I created a light and night clock (the needle has a 360 degree rotation during sunlight and another revolution during nighttime), seeking to encourage a wider environmental awareness and to reshape everyday behaviours. It emphasises that we are part of nature with a natural cycle and that we don’t listen anymore in the modern way of living. This project aims to coordinate ourselves in a more adequate way, weaving ‘human time’ with ‘environmental time’, particularly important in the current context of environmental and social crisis.
I created two different face of the clock, one in plywood for indoor public places and mirror acrylic one for outdoor.
From the study “Time Flies” I found that there is little chance to interfere in private life or modify routine. By using public spaces and in-between places I can engage stakeholders. Urban installations exhibiting objective data have the potential to elicit reflection, change or action, playing a critical role in the construction and reflection of social behaviour (Claes & Vande Moere, 2013; Galloway, 2004).
The image engraved on the clocks are drawings of lace lichen. They are one of the most documented bio-indicators. Usually growing on Oak tree, their diversity correlates directly with air quality and human health. It is view as the symbol of wisdom of time, an evolving barometer of climatic change, a biological indicator (Bardell, Bucknum, & Howe, 2012).
The clock is composed of a stepper motor of 200 steps, an Arduino YUN, a motor shield, a battery pack and a NeoPixel Ring. It is connected to the WIFI and will be able to geo-localise itself in the future. For now the location is given to the program, then from this information, it gets the time of sunrise, sunset and the actual clock time from the online data base. The rate of each step is calculated depending of the length of day light or night, allowing the needle to do 360 degrees in day time and the same in night time. The user will be able to see when looking at the clock if there is more or less of the day remaining with light in comparison with what already passed.
Sources:
Bardell, F., Bucknum, B., & Howe, B. (2012). Wired Wilderness. Retrieved 25/03/15, from https://climateclock.wordpress.com/residency-finalists/wired-wilderness/
Claes, S., & Vande Moere, A. (2013). Street infographics: raising awareness of local issues through a situated urban visualization. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2nd ACM International Symposium on Pervasive Displays.
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