium for storytelling too, interactive in ways that film can never be, because they leave so much to our imagination.

Aiming to tell the story of iconic architectural buildings, I narrowed down on books because of their intrinsic affordance of capturing a tale inside their pages, that a person can choose to immerse themselves in whenever and wherever they want.

My interest in paper craft had led me to explore origami architecture and the triad of architecture-storytelling and augmenting 3D forms with the use of technology, fit perfectly into this final concept. I proposed to make a pop-up book using origami

architecture and augment it digitally through projection mapping, such that the story of each building could be told within the pages of a book, but still be condensed and interesting enough for a layman visitor coming to an exhibit.

The value that projection mapping as a technology added to the book was extremely important to define. The pop-ups gave me a fitting surface to play around and experiment with. Through engaging imagery, I could isolate portions of the structure when the narrative required me to do so and also highlight aspects of the building through the use of additive light that the projection provided me.

Compared to other forms of media and representation of architecture, this seemed a novel and exciting way to tell a story.

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Films and documentaries are rich with photographic visuals, 3D models provide a tactile and detailed view of the structure, but this variation could give me the best of both worlds. The tactility and inherent 3D-ness of a pop-up supported by the visually rich content of video would make understanding and storytelling more immersive and multi modal. A textual as well as audio narrative would be followed that would augment the experience.

The scale of the projection was small, as the book had to be small enough to allow a person to turn its pages without seeming unwieldy. Each page held a pop-up of an iconic building inside that would open up to tell its own story. The user could navigate the content of the story in such a way that they could choose to watch and listen to certain aspects of it again and again, or jump and skip to portions that interested them more.

This very act of jumping back and forth is essential to the nature of a book. This hyperlinked narrative could be experienced

in more ways than one. The interactivity was minimal and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, to lay the focus of the content on the story and narrative.

The book becomes a stage for a performance, rather than a placeholder for a textual narrative.”In a theatrical view of human computer activity, stage is a virtual world. It is populated by agents, both human and computer generated, and other elements of representational context. The technical magic that supports the representation, as in the theatre is behind the scenes. Whether the magic is created by hardware or software, it is of no consequence, its only value is what it produces on the “stage”. In other words, the representation is all there is.”[28] To keep the technology invisible, and create magic on the “stage” is what is one of the biggest challenges in any new media project. This integration of form and technology requires iterative prototyping and testing at all levels of the project.

The workflow and interfacing

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04.

PROTOTYPING Data organisation Narrative structure Storyboards and script Book Design Structure and hardware Projection Mapping : Prototype

4.1

data organisation When one chooses to talk about the arts in general and architecture in particular, there is such a wealth of literature on the subject that one has to narrow down on the scope of the reading that will directly affect the concepts.

At the very onset, I had the option of choosing between 3-4 larger sub categories within the world of architecture : I had to make a decision whether I wanted to talk about vernacular, folk,Indian or western architecture.

Needless to say, as I started reading on the subject, a lot of other possible subdivisions and categories popped up. I could choose to display a timeline of architectural styles over the centuries, focus only on post modern houses built in the USA or talk about Mughal architecture in India. The

basic point being that every civilisation and set of people have left behind an architectural legacy for the world to know and read about.

What could be the possible ways that one could segregate and organise the data on architecture? A few premise can be easily inferred: (i) On the basis of time, or chronology : To highlight and display the buildings from a particular time period. This might be a decade, a century or any other metric that seems viable. (ii) Location : Only segregating buildings on the basis of when they were built is not enough because that still leaves us with a very wide set of options. Where were the buildings constructed? Since geography and culture have had such a large impact

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on architecture, location can become the primary or secondary subset of a large amount of data (iii) Eras/ Stylistic movements: A large set of buildings can be categorized on the way that they have been designed, constructed and stylised. Major architecture movements have always seen a shift in the aesthetic that is employed - which is a result of the evolving technology and cultural changes that an area goes through. Style movements are also time based, but the metric is irregular and a lot of overlaps are noticeable. It is hard to exactly pinpoint the dates when a movement truly began and ended.

legacy to their name and are known for the iconic structures they have built over the years. However, even though this sort of organisation of data is interesting, to me it placed the individual over the creation and that was not something that I wanted to focus on.

(iv) Type of building: All architecture has a purpose. It can be a largely functional one, like bridges, railway or airport terminals, art galleries, exhibition halls, libraries, museums etc. Temples, churches, tombs and mosques are made for majorly religious purposes and houses, castles etc are for the purpose of habitation. This sort of categorisation is extremely interesting because one can compare and contrast the sort of technologies and forms that the architects conceive of over the years and throughout the globe.

(vi) Popularity/Landmarks: As with everything in art, some things become more popular and symbolic as time goes by. A lot of stories get associated with them and they grow to be iconic landmarks of a place because they have a certain aura. This aura of the art object or of an architectural landmark is something that contributes significantly to its fame and drives people to visit and see them first hand, in person.

What makes them so special? Some structures become symbolic of a place, and are so widely used and represented in other forms of our popular culture that we feel like we know them. I realised that I also knew of these structures, but I knew very limited about them and their story.

It was something that I instinctively felt I wanted to explore. The categorisation of architecture according to this parameter instantly threw up so many examples in short span of time. Some of the research on the same has been mentioned in Section 2.

(v) Architect: When one studies the prolific and exemplary work that some architects have done over the course of their careers, it is bound to be awe-inspiring. Most modern architects like Frank Gehry, Mies Van der Rohe and Zaha Hadid have a

Having decided that I needed to tell the story of iconic structures, I shortlisted a few options and narrowed it down to 3 for the sake of the prototype: The tower bridge of London, the Taj Mahal in India and the Eiffel Tower of Paris.

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4.2

narrative structure In my prior research, I had read that Vitruvius, the Roman architect was the first person to formally write about architecture.

The earliest surviving written work on the subject of architecture is De architectura, written by him in the early 1st century AD. According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas, which translate roughly as – • Durability – it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.

• Utility – it should be useful and function well for the people using it.

• Beauty – it should delight people and raise their spirits.

According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfil each of these three attributes as well as possible.

Leone Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, De Re Aedificatoria, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a part. For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden mean.

The most important aspect of beauty was therefore an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially; and was based on universal, recognisable truths.

Vitruvius’ writing on architecture The three principles were simply explained and since they were so broad and allencompassing in nature, they could be applied to a bridge in San Francisco, to a concert hall in Australia.

Of all the data that I collected about architecture, I could split it into these 3 main aspects : the points that one should pay heed to while building the structure itself. This framework helped me to segregate and organise the data into a

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The Vitruvian man coherent story and allowed me to provide multiple entry points into the narrative; as each of the three aspects have equal importance when we critically look at a building.

My interpretations of what durability, utility and beauty meant helped me to put together a script for the video content that would be projected onto the physical popup book.

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4.3

script & storyboards Durability- History- Time- MaterialsArchitects -Foundation and Physical dimensions Tower Bridge: The Tower bridge is one of the most iconic buildings of the UK. Built over the river Thames between 1886-1892, this combined bascule and suspension bridge, connects two parts of central London. The bridge consists of two towers of 65 metres each tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways of 200 metres. The bascules, weighing over 1,000 tons each are controlled by machinery inside the towers and can be raised in five minutes.

Taj Mahal: The Taj Mahal or the ‘crown of palaces’ is the Mughals’ great contribution to world architecture and it was conceived as such from the very beginning. Situated on the banks of river Yamuna, it was built over 22 years by more than 20,000 workers. Commissioned by emperor shah Jahan in 1632, the domed mausoleum is almost 250 feet high and is placed within a walled enclosure measuring about 1,000 by 1,860 feet and containing an area of

some forty-two acres. The foundation of the structure was built over wells filled with dirt, to reduce seepage from the river. The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway.

Eiffel Tower: The Eiffel tower of Paris, France is the most visited monument in the world. The tallest structure of Paris, it was built in just 2 years between 1887-1889 by architect and engineer-Gustav Eiffel and his 300 member team. Made completely out of 18000 pieces of iron cross angled bars and sheets riveted together, it was structurally meant to be easily assembled. It weighs only 7300 tonnes for it’s massive 320 metre height and has 3 main levels that are accessible to tourists by lifts or stairs. The minimal lattice work of the wrought iron is engineered to withstand winds of more than 160 kph.

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Storyboard: Sketches for the animation

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Functionality- Why – Effect on industry/people/commerceBackground story- Tourism Tower Bridge: Increased development of east London during the late 19th century led to the construction of this bascule bridge, such that road and river traffic were both serviced in times of need. Journeys for pedestrian and vehicles were reduced by several hours as a result. More than 50 designs were considered, but in 1884, Horace Jones- the city architect was the one who came up with the solution. 400 labourers toiled to make this structure that is also lovingly called ’The wonder Bridge’.

Over the years it has become a major tourist attraction and the walkways were hence converted to an exhibition space for the history of the structure.

Taj Mahal: The official story of the Taj is that the death of Shah Jahan’s 3rd and favourite wife – Mumtaz Mahal, rendered him so grief stricken that he built the Taj as her final resting place, a palatial mausoleum in marble and sand stone. In 1983, it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site and is visited by more than 2 million people annually. The 4 caravanserais or ‘katras’ in the Taj complex have now become a mini city within agra, called Taj ganj.

Ustad Ahmad Lahouri is considered as the principle architect of the structure.

Eiffel Tower: The tower, also named ‘the iron lady’ was made as an entrance to the 1889 World’s fair expo in Paris, that took place to celebrate 100 years of the French revolution. It was selected from a collection of 100 design options. Originally meant to be torn down after 20 years, the tower

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was proposed as a scientific observation centre by Eiffel. From experiments in aerodynamics and meteorology to intercepting radio and telegraph signals during the first world war, the structure slowly proved its usefulness. Between 192534, it was also used as a neon billboard by citroen. Today, it is a place from where radio and TV stations of Paris broadcast their signals.

Aesthetics- Structure- FormElements- Engineering- surfaces and ornamentation- representation in arts and literature.

Tower Bridge: The structure and foundations are completely made of steel, but covered in Cornish Granite and Portland stone. The style is distinctly Victorian gothic, designed to harmonize with the nearby Tower of London, that gives the bridge its name. Originally a mid-greenish

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color, the bridge was repainted in red, white and blue in 1977, and again redone in 2008.

A new and more sophisticated lighting system was installed within the bridge in lieu of the 2012 Olympics.

Taj Mahal: The Taj mahal complex is crafted with red sandstone and marble. Intricate inlay work with semi precious stones and calligraphy that quotes 22 passages of the kuran decorate the interiors. The tomb garden consists of two main components: a cross-axial, four-fold garden—in the form of a classical charbagh and, towards the river, a raised terrace on which are placed the mausoleum and its flanking buildings. The 4 tapering minarets are bent slightly outward to protect the dome in case of earthquakes. A love for symmetry, patterns, grids and tessellations is evident in the floor plan, construction and overall architecture. The Persian gardens with the

raised central water tank and the placement of the cenotaphs indicate that the Taj mahal is an earthly realization of the mansion of Mumtaz in the garden of Paradise.

Eiffel Tower: More than 5000 drawings were made to assemble the structure together and it was an engineering marvel at the time. But the tower faced a lot of criticism from the art community of Paris who felt that the ‘naked iron’ looked like a gigantic black factory smokestack, representing contemporary industrialisation in the worst possible way. The verticality of the structure helped it reach an iconic status, and the beauty of the tight lattice iron work, very similar to the cellular structure of a plant made it novel and aesthetically appealing. The tower is repainted with 50 tons of paint every 7 years and consumes 7000 kw of electricity everyday.

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4.4

book design The book design for the project was a huge challenge. The pop-ups had to be made of paper that was stiff enough to stay stable even after multiple times of opening and closing the book. Yet, it couldn’t be too thick or stiff like cardboard. I used ivory sheets for the prototype.

This was because of the use of magnets to control the position of the book in such a way that the projection mapped surface would not get altered even if the book’s pages were turned or closed. This intrinsic quality of all projection mapping

projects: to keep the surface and projector perfectly stationary and aligned with each other, if one is not employing 3D scanning techniques which are still nascent) was one that I had decided to break.

This needed me to control the XYZ positions of the book in such a way that the pop-up would come back exactly in the same plane as it was before the book was closed or a page flipped. Mapping of the pop-up could be done only once, after the book was kept on the table.

Hence, I embedded the base of the book The book design: multiple pop-ups bound together.

The address book format hides the LDR’s, hence creating a swicth when each page is opened.

Below: Laser cutting the pop-ups

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The Book: An early prototype with small metal plates of around 2 cm diameter. The podium was embedded with similar sized magnets in the base. Once the book was placed on the podium, it dint move along the X axis, ie on the horizontal plane due to the force of the magnets.

Similarly, metal plates were embedded in the tabular extensions of each page, such that the 90 degree pop-up would ‘stick’ to the backboard and stay in place. These tabular extensions were inspired from the form of an address book, where each page can be easily accessed and has information pertaining to that particular alphabet inside that page.

The tabular extensions were thus made in different positions for each pop-up.

Once the particular pop-up was opened, it revealed the light detecting resistor right underneath the tab. The LDR was embedded in the podium itself such that it

would connect to the arduino kept in the hollow cavity.

The LDR’s were used as simple switches to trigger the animations for each respective iconic architecture pop-up, when the page was turned by the user. The tabs served the dual purpose of keeping the pop-up in place and hiding the LDR such that it would not receive light when the page was closed.

Each laser-cut pop-up was stuck onto a backing sheet. Color variation were tried for the same, but since the projection was going to augment the surfaces, it seemed better to leave the whole structure pure white. Once each pop-up was ready with it’s own metal pieces and tabs, they were all glued together and a backing hardboard was attached to give it an identity similar to a book. A cover for the book was laser cut onto marbled paper and stuck onto the hardboard to name the book and hide the individual pop-up bindings in the spine.

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4.5

structure & hardware To create a structure that would be a stand for the book, where a user could come up and interact with it and view the projections up close, was a challenge in itself. A lot of questions were posed at the onset:

Mount height : To be done for the average user. The prototype was tested with below and above average users and was found to be successful in the way it positioned the book and the interface elements.

>Is the structure for Monitoring/viewing only? > Will there be any sort of Data entry/ direct interaction? > User will be sitting? > User will be standing? > User will be sitting and standing at different times? > Female or male only? > Female and male both? > Average height of users?

Some considerations: Screen Height: Top of screen should be level with, or slightly below, Eye Height of user. The size of the display should be such that it fits into the cone of vision of the user.

Thus, the user should not have to move his head to see the entire display area.

Interaction interface: Ideally, the height of the physical interface should be concurrent with the eye to elbow ration of users.

However in the current prototype, the display plane and the interaction surface are kept the same due to considerations regarding the eye span and proximity to the book.

Construction: The structure was made of 8mm and 18mm high density MDF boards. The hollow cavity inside was meant to provide a space to hide the technology in the form of the computer, microcontroller, speakers and circuits. Holes were made at strategic locations to provide an outlet for the VGA cable that leads to the projector.

Holes were made in the podium to allow for the embedding of LDR’s, magnets and

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4.5 The user is meant to interact with the book by turning over its pages in order that he/ she so wishes to do. A circular dial provides the user the option to skip,play or jump to any section of the video for is subdivided into 3 parts according to Vitruvius’ 3 principles.

The dial is to give control to the user if they

wish to watch something again or skip to a section that seems more interesting to them. Any video playing device should have a provision to replay or skip to another part of the video. The 360 degree circular potentiometer, divided equally into 3 sections of Durability, Functionality and Aesthetics provides this option to the user.

Top : The podium under construction Bottom Left : The subdivisions on the dial Bottom right : User Interaction of turning the book page

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The user with the setup A lot of considerations went into setting up a projector such that it would cover the surface of a book, not create unwanted shadows and also be placed such that it doesn’t obstruct the view of a passer by.

Ideally, an ultra short throw, or short throw projector would have given me the option of mounting it in such a way that it is completely hidden from view. However, having access to a regular HD projector

The podium with the wires only, I mounted it approximately 3 .5 feet away from the wall that supported the podium.

The height of the projector was 7 feet above the ground, at an angle of about 30 degrees such that it would cover the book completely by its 4:3 display size. The problems of keystone and shadows within the pop –ups still persisted. The nature of a projector display is that it gives out additive

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light. And wherever there is going to be a 3D structure that is placed even slightly off the direct frontal beam of the light, it will create unwanted shadows.

The angle of the display was such that all the video content to be projected onto the book had to be modified in the mixing software – resolume.

I had to test the area coverage and height of the projector manually, by holding it at different angles, to figure out the best position. Ceiling mounting a projector is not a process that can be done over and over again to rectify errors, so a lot of precision

was needed while measuring the distances.

The projector needs to have a long cable to reach the power supply point and also a long VGA cable to connect to the computer.

Longer VGA cables tend to have a lower display quality and get damaged very easily.

To hide the cables in such a way that the user does not notice the problems of the setup and the extensive wiring required was a humungous challenge.Even though there was a cavity to hold the laptop in the podium, I had to test the prototype with the device outside due to changing lighting conditions and recaliberation of the LDR’s.

Top mounted projector

magnets embedded in the podium

POP-UP 1

POP-UP 2

metal pieces

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4.6

projection mapping: the prototype

The Tower Bridge : Glimpses of the mapping

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The Taj Mahal : Glimpses of the mapping

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The Eiffel Tower: Glimpses of the mapping

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05.

LEARNING Mistakes and feedback Way forward Reflections

5.1

mistakes & feedback The custom content that I had made for the projection was such that it did not account for the shadows falling on the backside of the structure. Hence, for example, if I had centred something between 2 visual elements, a part of it was obscured and seemed off centre on projection.

The content that was made to strictly align with the boundaries of the structure was such that it got cropped after making the mask, and seemed a little incomplete.

Hence, I remade the content for the inside animation of the building structures in a manner that filled the entire canvas of the motion graphics program ( after effects).

When one will mask such an animation, the property of it being abstract will not affect the boundary warping problem.

I realised that until 3D scanning techniques are not employed for mapping the projection, it is easier and more productive to set up the projector and surface and then start animating. This is obviously more cumbersome and resource intensive, but it guarantees that the end result is exactly what one has envisioned.

The podium that I had built for the project was a couple of inches higher than it should have ideally been. Also the distance between the user and the projection surface, ie the book, was such that a user had to extend their hand to flip the pages of the book, which is slightly uncomfortable. If I had access to a short throw projector, this problem could have been rectified. But for a further prototype or application in a similar scenario, I would always recommend using such a projector.

Also, the sides of the structure should have a provision to open and close, such that after the mapping is complete, the computer and all the peripherals can be hidden inside the hollow cavity, making the technology invisible.

The pages of the book were designed to ‘clip on’ to the magnets on the backside of the podium structure, but by the time, the 3rd page was turned, the thickness of the three pages became such that the metal had to be pushed a little towards the magnet to attach it to the structure. This problem can be solved if the paper is stiff yet thin and the magnetic strip is put such that it slants towards the end pages in the Z-axis.

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5.2

way forward The project entailed making a book interactive and it was successful in doing that. However the number of pages in the book were limited to four, hence making a good case for a prospective full-fledged prototype, but not being perfect. A similar approach could be used to design a book with multiple pages. The Arduino that I used allows for a maximum of 6 analog inputs being defined on the board. Hence, 6 pages is something that can be easily achieved.

I used LDR’s to detect the individual pages of the book. However, Radio Frequency tags can be used with the same effectiveness to do the same. Possibly they will be more efficient because the readings don’t have to be calibrated and stay the same regardless of ambient light conditions. A simple RFID reader can be embedded in the back structure that sends the signal via the Arduino to change the projections, when a

page with a specific tag is flipped or turned over and brought closer to the reader.

If a section is dedicated to the exhibit, a lot of other such pop-up books, both 90 and 180 degree ones could be kept on a display stand, and the user can choose not just the pages within a book of a certain topic, but the any book available on different topics too. These books will have their own RF tags. As such there is no limit to the tags that one embeds in the object for detection.

The whole theory of smart objects and the internet of things is based on a similar premise.

An automated system which is powered by a servo motor can also be conceived. I did initial testing for a pop-up book page that would be lifted using a servo motor whose angles can be controlled with the Arduino.

Using presence or a button as the trigger, the pop-up can raise itself to the required position.

Testing automated pop-ups through a servo motor

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5.3

reflections As a reflect back upon the duration of the project, some phases of work are particularly meaningful. A lot of my time was spent in learning the ropes of a new technology, and to take that learning and apply it to something that is completely my own was a good decision. Even though the project started with the technology already decided for me, I didn’t let that stop me from coming up with varied concepts that I thought would do justice to the information and topic- Architecture.

Still, having a constraint set for me, made a few things easier. My research was more streamlined and I was able to identify problem areas within a system that I would not have otherwise spotted. Being critical about one’s own ideas is important and the self evaluation that one has to do at every

The Arduino, Potentiometer and LDR circuit: Can be replaced by RFID reader and tags

step can only be fruitful if one reads a lot.

Whether it is an old book that still holds relevance in today’s scenario, or a recent research paper, reading about the subject is bound to give a macro view of the project.

It is also very important to have belief and faith in one’s own idea. What is the final form or external shape of the concept is completely dependent on the level of perseverance and time that one chooses to put into it. Motivation in difficult situations is hard to find, and it is only a strong belief in the project, a belief that is born out of stringent evaluative criteria that can help you tide over the phase.

To merge traditional media like a book made of paper, with the digital realm was a challenge that was worthy of my effort.

I have always believed that technology should support and augment existing media and objects, instead of completely replacing them. This makes it so much more accessible and unobtrusive.

As with any new media project, there are a lot of aspects of the project that one has to simultaneously pay attention to : product and furniture, ergonomics, visual design, mechanics, electronics and interface design.

For everything to fit together seamlessly is a massive task that can be accomplished only when testing is done at every stage and low fidelity/ high fidelity prototypes are constructed iteratively.

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06.

CONCLUSION Conclusion Glossary References

6.1

conclusion The project gave me lot of confidence in my ability to work on my own, but I also realised the areas where it would have been even better if I was working collaboratively in a team.

To experiment and explore a new technology, and at the same time try and push it boundaries, to figure out the best

way to tell a story with large amounts of data, to create a structural prototype that aptly exhibits the above, all these were tests challenges that were interesting to tackle.

Even though architecture as a theme of study has never interested me so much, this sort of structure allowed me to read and research an unknown topic and eventually become well acquainted with the same. It was a great learning experience for me.

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6.2

glossary http://www.pablovalbuena.com/work/augmented-sculpture-series/ http://computer.howstuffworks.com/monitor3.htm http://www.ehow.com/how_7163284_connect-vga-port-tv.html http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/tech-companies-bid-goodbye-to-vga-ports/ http://www.metalschnitzel.com/RoboRack/RoboRack.htm http://www.madmapper.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/screenshot_04.png http://htrgroup.com/main.php?section=throwratio www.mattshlian.com www.thenounproject.com http://article.wn.com/view/2012/05/21/Kinect_Can_Read_Your_Facial_Expressions_Now/ http://www.pycomall.com/product.php?productid=18639 http://www.asquare.org/networkresearch/2007/augmented-reality-projections http://www.discover-stratford.com/whats-on/2013/february/the-ice-book www.theicebook.com http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/blog/miniature-architectural-projection-mapping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salisbury_Cathedral_exterior.jpg http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2011/02/09/chryslerB-W_2.jpg https://profiles.google.com/115534925278530150225/buzz/27y6WF97AhE http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/blog/miniature-architectural-projection-mapping http://en.citizendium.org/wiki www.pinterest.com www.wallpoper.com http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ http://dita2indesign.sourceforge.net/dita_gutenberg_samples http://wondrouspics.com/eiffel-tower-construction-pictures/http://disko.co.za/all-3Dillustration-animation/deepearth-stylized-architectural/ http://www.aetn.org/midcenturymodern http://bakedcottonstar.com/2011/12/05/the-christmas-alphabet-robert-sabuda/ http://faltmanufaktur.com/books/photos/ www.peterdahmen.de http://www.wallpaper.com/gallery/art/limited-edition-cover http://www.asquare.org/networkresearch/2008/levelhead-a-3D-spatial-memory-game

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6.3

references [1] R. Raskar, G. Welch, and W.C. Chen.

Table-top spatially-augmented reality: Bringing physical models to life with projected imagery. Page 64.

Published by the IEEE Computer Society, 1999.

Guest edited by Lucy Bullivant

[2] Jeremy Laviole. Univ. Bordeaux, LaBRI, Martin Hachet Inria, F-3340 Talence, France.

Spatial Augmented Reality to Enhance Physical Artistic Creation.

ACM digital library.

[10] : www.arduino.cc

[3] Manovich, Lev. The language of new media, MIT Press, Cambridge, 2001.

[4] Milgram, P. & Kishino, F. A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Visual Display. IEICE Transactions on Information Systems 12 (1994), 1321-1329.

[8] : www.forums.afterdawn.com [9] Monitors Displays Interfaces White Paper ~ Hewlett Packard

[11] Lee, J., Dietz, P., Aminzade, D., and Hudson, S. “Automatic Projector Calibration using Embedded Light Sensors�, Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, October 2004.

[12] Kyle McDonald, Guest Researcher at YCAM Interlab http://interlab.ycam.jp/en/ projects/guestresearch/vol1 [13] www.icebook.com

[5] Oliver Bimber, Ramesh Raskar, Spatial Augmented Reality : Merging Real and Virtual Worlds, Downloaded from SpatialAR.com for personal use [6] Peter Dalsgaard and Kim Halskov, 3D Projection on Physical Objects: Design Insights from Five Real Life Cases, Center for Digital Urban Living and CAVI, Aarhus University Helsingforsgade 14, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark [7] : 4D social Interactive environments, Architectural Design, July/August 2007,

[14] Maribeth Back, Jonathan Cohen, Rich Gold, Steve Harrison, Scott Minneman Listen Reader: An Electronically Augmented Paper-Based Book, 2001 [15] Alfred D.F Hamlin, History of Architecture, Columbia College, New York.

1909 [16] Ebba Koch, The Taj Mahal : Architechture, Symbolism and urban significance,pp 128-149, 2005,Published by BRILL.

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[17] http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/ EN/BridgeHistory/ [18] http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/ Landmarks/eiffel-history.htm [19] http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/ pyramids/home.html [20] Oana Andreea Cﾄパlescu, Ph.D. How and why new media changed architecture, (Re)writing history - ICAR 2012 Proceedings,Bucharest, Romania, [21] : Haining, Peter. Movable Books: An Illustrated History. London: New English Library, 1979.

[22] http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/ exhibits/popup2/introduction.htm [23] Eva Hornecker, Matthias Stifter HIT Lab, Learning from Interactive Museum Installations About Interaction Design for Public Settings, University of Canterbury, NZ, Institute of Computer Graphics

[24] Murray, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

2000. and Algorithms Vienna University of Technology, Austria, 2006 [25] Jones, Adrian. Meaning and the Interactive Narrative: In the context of Object-Oriented Interactive Cinema, Simon Fraser University Surrey [26] C. C. Marshall. Reading and interactivity in the digital library: Creating an experience that transcends paper. In CLIR, 2005.

[27] Raphaﾂｨel Grasset, Andreas Dﾂｨunser, Mark Billinghurst. The Design of a MixedReality Book: Is It Still a Real Book? HIT Lab NZ, University of Canterbury Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand [28] Laurel, Brenda, Computers as theatre

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6.4

appendix

The Tower Bridge storyboards : Durability

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The Tower Bridge storyboards : Functionality

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The Tower Bridge storyboards : Aesthetics

130

The Taj Mahal : Durability

131

The Taj Mahal : Durability

132

The Taj Mahal : Functionality

133

The Eiffel Tower : Durability

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The Eiffel Tower : Functionality

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The Eiffel Tower : Aesthetics

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The Tower Bridge : Laser cut template for pop-up, Below: The pop-up with projection

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The Taj Mahal : Laser cut template for pop-up, Below: The pop-up with projection

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The Eiffel Tower : Laser cut template for pop-up, Below: The pop-up with projection

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