We created an augmented game of hopscotch at Eyebeam in New York to celebrate the launch of our TSPS software and the press announcement of our Plug-In-Play installation at the 2010 01SJ Biennial.

TSPS is an opensource Toolkit for Sensing People in Spaces developed in openFrameworks. In this installation, we used it to track people from an overhead camera, and then transmit their locations to a LAB-created hopscotch app (the projected imagery). Read more and download the beta at openTSPS.com.

We had a few days in Tokyo to wander around and have fun. One of our first stops was to Wakamatsu electronics store in Akihabara which featured a big section of Arduino related goodness. Check out a video from the 4th floor..



Plus, no trip to Japan would be complete without some media of random things we saw..



And a visit to a famous street crossing…

James and I had the pleasure of speaking at the HIGH5 Creative Conference located in the beautiful Yokohama Osanbashi Hall designed by FOA



The conference theme was loosely based on using the Galapagos islands as a metaphor for a new type of thinking about interdisciplinary design. We choose to present the work of the LAB through the questions we ask ourselves when designing transformable spaces. You can learn more about the conference here on the Hitspaper write-up.

We would like to thank Arata Sasaki, Takashi Hawada, and Hiro for the wonderful hospitality, thoughtful discussion, and excellent Tofu! Also see the cool peapod that the Balloon artist made at dinner…



A little while back Hitspaper asked to interview us for their online magazine. You can read the interview here.

‘I’ve always been interested in kaleidoscopes,’ David Rockwell says of his design for jeweller Mauboussin’s new 6000-sq-ft Madison Avenue flagship. When night falls, this tiny townhouse’s screened facade is lit up with the shifting colours of a projected kaleidoscope.

Read more at Wallpaper’s Retail Directory 2009

Students from the Lincoln School of Art and Design in the UK recently visited us in the LAB while they were in New York. Read about the visit here and be sure to check out the rest of their blog here.

One of the fun things we get to do in the LAB is give all sorts of tours and meet interesting people every week. In fact, if you are in NY and would like to come visit, email us at lab@rockwellgroup.com and we’ll see if we can make it work. On this occasion, we have a few four legged visitors which were too adorable not to post.

Asked to create a “Nest: Creative Construction for any Living Creature.” for the 2009 Design Trust Annual Benefit we decided to create a nest of bright ideas. Cradled within a nest of LED lights, the ecosphere is illuminated and controlled by sensors that read the intensity of your brain waves. It is a delicate interplay between life and light. To bring this to fruition we hacked Mindflex for its EEG brainwave technology. Thanks to Dave Vondel for all his help on this project.

Music: Son Lux – Epilogue designtrust.org/events/event_200911_gala.html mindflexgames.com

Tucker’s Fast Company blog about design and the future.

Most people don’t think about the future much. But the very essence of design is thinking ahead–that’s how we make things better.

Read all of Tucker’s posts at Tucker Viemeister – What’s Cookin’?

“Can the building you attend school in play a role in who you become? Tucker Viemeister thinks so.”

Read all of Tucker’s posts at Tucker Viemeister – What’s Cookin’?

Rockwell Group was invited to customize a VIPP waste bin< auctioned off to benefit DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Foundation Fighting Aids. The bin was wrapped with white LED strips that switch on when the foot pedal is depressed.

Music Bibio - All The Flowers diffa.org/canit.asp

Branding has changed dramatically in the last year. There’s not much that’s tangible and nothing is static–and new brands will be open-source experiences.

Check out Tucker’s article Pop-Ups, Pre-Fabs, and DIY: Branding for a New Economy on Fast Company.’

Read all of Tucker’s posts at Tucker Viemeister – What’s Cookin’?

Economics grab all the headlines but beauty is just as important, and even has serious financial ramifications.

Read all of Tucker’s posts at Tucker Viemeister – What’s Cookin’?

“Everyone is a designer, whether they do it professionally or not. The world needs more of them to heed their calling to make the world a better place.”

Check out Tucker’s first blog on fast company: The Role of a Designer? Encourage More People to Become Designers Read all of Tucker’s posts at Tucker Viemeister – What’s Cookin’?

“Think about interactivity as a way to combine digital technology with real-life experience to make the real world better. But the secret is to blur the boundary between the real and the virtual.”

Read Tucker’s thoughts on interaction design: How I Got My Interaction On

Read all of Tucker’s posts at Tucker Viemeister – What’s Cookin’?

Taste was featured on New York Magazine’s Eater blog this week.

The central bar is where it gets crazy, with the biggest feature being a quilt made out of paper plates hanging in space. From each side, LAB is projecting images that change according to taste categories. So, one minute it’ll be all things that are sweet; the next, all that are bitter. ‘It feels very animated, but it’s projecting onto these paper plates.

Eater National: David Rockwell Designs Set-Up for Taste New York

Fast Company penned a great intro to LAB Chief Tucker Viemeister.

“[T]he name Tucker? It’s because of the 1948 Tucker Sedan, the legendary automobile that his dad Read was busy designing at the time of his birth. Yes, Tucker Viemeister is named after a piece of industrial design…which his industrial designer dad worked on! Talk about a birthright.”

Introducing Guest Blogger Tucker Viemeister: Industrial Design Is in His Blood

A recent uptick in interest in LAB activity seen on some internet blogs such as Fubiz and Insidefeeders check it out.

Thanks to the recent internet shout outs for some classic LAB projects: The Sheraton Frieze see on Johnny Holland TV. Venice, Hall of Fragments seen here at the interaction lab @ wdka, here at Ryan Hicks – Harmonium, here at anupark , here at Digital Buyologie and here where the virtual interfaces with the physical at the-u.Me. A mention of our workshop at CIID last year here at pixelpeople . And some more Digital Confetti coverage at inkdish, in French at anythingbutlogs, and in Turkish at fanzineri.

Hall of Fragments wins a D&AD award in the category of environmental design: the winners circle .

Lots of web coverage for the Digital Confetti project and video. A big thanks to all the people who posted this story.
Core 77
Computerlove
PSFK
Archinect
notcot
6park.com
read more

Kanye West shows his interest in the Hall of Fragments in a recent blog post .

The LAB’s own Tucker Viemeister tell us his thoughts on designers and bankers in the Visual Culture: Quote of the Week the blog of Oberholtzer Creative . . The Mauboussin Kaleidoscope makes a guest appearance as a visual aid. Also check out this interview with Tucker.

A recent surge of internet interest has seen seen Hall of Frgaments . showing up on a number of design related blogs notable on the ever popular NOTCOT with links to flyyf , it can also be seen here on jasentay , hysysk , hetmek , kiske and The Centre for Advanced Visualization and Interaction, CAVI . Thanks internet.

A great summery of our AIA lecture in eOCULUS. Read it here .

The LAB presented a lecture to SOM’s BlackBox studio, a studio within SOM using scripting and the linking of data with form-finding algorithms to develop more rigorous approaches to design. Check out some of their work here .

LAB members Joshua and James were guest critics on May 13th at Columbia GSAPP reviews for the Living Architecture class taught by The Living , class blog with the projects here .

LAB Lecture at the AIANYC on May 11th
Speakers:   James Tichenor and Joshua Walton – New Media Leads at LAB at Rockwell Group
For the past 3 years, the Rockwell Group LAB has been building a number of projects that explore the intersection between the physical and virtual through interactive environments. As they look back through these projects, they will discuss how their technology, methodology of prototyping and learning-through-making drive their design decisions, as well as where they see new opportunities for experiences and experimentation.
The LAB is Rockwell Group’s digital interaction design team. The ambition of the LAB is to explore, experiment, and demonstrate interactive experience augmented with digital technology in objects, environments and stories. This activity includes: in house design and creation of interactive environments/objects, scripting software, science and technology consultation, and maintaining networks of technology solution providers. Their toolkit includes working with custom hardware and software for RFID, UPC scanning, video processing, sonar, capacitance, shape memory alloy, LED and lighting technologies, wireless communications, and screen based dynamically composited animation. The LAB embeds sensing and reactive technologies into things and places to create narratives that give people deeper and more valuable experiences.
Date: Tuesday, May 11th, 2009
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm ET
Location: Center for Architecture. 536 LaGuardia Place (Between Bleecker and W.3rd Street), Main Lecture Hall (Lower Level), NYC
Transportation:  6/F Trains to Bleecker St./BWay-Lafayette (Walk 3 blocks West+1 block North)
                        N,R Trains to Prince St (Walk 2 blocks West+2 blocks North)
                        A/C/E/F Trains to W4th St (Walk 3 blocks East+1 block South)
PLEASE NOTE: SEATING FOR THIS EVENT IS LIMITED. YOU MUST RSVP (ehatfield@thorntontomasetti.com) IN ORDER TO ATTEND. Admission: FREE

LAB members Joshua and James will be guest critics on May 16th at Parsons: Design and Management thesis reviews.

A write up about Rockwell group and The Hall of Fragments in Farsi (Persian) here.

Joshua and James detail their thoughts of how to prototype for interactive spaces discussing both tools and strategies in the New Tools special of PROJECT Russia. Read the PDF here.

Interior Design Magazine Publishes Mauboussin kaleidoscope both online and print (April 2009) with pictures .
A U.S. flagship for Mauboussin. Rockwell was intrigued by the 182-year-old French jeweler’s commitment to the visual and culinary arts, which translated into a multidisciplinary brief for a combination shop, patisserie, and event space….At night, the building itself transforms into a sculpture, as a kaleidoscopic loop of Mauboussin baubles is rear-projected onto shades covering the windows. “I may not subscribe to retail therapy,” Rockwell says. “But window-shopping I love.”

Tucker discusses with Helen Marie collaboration in design, the Rockwell Group Lab, the Architectural Biennale in Venice, and sharing credit with your colleagues.Tucker Viemeister is Lab Chief, heading research and development at Rockwell Group lab.rockwellgroup.com.The Lab recently made an interactive introduction installation for the Venice Architecture Biennale also here on bliptv

No pictures but all the text of the article about the Rockwell Group and the LAB
Published December 2008, Wallpaper*

Thanks to Flavorwire for their review of the LAB lecturing at Parsons AFTERTASTE 3 “Tichenor and Walton were funny, likeable and interesting. Their work really does seem to address the future of interior design, and it stays true to Rockwell’s mission to “surprise and delight” in architecture. We found ourselves imaging a future in which interiors could respond to the surrounding objects and people. Looking at images of their installation at the Venice Biennale, we wished they had been there to see it in person..”

Brett’s “Button Organ” was written up at Make Blog.
read more

the blog UnBeige has a nice write up about the upcoming interior design conference AFTERTASTE 3 at Parsons that will have the LAB presenting the first night.

The Northwest Design Invitational
is a biennial competition, recognizing outstanding design since 1988. Entries are evaluated according to the competition’s five criteria of excellence: design innovation, user benefits, market benefits, ecological responsibility and appropriate aesthetics.

Expert jurors will judge all entries in the competitive categories and include Tucker Viemeister, lab chief of Rockwell Group, Tom Dair, president of Smart Design USA and John Lonczak, director of Phi-d.

“NWDI 09 offers industrial designers and students throughout the northwest community an opportunity to come together, learn, connect and share the latest in proper utilization of innovation, usability, responsibility, aesthetics for improved marketability,” said juror?. “Invitationals, like NWDI 09, are vitally important for us to excel as designers and assist in providing outstanding products and concepts for improved environments and economics.”

3.17 Designer Spotlight: Tucker Viemeister, FIDSA (Rockwell Group) . “Industrial Design in the Post-Economic Era” Did design drive business off the edge? Did the profession design it’s own obsolescence? How can the post-economic era be more fertile for good design? Talk to Tucker Viemeister about how design can make things that are good for us into things we want!

Joshua and James will be presenting and lecturing and critiquing at Ali Madad’s Senior Project at Pratt Institute. 12:30pm 3/09/09
read more

Joshua and James will be presenting the work of the LAB at Rockwell Group at AFTERTASTE 3 the annual international symposium dedicated to the critical review of Interior Design. The conference runs April 3 & 4, 2009 but the LAB will be seen on friday April 3rd 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm presenting as part of a discussion on Sights: Environments and Projections.

AFTERTASTE 3 the annual international symposium dedicated to the critical review of Interior Design, intends to provoke a discussion about the richness of the senses and their role in the comprehension of space and inhabitation. Experimental in character, this conference aims to consider projects and ideas that stem from investigations into the workings of the senses.

Writer Georges Perec famously urged us to imagine separate rooms for taste, hearing, sight, smell and touch, yet one might also inversely challenge the primacy of visual perception by bringing the more peripheral and intertwined aspects of sensory experience into focus.

AFTERTASTE 3 will feature accomplished designers, architects, and artists whose work specifically addresses the complex and still relatively unexplored role of sentient perception in the imagining of interiors.

Joshua and James will be presenting the work of the LAB at Rockwell Group at AFTERTASTE 3 the annual international symposium dedicated to the critical review of Interior Design. The conference runs April 3 & 4, 2009 but the LAB will be seen on friday April 3rd 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm presenting as part of a discussion on Sights: Environments and Projections.

AFTERTASTE 3 the annual international symposium dedicated to the critical review of Interior Design, intends to provoke a discussion about the richness of the senses and their role in the comprehension of space and inhabitation. Experimental in character, this conference aims to consider projects and ideas that stem from investigations into the workings of the senses.

Writer Georges Perec famously urged us to imagine separate rooms for taste, hearing, sight, smell and touch, yet one might also inversely challenge the primacy of visual perception by bringing the more peripheral and intertwined aspects of sensory experience into focus.

AFTERTASTE 3 will feature accomplished designers, architects, and artists whose work specifically addresses the complex and still relatively unexplored role of sentient perception in the imagining of interiors.

In their essay “Mock It Up Before You Fock It Up” Joshua and James detail their thoughts of how to prototype for interactive spaces discussing both tools and strategies. It is a special 50th issue of Project Russia devoted to media so get it while its hot at newsstands today.
today

Tucker recently presented at Silver Linings Innovation and the Demographics of Aging in Providence RI presented by Brown Enterprise Forum. He spoke on:How Design Can Reshape Our Lives. Find out how Universal, human-centered design can expand opportunity and enhance everyday life for everyone, including older people. Check it out.

Tucker recently presented at Silver Linings Innovation and the Demographics of Aging in Providence RI presented by Brown Enterprise Forum. He spoke on:How Design Can Reshape Our Lives. Find out how Universal, human-centered design can expand opportunity and enhance everyday life for everyone, including older people. Check it out.

3 # Rockwell Group: Its roster of standout projects includes the marketplace at JetBlue’s JFK terminal, a line of hotels for Starwood, a playground (see page 40), and this year’s set for the Oscars. http://www.fastcompany.com/fast50_09/lists/the-most-innovative-companies-in-design.html .

Tucker recently sat down to talk about the LAB and himself with the folks at Design Glut. Check out this interview from January 26, 2009.
http://designglut.com/2009/01/tucker-viemeister.html

Tucker recently sat down to talk about the LAB and himself with the folks at Design Glut. Check out this interview from January 26, 2009. http://designglut.com/2009/01/tucker-viemeister.html

Read the January 20, 2009 of TechCrunch online’s CruchGear: Now for something completely DIFFA
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/01/20/now-for-something-completely-diffa/

Check
Form magazine form 224 – January / February 2009 to see the Lab’s own James Tichenor on the cover with Dave Mellis of Arduino fame sitting in the basement of IDII.
read more

Business Week Video catches up with The Rockwell Group taking a look at the Jet Blue Terminal and the LAB.

A great video piece of the Venice Architecture Biennale gives some quality coverage of the Hall of Fragments. For more info Read Sarah Balmond’s Biennale Diary from Monocle’s issue 18.