in.bloom is the prodigy of a School of Music and School of Architecture research collaboration between PHD students Joshua Rivory and Kristina Boychenko. After meeting with the UQLife Student Experience Team regarding a BLOOM festival partnership, their supervisors Dr Eve Klein and Dr Fred Fialho Teixeira decided to combine their PhD projects to create a ‘BLOOM inspired’ prototype. Their joint venture proved to be a stroke of genius.
Joshua and Kristina describe in.bloom as an “audio-visual, immersive and interactive experience.” Basically it is a gigantic 10x5metre dome like structure that moves, breathes and sings in response to human touch. The experience is a physical and emotional one as they take in the robotic blossoms, the different sounds and the spectacles of light produced by the life like creature.
The prototype truly is spectacular in that your experience will be unique and unlike anybody else’s while you are in it. The creature will lure you to follow the unique path it lays out for you, or if venturing in with others, the space will produce an innovative pathway and experience for the group.
“This living structure provides an experience which contemplates our place within the world,” states Kristina.
“As you experience the space, it adapts and changes; just like the real world. The experience becomes even more immersive in a group environment. When multiple people interact with the space simultaneously, it results in a larger sonic and visual climax, representing the ability for collaboration to make big changes,” she explains.
The structure is founded on the manipulation of various stimuli and the way these signals impact people’s perception of the space and its behaviour. The ability of in.bloom to act as a ‘living’ creature is linked to the ideas of cybernetics which are represented throughout the project. Guests will experience the space physically and in response to visual, sonic and kinetic stimulus.
“The project was formed by a combination of spatial, sonic and visual signals within an interactive experience which utilised climate change data. As the project developed, the idea to incorporate a moving structure to bring life and interactive behaviour to the installation was suggested,” Joshua and Kristina both explain.
“Imagine entering a space that responds to you with light, sound and movement; enticing you to make decisions as you follow its visual and sonic cues. In.bloom will literally lure you to follow the path it creates for you,” they proclaim.
The original concept evolved from the thought of a central ‘tree’ or ‘root’ which reacted to visitors actions and enticed further exploration. Inspired by both the concept of BLOOM Festival and the jacaranda trees upon which the festival is centred, the in.bloom prototype evolved. The robotic objects within the dome have also been fashioned to resemble blossoming flowers to tie in with the theme of the festival.
Joshua and Kristina teased that the giant dome like creature was only step one of a much larger concept, with stage 2 and 3 coming later.
“This is only step one of a grander idea. Eventually in.bloom will resemble three different stages that will encompass the concept of the present and the future. Stage one ‘the present room’ will launch during BLOOM festival. Stage 2 and 3 will represent the ‘future’ and will add two additional rooms for visitors to interact with later down the track,” Joshua and Kristina muse.
The complex project from conception to launch has taken roughly six months but has been overall a rewarding experience for the two PhD students.
“Composing the interactive narrative of the experiences has been especially interesting and has pushed us to develop a deep level of communication between visitors and the built environment. Working on the project has been a lot of fun for both us and our collaborators, “they confirm.
The Prototyping of in.bloom has been in full flight as of September, with the final product due to launch in the UQ BLOOM festival on October 21st.
In.bloom will launch on Monday 21 October at 6pm at the official launch party. The space will be open to the public from Tuesday 22 October and will available for six weeks for the Brisbane community to enjoy.
