This is an example of using 2 photocells and a variable resistor as analog inputs to control 8×8 LED Matrix with PIC18F452, UDN2981, and ULN2803. The input values of the two photocells are compared. When the values are the same, LED lights up randomly within the entire board. Depending on how much darker a photocell is compared to the other, LED lights up within the range that is more focused towards a corner. The variable resistor controls how fast the LEDs blink. This is how the board was set up:

The following is the code:

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WORKSHOP: COMPUTATIONAL DYNAMICS – ‘BONE’
Tutors: 김지호 (http://www.ynotwhy.com, http://crtl-i.com) + 위진복 (http://wieandpartners.com)
The workshop will be dedicated to constituting the artificial process of transformation of material information. This process will target comprehension of how extensities are formed into intensities. The STUDIO will deal with form as field which is full of dynamic strengths, rather than reductive physics. The STUDIO will work with the materiality of matter implying the changes of modes and the shifts of energy, rather than materials in modern manner. The introduction of dynamic modelling tools from Maya will give the STUDIO the learning of the capabilities of the program, coupled with the understanding of the relevant parameters of the subject studied: nCloth, IK, particle-dynamics, soft bodies, expressions, and etc. If relevant, some other parametric synchronization tools like grasshopper and scripts will be possibly introduced.

‘Bone’ will be dealt with in two scales of material system and two levels information exchange that enriches the subject, ENGINEERING VERTICALITY. TWO SCALES: 1. The microscopic level of the internality and the individuality 2. The macroscopic level of bone as collectivity TWO LEVELS: 1. The relation to other system of the body 2. The relation to external forces.

The Fibrous Art Bridge was chosen as Special Selection for the Emerging New York Architects  International Ideas Competition (http://www.enyacompetitions.org).

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The Fibrous Art Bridge envisions to turn the High Bridge into an art complex that can house exhibitions displaying the entire process of art production-from its inception to its final form. Anyone can appreciate the glistening display of a finished art piece but it is a rare encounter to come face to face with the struggling moments of an artists’ hands when the sculpture was just barely beginning to take form. It will be a highly inspiring moment for the audience who have been invited to appreciate the full stages of the artists’ touch through the crossing of this bridge. On this bridge, the process of making art, therefore, becomes an act of art in itself. This art is then displayed to the public. The way in which we experience art will transform completely, for the audience will soon throw away the old habits (of glancing at a single art piece and proceeding to skim a paragraph of description written next to it) but rather learn new ways to engage in art, by sharing the profound understanding experienced by the artists in their moments of creation. The local neighbors who cross the bridge on a regular basis can witness this very art of creating, and perhaps the excitement of participating in such an event will spark dialogues between both the fellow bystanders and the very artists- which is a greatly beneficial activity for the community as well as for the artist society. Through these regular interactions and conversations and full participation in the creative activities, the bridge will seek to draw people together in hopes of physically and culturally reconnnecting Manhattan and Bronx.

This rather untraditional way of experiencing art is spatially achieved through the art pods. The artists work inside pods that are floating and visible through the permeable fibrous structures, which allow the viewers to get a view of the aritsts’ ongoing works from both below and above. Once an artist is finished with the work, the pod is opened to the public  so that they can enter it and interact more closely with the final production. After the public viewing is over, the pod can be removed from the structure and placed elsewhere in the city. Other artists can start their work in the available empty pods. The pods can be made in various sizes and shapes, meeting the specifications to best fit the project it is housing.  Attached to each pod  is a viewing port, embedded into the floors and sticking out towards the bridge gallery and hovering over the walking surface. These ports are more visible from the main pathway and the artists can therefore select parts of the process that they desire to be more exposed to the public.

This design, proposing an exhibtion of the evolving processes of art production, is highly symbolic of the evolution of the bridge in itself. The High Bridge was first built as an aqueduct using mansory arches in 1848. Such structural system to carry water best fit the time, since the tunneling technologies were not as advanced. The bridge continued to evolve structually; in the 1920s, several of the arches were replaced to allow for larger ships to pass. The newly added steel structures were also best fitting for that time-this addition of modern technology allowed bridges to be thinner, stronger and more porous. And now, as the bridge is being considered to be reopened as an art complex, what better transformation can the bridge take then to continue this trend of reforming structure by introducing to the public the next new technology? Rather then obstructing the advancing nature of the bridge by labeling it as an old artifact of the past, the bridge needs to preserve its legacy by continuing its adaption to the newer needs of current times. Under this design, the bridge becomes a museum in itself- a museum of structures, living on its destined fate to showcase how structural logics have continually evolved and benefited history.

This is an example of using 2 variable resistors as analog inputs and a switch as a digital input to control 8 LEDs with a PIC18F452 chip. Variable resistor 1 is used to control which LEDs light up. The second variable resistor controls how fast the LEDs blink. The switch decides whether the LEDs blink or not. MAX232CPE is used to allow serial communication with a computer. PICBASIC was used to program the chip. This is how the board was set up:

The following is the code:

DEFINE LOADER_USED 1
DEFINE OSC 20
INCLUDE “modedefs.bas”

DEFINE ADC_BITS 10
DEFINE ADC_CLOCK 3
DEFINE ADC_SAMPLEUS 20

ADCON1 = %10000010

TRISA = %11111111
TRISB = %00000000
TRISC = %10001000

adc VAR WORD
adcbyte VAR BYTE

SPEED VAR WORD
SPEEDbyte VAR BYTE

SWITCH VAR PORTC.4

main:

IF SWITCH = 1 THEN

ADCIN 0, adc
adcbyte = adc/140

ADCIN 1, SPEED
SPEEDbyte = SPEED/140

PORTB = %00000001 << adcbyte
PAUSE 100*SPEEDbyte
PORTB = 0
PAUSE 100*SPEEDbyte

ELSE
ADCIN 0, adc
adcbyte = adc/140

PORTB = %00000001 << adcbyte

ENDIF

GOTO main

crtl-i.com/places

A new place for pictures I have been taking over the past few years.

Testing different patterns with grasshopper.

I have been asked to teach a course at the Korean National University of Arts. The course is set up to explore the complex relationship between the material and the immaterial elements of design through a few experiments. This would be my first full-semester teaching experience apart from teaching as an assistant or running shorter workshops. I’d like to thank Jieun Lee and Jinbok Wie (http://wieandpartners.com) for this opportunity.

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Course Description:

This course aims to explore the complex relationship between the physical and the metaphysical territories of design. The act of creation is often complete when conceptualization and materialization both take place. We will situate ourselves in 5 sets of experiments that are conceptually connected, but physically separated. The very nature of these experiments will actively seek to develop a new sense that will perhaps enable us to see the invisible, to touch the intangible, and/or to materialize the immaterial.

Front side

Cathode rows soldered

Anode rows soldered