The Video

We recently got our hands on a brand new Kinect. The device uses an infrared camera to map the space in 3D. This allows to track human motion and to recognize basic gestures.

Using the C++ library Cinder, we played a bit with the Kinect in order to explore its capabilities and to create an interactive demo.The following study is inspired by the ‘Nervous Structure’ artwork done by Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza and represents a system of strings that reacts to external forces.

Hand motion is used to apply force to the digital model and to provide an interactive experience.

Music: Ratatat

“As people move about the environment, they acquire knowledge about patterns of their own movement and about spatial relations among places in the world. This knowledge is encoded and stored in memory, allowing  people to find the places again…”

Human Spatial Memory: Remembering Where

“Architecture is exposed to life. If its body is sensitive enough, it can assume a quality that bears witness to the reality of past life.”

Thinking Architecture, Peter Zumthor

On one hand, Peter Zumthor’s Thinking Architecture is a collection of lectures and essays, written between 1988 and 2009. On the other hand, it is a collection of spatial impressions; absorbed moods and design approaches. It is also a book about the presence; the absence and about the act of remembering and observing as a device for triggering human emotions. Zumthor writes books in the same way he designs buildings: by creating a highly atmospheric experiences. Thinking Architecture seems to instill the same combination of firmness and delicacy that emanates from Zumthor’s architecture. The titles themselves seem to generate a sence of subtle spatial experience: “Shadowless Modernism“; “Chinks in sealed objects“; ” For the silence of sleep“; ” The Body of Architecture” …

This third, expanded edition includes two new essays:  ”Architecture and Landscape” and “The Leis Houses” (which, it turns out, are available for visitors to rent as vacation houses). The book also includes photographs of Peter Zumthor’s residence and an amazing textile hardcover with a certain “quality without a name” that reminds the covers of old volumes of World’s Classics.

Scroll down to see some of our favorite quotes:

“Producing inner images is a natural process common to everyone. It is part of thinking. Associative, wild, free, ordered, and systematic thinking in images, in architectural, spatial, colorful, and sensuos pictures- this is my favorite definition of design.”

“The building, city, house, or street seems consciously placed. It generates a place. Where it stands, there is a back and a front, there is a left and a right, there is closeness and distance, an inside and outside, there are forms that focus and condense or modify the landscape. The result is an environment.”

“Sometimes I can almost feel a particular door handle in my hand, a piece of metal shaped like the back of a spoon.”

Contemporary architecture should be just as radical as contemporary music. But there are limits. Although a work of architecture based on disharmony and fragmentation, on broken rhythms, clustering and structural disruptions may be able to convey a message, as soon as we understand its statement our curiosity dies, and all that is left is the question of the building’s practical usefulness.

Architecture has its own realm. It has a special physical relationship with life. I do not think of it primarily as either a message or a symbol, but as an evelope and background for life which goes on in and around it, a sensitive container for the rhythm of footsteps on the floor, for the concetration of work, for the silence of sleep.”

Have a great time on New Year‘s Eve and see you again next year!

P.S. We are going to be in Munich at the beginning of January 2013. If you’re around and you’re interested in some networking, drop us a line!

ICEBERGS,Free-floating structures, 1991, Lebbeus Woods

Figuration indicates a necessity,
leaving the transformative,
the imagined continuity
of discrete things,
assigned to purpose.

For motion to occur,
a distance must be reduced.
The local is ultimately controlled
by global disturbances
vanishing exponentially.

Horizontality influences shifts
occurring in minor dimensions,
simulating the temporally complete.
But time’s direction is normal
to long set horizons.

Appearances do not lie,
or nothing is true.
Beneath them, then, a layer,
unseen and out of reach,
mocks the idea of order.

Ground is complex enough
with the input of new forces.
A hierarchy is activated where,
disconnected from time,
the forces contrive direction.

The description is fact
unresolved by abstract laws
of residual force without,
of ground’s resistance,
& time’s slow expiation.

An unrecognized presence,
oscillating borderline of influence
negotiating limits of chance,
remains, still expanding
in the mathematics.

Organizing elements are hidden,
too obvious to notice again.
Scattering rules each apply once.
The structures of spaces interact,
constant engines of chance.

Difference shifts. Free forces
become unexpected edges.
Still, difference defends each,
and the form cannot again
ever be the same.

Density is an exact quality,
measured by an illusion of presence,
or how forcefully perception lies.
The swarming of thoughts
reduces looping circuits of lines.

Density occurs with an illusion.
Thought accumulates as force,
where none exists. Soft and unsure,
the concept merely conjures
a significant reality.

The common plane commands
where appearances confuse
angles of separate perception–
flattened and refined,
their residing geometry.

‘Ghost’ waves precede the actual,
defining ground and air equivalence,
constructing with the same elements
turbulence and cadenced flows:
the vicissitudes of stillness.

Full text accompanying the UtopX series (2006) by Lebbeus Woods.

“In its advocacy of artistic structures that demand a particular involvment on the part of the audience, contemporary poetics merely reflects our culture’s  attraction for the “indeterminate”, for all those processes which, instead of relying on a univocal, necessary sequence of events, prefer to disclose a field of possibilities, to create “embiguous” situations open to all sorts of operative choices and interpretations.”

Umberto Eco, “The Open Work”

A few months ago the Monocle came out with its annual ranking of the best cities to base yourself in. Among with the usual indicators of crime, healthcare, state-funded education and business climate the authors of the research also emphasize on the city’s commitment to change.  No surprize by the fact that Zurich is heading the ranking: the city has been very proactive about its strategy to fight the once-stuffy reputation of a “well-groomed” financial center.

Talking about commitment to change and openness we would like to point out that a lot of interesting stuff happen outside “the most liveable and loveable” cities as well. The location that is of particular interest to us - the city of Zagreb possesses the “freedom of the peripheral moment” and is as exciting to us as the cities that are currently heading rankings. Our interest in Zagreb and this article have been inspired in the first place by a book that we recently read. PROJECT ZAGREB: Transition as Condition, Strategy Practice is an amazing piece of work, that examines the generative dynamics of the ever-changing Zagreb, where the conditional and the open-ended have become instruments of architectural and urban design. We’ ve decided to divide the artcile in two parts. In this first part we shall examine in brief some events that mark not only the croatian but also the international art scene of the 70′s- they are subject of another quite interesting book, that came out last year.

The “little known story” of the advent of computers in art

In the 1960s, the city of Zagreb became the epicenter of a curious chain of events and gained a notable reputation as a leading international host of avant-garde visual artists. In 1961 a group exhibition of various European artists marked the initiation of a period, that played a significant but less-known role in the history of computer-based art: The New Tendencies group was found. Pursuing the idea of “art as visual research”, the members of the group experimented with wide range of media, from film and video to lumino-kinetic and computer generated techniques; often introducing interactive installations in the spaces of the city itself.

Tendencije 4 poster, "Computer and Visual Researc"' exhibition (1969)

The Galerija suvremene umjetnosti [Gallery of Contemporary Art] was a keen advocate of the movement and acted as a host institution for the five New Tendencies exhibitions, organized in Zagreb from 1961 to 1973. By the 1968 launch of Bit International‘s first edition – a multilingual, innovative magazine for visual research and media theory, Zagred had become an international meeting place where artists, engineers, and scientists from both sides of the Iron Curtain gathered.

A significant turnaround occurred with the symposium and the exhibition entitled NT 4 Computers and Visual Research, (1968/69), whereby [New] Tendencies defined the meaning, ideology and purpose of the experiment they had been running from the very beginning. The period until NT 5 (1973) was almost solely focused on the achievements of computer art. After Tendencies 4 and the first international colloquium [New] Tendencies, and until 1973, when the Tendencies 5 exhibition was held, the above mentioned vision entirely turned not only towards anticipating but also taking some of the first steps in computer art; a dialogue between art and ‘machines’ capable of creative activity.

Lidija Merenik, “Before the Art of New Media” 

Bit international, periodical, 1968-72

Vladimir Bonačić (1938–1999) is one of the most intriguing members of the New Tendencies group who’s artistic career was a synergy of science and art. From 1969 to 1973 Bonačić headed the Laboratory of Cybernetics in the Croatian National Research Institute Ruder Boskovic in Zagreb. He also had done some extensive research work in the field of pattern recognition and hidden data structures. With the support of the Gallery for Contemporary Art in Zagreb he joined the New Tendencies and began his artistic career in 1968.

Computer generated object GF.E (16.4), detail, (1969/1970)

His first art work- the electronic object T4, was created in collaboration with the artist Ivan Picelj. Vladimir Bonacic explored interactivity on a social level as well, installing computer-based works in public spaces. In 1969 the large-scale public installation DIN. PR18 was set up on the facade of the NAMA department store on Kvaternik square in Zagreb. Other public installations were set up in 1971 on the NAMA store on Ilica street in the very center of Zagreb and in Belgrade on the façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Bonacic criticized the use of randomness in computer-based art, as he considers humans to be simply better in “making the ‘aesthetic program’ relevant for human beings”.

 ”Observing the qualitative relation for the aesthetic measure, we come to conclude that the maximal originality (namely, disorder created by random selection of symbols) brings immense aesthetic values. Let us suppose we have created the program in some other way but still it is the program that will result in an aesthetic object. Using the random generator we shall carry on with random distribution of the existent information. While consistent in use of the random generator, we speak of ‘maximal originality,’ no matter what the results of the program might be. The random generator creates the accidental and unique presentation, which has neither value nor importance for human beings. Such information can evoke various associations in the observer. But a computer used in such a way lags far behind the human being. Even if the expressive potentialities of the computer were equal to those of a human being, the essence of Pollock’s world and creation would not be surpassed, regardless of the complexity of future computers or peripheral units. That, of course, does not mean that a man (or a monkey or other animal) aided by a computer could not create an aesthetically relevant object if they consciously or unconsciously act obeying the law of accident.”

Vladimir Bonačić

Vladimir Bonačić DIN. GF100 (1969). Computer-controlled light object

Many of the New Tendencies goup founding members were architects, who had previously been involved in EXAT 51 group (an abbreviation of Eksperimentalni atelje – Experimental Studio) – a forerunner, that prepared the ground for New Tendencies later activity.

“EXAT was the earliest and the most consistent proponent of the supremacy of abstract art and of a new profile of art and the artist; a synthesis of ‘pure’ and ‘applied’ art. “

Lidija Merenik, “Before the Art of New Media”  

This is the case of Vjenceslav Richter - one of the founders of EXAT 51 and a member of New Tendencies as well. In 1949, Richter graduated from the Department of Architecture of the Technical Faculty of the University of Zagreb.  He designed exhibition pavilions, several museum buildings, and was involved in industrial and interior design. From 1962 he began to explore the medium of sculpture, which resulted in the Reliefmeter series among with many other works of art.

 For more information on the topic, please visit the following links:

•  Vladimir Bonačić: Art as a Function of Subject, Cognition, and Time
• The Work of Vladimir Bonačić: A Temporary Realization of the New Tendencies’ Program by Darko Fritz
• Digitizing Ideas: Archives of Conceptual and Neo-Avantgarde Art Practices
• compArt daDA: the database Digital Art
• Virtual Museum of Avant-Gard
• New Tendencies and Bit International, 1961–1973

Since we released RABBIT yesterday, there are more than 250 downloads! Thanks everybody for your interest – this is what keeps us motivated to create tools that rock!

We also received 4-5 requests to release RABBIT without a need to log in on Facebook. Although we understand these requests, please consider the following:

RABBIT 0.3 is a major upgrade.

The new version provides numerous new features and improvements:

• Compatibility with Grasshopper 0.8.XXXX [NEW]
• New Icon Set [NEW]
• 1D/2D Elementary Cellular Automata Support [NEW]
• 2D/3D Excitable Media Cellular Automata Support [NEW]
• 2D/3D Life-Like Cellular Automata: Conway’s Game of Life, Generations, 2×2, etc.
• 2D/3D L-Systems: Branching structure, Space-filling curves, etc.
• L-Systems Tubes/Thickness Support [NEW]
• L-Systems Angle/Thickness Scale Support [NEW]

It took us months of hard work to release this new version.

We are sacrificing a lot of our free time to develop the plug-in. Code, Graphics, Site, Tutorials - every single thing consumes a lot of time.

It is free!

RABBIT is free for non-commercial work. We are not charging our users and we are not affiliates with McNeel in any way.

Our reward? We love our community!

We love our community. We enjoy your comments and likes. Your interest is the single driving force behind the RABBIT development.

We do not share personal information, neither we are interested in your personal information! The only thing, we are interested in is to expand our community and to stay in touch with it. The easiest way to do that is via social media.

Everyone can take the decision whether the efforts behind RABBIT deserve a single click of a ‘Like’ button or not.

Thank you!

In conclusion, we would like to thank you for your support and ask for your understanding. We have put a lot of hard work in RABBIT. Have fun and enjoy it!

Sincerely,
MORPHOCODE

RABBIT 0.3 is compatible with the latest version of Grasshopper at the moment(0.8.0066).This new version is equipped with a new set of icons and is simplified allowing even easier modeling of cellular automata and l-systems into Grasshopper.

RABBIT allows you to create 2D/3D L-Systems, 1D Elementary Cellular Automata, 2D/3D Life-Like Cellular Automata, Excitable Media Cellular Automata.

Make sure to Get this new release and tell us what you think: DOWNLOAD RABBIT.
Also, check out our UPDATED TUTORIALS SECTION!

This is the most famous cellular automata ever invented. People have been discovering patterns for this rule since around 1970. Large collections are available on the Internet.
The rule definition is very simple: a living cell remains alive only when surrounded by 2 or 3 living neighbors, otherwise it dies of loneliness or overcrowding. A dead cell comes to life when it has exactly 3 living neighbors.
A rule by John Conway.
More about Game of Life

This is the most famous cellular automata ever invented. People have been discovering patterns for this rule since around 1970. Large collections are available on the Internet.
The rule definition is very simple: a living cell remains alive only when surrounded by 2 or 3 living neighbors, otherwise it dies of loneliness or overcrowding. A dead cell comes to life when it has exactly 3 living neighbors.
A rule by John Conway.
More about Game of Life