Responsive Public Space (RPS) is a performative spatial environment integrating audio-visual composition responsive to the engagement of participants among themselves. In an interdisciplinary collaboration architects, artists, composers and computer vision specialists developed an environment where participants can enter, move around, and – through interaction with each other – experience different fragments of a action-sensitive sound and visual environment. The system uses a high-end tracking system in order to reliably track multiple participants.

RPS, which includes a light surface hanged over participants and corresponding soundscape, tracks and evaluates people’s behaviour and translates this information into light and sound. Different from common interactive artworks where users are interacting directly with the artwork, here participants only can call alive an ‘active space’ if they working closely with each other. Passers-by are invited to react to the light-soundscape and so to each other’s actions and reaction in the space. The experience intensifies by the number of actors within the space whose quality of relationship is represented through space-sensitive architectural construction of audio-light surface. The collective behaviour and how participants manage their spatial relationship influence the quality of experience for each actor; this implies how far they transform the active space around themselves. The aim is an immersive audio-spatial experience of ‘nearness’ that is enacted by participants’ imaginary and novel sense of embodied space.

RESPONSIVE PUBLIC SPACE – Installation & OPEN SPACE at Andräplatz, Graz.
A Project by ORTLOS Space Engineering.
Dedicated to Charlotte Pöchhacker, Director of Artimage contemporary informe.

Test phase: 25./26. 09. 18:00 – 20:30
Performance: 27./28. 09. 18:00 – 21:30

Open Space – public discussion: Friday, 27.09. 2013, 19:30
with interdisciplinary team of ORTLOS Space Engineering

Discussion with: Mark Blaschitz, SPLITTERWERK / Hermann Glettler, Pfarre St. Andrä / Werner Jauk, Institut für Musikwissenschaften KFUGraz

Opening Words: Judith Schwentner, Nationalratsabgeordnete

Concept & Space Design: ORTLOS Space Engineering AT/UK: Ivan Redi, Andrea Redi, Brigitta Zics, Emil Gruber, Gudrun Jöller, Hanno Fröhlich, Bernardo Daum, Dragan Danicic, Melanie Troger
Composition und Audio Programming: Hubert Machnik, D
Software Programming: NIRI: Marko Smiljanic, Radica Velinov, Obrad Stajic, SRB
Hardware Development (Visual Space): Sinisa Hristov, SRB
Person Tracking: ComputerVisionLab TU Wien: Martin Kampel, Andreas Zweng
Static: Hartmuth Petschnigg
Photos: Nikola Milatovic
Local support: Büro der Nachbarschaften, Pfarre St. Andrä – Hermann Glettler

Financial support: Stadt Graz Kultur, Land Steiermark Kultur, bm:ukk

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