Climate Canopy

 An Evolving Memorial

Maggie Orth working with Beebe Skidmore Architecture and Joshua R. Smith

Description of Climate Clock Proposal Our proposal is an evolving memorial which layers 3 elements: a permanent, carbon-like, memorial material, into which an algorithmically generated pattern based on the climate saving actions of the San José community over 100 years is etched; a robotic etcher whose activity records and reflects the current positive actions of the community; and an addressable, netted LED array that displays predictions of the climate future based on the current actions of the community. At the end of 100 years a permanent memorial to actions of San José during this critical time will have been created.

Bios:

Maggie Orth is an artist and technologist who currently directs design and research at International Fashion Machines, her Seattle based studio. At IFM, she has focused on the design and research of electronic textiles, including creating artworks, consumer products, conducting research, writing patents, and directing a highly collaborative design/engineering studio and business. Her experience in merging physical and digital art forms ranges from coordinating large collaborative interactive art projects at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to creating UL-listed electronic textile design products. For this project, Orth will be the lead artist, and will work with her studio to lead the coordination of the design of the memorial, with a focus on the LED array, permanent etching material, climate-to-data visualization software and web interface.

Doug Skidmore & Heidi Beebe joined forces in 2007 to start Beebe Skidmore, a practice in architecture. By focusing on proportion, scale, and quality, their work takes a practical and economical approach, emphasizing thoughtful planning and real solutions. Through their experience with museums and other arts organizations, they have developed the expertise required to align the technical, functional and aesthetic criteria essential to successful civic art space. As Project Manager and Project Architect for the new $85 million Seattle Art Museum, from the design concept through construction, they led client committees, managed large teams, and coordinated technical disciplines in the execution of a complex new art facility. Beebe Skidmore is in process of becoming LEED AP certified.

Joshua R. Smith is a highly qualified and versatile scientist and inventor with strengths spanning mathematical modeling, software, sensing, and actuation hardware. Many of his projects involve couplings between data and the physical world. He is currently a Principal Engineer at the Intel Research laboratory in Seattle, Washington, where he conducts research in sensor physics, signal processing, robotic grasping, robotic walking and control, and wireless power. He has collaborated on art projects at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab and continues to enjoy working with creative people. For this project Smith will take an active technology and science advisor role, providing technical support and supervision in software development, data visualization and analysis, robotics, electrical engineering and hardware.

• Residency Finalists
• Semi-finalists
  • Sound Henge
  • Climate Canopy
  • RESIDENCY FINALIST: Huey-Dewey-Louie Clock
  • Breathing Tower
  • CLI-Mate
  • RESIDENCY FINALIST: Organograph
  • RESIDENCY FINALIST: Wired Wilderness