SPACE10 presents ‘emotionally aware architecture' at copenhagen's CHART art fair

SPACE10 — IKEA’s innovation lab — has presented a piece of ‘emotionally aware architecture’ at copenhagen’s CHART art fair. titled ‘sum of us’, the temporary structure has been designed to interpret and react to visitor emotions in real time. after entering the giant cloud-shaped pavilion, a series of cameras tracks guests’ faces with machine learning algorithms used to analyze each individual expression.

all images by niklas adrian vindelev

the pavilion responds with a personalized audio-visual experience, based on how each visitor feels. all of the read emotions are gathered and stored visually in the infinite cloud, exhibiting the accumulated ’emotional state’ for guests at all times. the installation seeks to artistically and playfully interpret the current state of technology, touching upon everything from open-source design, cloud computing to machine learning, computer vision, and affective computing.

the pavilion is contained within a timber matrix structure

‘collaboration has been essential in realizing ‘sum of us’,’ says sean lyon, the architect behind the installation. ‘working with both local and international artists, designers, engineers and technicians opens up novel possibilities and suggestions that would have otherwise gone untested. this richness in knowledge, skills and experiences means that the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts, and manifests a project true to its central concept.’

a series of cameras tracks guests’ faces

in developing the project, lyon worked alongside interaction designer andreas refsgaard, lighting engineer bo thorning, sound designer lasse munk and SPACE10 in collaboration with CHART.

machine learning algorithms are used to analyze individual expressions

the pavilion responds with a personalized audio-visual experience

all of the read emotions are gathered and stored visually in the infinite cloud

the installation seeks to artistically and playfully interpret the current state of technology

the project was presented at the sixth edition of the CHART art fair

concept animation by andreas refsgaard