ada by jenny sabin is an installation that translates people's expressions into light and color

in collaboration with microsoft research, artist-in-residence jenny sabin has designed the ‘ada’ installation for the tech company’s redmond campus in washington. the work takes its name from ada lovelace, the english mathematician who is often credited as one of the first computer programmer. the architectural pavilion incorporates the use of AI to create a wholly immersive experience that transforms personal data into light and colors.

this collaborative project embodies material innovation, human-centered adaptive architecture and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence

image by jake knapp for microsoft

ada builds upon 13 years of collaborative work and innovation across architecture and science. by embracing AI, the project investigates how hidden expressions and emotion in the built environment can be revealed through the use of technology. for sabin‘s work, the artist has formed a lightweight, knitted structure of responsive and data-driven tubular and cellular components that employs textiles and photo-luminescent fibers to absorb, collect, and emit light.

ada is driven by individual and collective sentiment data collected and housed within the microsoft research building 99

image by jake knapp for microsoft

informed by individual and collective participation, the structure reacts and changes to people’s varying facial expressions and tone of voice. immersing visitors in a responsive and interactive glow of photo-luminescence, ada has been created as an architecture that is ‘happy to see you’ and ‘smiles back at you’.

specific sentiment data is correlated with colors, spatial zones within the project, and responsive materials

image by jake knapp for microsoft

to collect the personal data, a network of sensors and cameras has been placed throughout the microsoft building. these work to offer opportunities for visitors and participants to engage, interact with, and drive the project. the data includes facial patterns, voice tones, and sound that are processed by ai algorithms and correlated with sentiment.

this is a project that celebrates AI, an architecture that is ‘happy to see you’ and ‘smiles back at you’

image by jake knapp for microsoft

the external shell structure is assembled from a compressive network of 895 unique 3D printed nodes and fiber glass rods that holds ada’s form in continuous tension. three scales of responsive and gradated lighting including a network of addressable LEDs, a custom fiber optic central tensegrity cone, and five external par lights respond in real time to continuous streams of data. specific sentiment data are correlated with colors, spatial zones within the project, and responsive materials.

ada is a cyber physical architecture that is adaptive, personal, data-driven and informed by individual and collective participation

image by jake knapp for microsoft

suspended from three points and hovering above the ground floor of the atrium, ada is a socially and environmentally responsive structure that is interactive and transformative. this environment offers spaces for curiosity and wonder, individual and collective exchange, and rigorous research experimentation as the pavilion filters light, casts dynamic shadows, and changes in response to your input. 

the first architectural pavilion project to incorporate AI, ada is also knitted light, immersing visitors in a responsive and interactive glow of photo-luminescence

image by jake knapp for microsoft

ada, designed and built by microsoft artist in residence jenny sabin, fills an airy nook in building 99 on microsoft’s redmond, washington campus

image by john brecher for microsoft

ada translates data into color and light

image by john brecher for microsoft

nylon mesh strung with striated fiber optic cables wraps a one-story tall tensegrity cone that hangs through the core of ada

image by john brecher for microsoft

a network of sensors and cameras located throughout building offer multiple opportunities for visitors and participants to engage, interact with, and drive ada

image by jake knapp for microsoft

an external rigid experimental shell structure assembled from a compressive network of 3D printed nodes and fiber glass rods holds ada’s form in continuous tension

image by jake knapp for microsoft

textiles and photo-luminescent fibers absorb, collect and emit light

image by jake knapp for microsoft

project info:

project name: ada

design: jenny sabin studio

location: microsoft redmond, washington campus, the united states

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom