Education & Technology

view of the ground floor room ‘zelazowa wola’ displaying the period of his life in which he lived in poland
photos by marcin czechowicz
all images courtesy of the fyderyk chopin institute

milan-based migliore + servetto architetti asociati have designed the permanent exhibition
of the (fryderyk) chopin museum, which has opened in warsaw, poland on occasion
of the bicentenary of the composer’s birth, 1810.

the museum holds a collection selected from over 5,000 items belonging to the
fryderyk chopin institute, and was conceived as a reference point of the chopin year celebrations
and will become the main centre for artistic activities which draw on the work of chopin.
located inside dell’ostrogski palace, the historic complex was built in 1600, with expansions
made in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, and was rebuilt in 1949 – 1954.
the overall aim of the project was to change the traditional perception of the museum.
migliore + servetto architetti asociati, took up the challenge set by the museum, designing a space
where visitors can freely explore the creative process of chopin as a man, composer and pianist.

‘…while talking with the architectural elements and the structure of the building,
has fostered the creative development of content through the integration of music, objects in the
collection and interactive systems, defining a message multilayered and multimodal, addressed
to different audiences and allowing the individual visitor a unique freedom of use.’
- ico migliore, studio co-founder

chopin as pianist

the design includes interactive multimedia systems in which visitors are able to touch and read,
listen to more information and see visuals from composer’s life. RFID technology allows
the customization of audio-video elements presented through more than 70 interactive stations.
there are five different levels of content, based on age and comprehension, visually and hearing
impaired, which is available in 8 different languages. the interaction of the museum
is designed as an individual path of knowledge, where emotional landscapes are combined with
physical space, the items of the collection and the exhibition’s interactive components.

documentation of the important women of chopin’s life

the ground floor begins with documentation of the period that chopin spent in poland,
particularly warsaw,  with images of his childhood, information on musical influences
and the polish landscape, along with his music playing. there is also a room which contains
original items, animated sounds and shadows, creating a relationship between his music,
the environment and the people of the time. there is also a room with play stations where
children can learn about the composer.

the first floor exhibits the period in which chopin escaped the russian invasion and lived
in exile in france. here visitors can find musical texts and activate sounds of his music. meanwhile,
images of the musical compositions are unveiled. this floor also documents the women
which marked the composer’s life and includes intimate stories documented inside big volumes
which preserve the most important and precious parts of his life. an interactive floor has sound tracks
of different musical instruments which are activated through sensors hidden inside the floor,
creating a whole score of chopin’s work.

the last floor can be seen as a library showing chopin as a man through visual,
sound documents and objects.

audio stations and interactive drawers

exhibit of his travels around europe

chopin museum

panels exhibiting chopin as composer

Source: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/9632/chopin-museum.html

digilog books offer 3-D images, sound and augmented reality experiences.
they will be available to the public soon.

pop-up is so passé.
south korean scientists have developed 3-D technology for books that makes characters
literally leap off the page.

the popularity of 3-D entertainment has been given a boost by a slew of recent films,
including sci-fi blockbuster ‘avatar’ and tim burton’s ‘alice in wonderland’.
several companies are also offering 3-D televisions and a 3-D video game console will revealed soon.

the technology for producing digilog books, currently under development at gwangju institute
of science & technology (GIST) culture technology institute (director woontack woo,
professor at department of information and telecommunications), was introduced in KBS’s
TV program the sponge on march 5th and attracted a lot of interest.

in particular, the program featured the first books ever produced domestically in the digilog book
format – the temple bell and hongkildongjeon. the guests were filled with admiration on viewing
a 3-D image of a temple bell model and heroes of the books while enjoying vivid sound.

at south korea’s gwangju institute of science and technology, researchers used 3-D technology to animate two children’s books of korean folk tales, complete with writhing dragons and heroes bounding over mountains.

the digilog book is a next-generational e-book that allows readers to view content in 3-D, in addition to being able to touch and smell the objects. unlike virtual reality (VR) technology, in which both content and background aren’t real, augmented reality (AR) experience used in the digilog book is created from the overlay of virtual digital content on physical reality.

this is a korean quiz show, please be patient and watch for awhile.

pictures in the books have cues that trigger the 3-D animation for readers wearing
computer-screen goggles. as the reader turns and tilts the book, the 3-D animation
moves accordingly.

‘it took us about three years to develop the software for this,’ said kim sang-cheol,
the team leader of the project.

kim said the technology could be used for any type of book and sees it eventually being used
for images displayed over smart phones or at museums to enhance exhibits.
but those waiting for 3-D books may have to wait long.

‘it will take a while to market this technology to the general public,‘ kim said.
he was not sure of the eventual price but thinks it will be affordable enough to be
mass marketed.

Source: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/16/view/9607/digilog-3-d-technology-for-books.html

The Page Chaser is a flexible bookmark that automatically marks the page as you turn them. Ordinary bookmarks can fall out and require you to correctly mark where you left off. Why waste all that precious brain power on something so mundane? The Page Chaser catches every page as you turn. It’s an incredibly simply design that never falls out. Cheap, easy to manufacture, and handy. Win in my book.

Designer: Hyeon Joo Lee

Source: http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/03/25/bookmark-does-the-work-for-you/

That looks like fun. Gouging your hand into a display unit, sinking into the colored lights like Ewan McGregor into the carpet during his heroin-fuelled trip in Trainspotting. Impress, as the flexible display is called, runs on Arduino and sensors.

It’s the work of German designer Silke Hilsing, who put sensors in between layers of foam, so when someone touches the foam it turns an overhead projector on, which beams colored lights down. The harder someone presses down on the foam, the more colors and light they can see.

It’s all pretty barmy stuff which won’t be in our homes anytime soon, but I’d definitely give it a drunken fondle if I saw it in a pub or club, as it reminds me so much of the touchscreen tables at the Revolution bar in Las Vegas’ Mirage Hotel. [Silke Hilsing via Designboom]

impress – flexible display from Silke Hilsing on Vimeo.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5502024/if-only-every-display-would-let-you-grope-it

If you loved browsing the archives of National Geographic when they opened up their vaults last November and found yourself wanting to take your own impressive nature shots, you’ll definitely want to check out the BBC Photo Masterclasses.

Published in the pages of the BBC’s Wildlife magazine, the Photo Masterclasses are articles written by Wildlife photographers and specialists in their genre of nature photography. You’ll find articles on macro photography, landscape photography, and photographing different creatures under all sorts of different conditions. If you love learning a new photography trick or two you’ll definitely want to dive into the archives of the BBC.

Check out the full list of articles at the link below. If you have a favorite site for learning new photography tricks—nature-related or otherwise—let’s hear about it in the comments. Thanks thom_vee!

BBC Wildlife Magazine Photo Masterclasses [BBC via Nature Magnified via #tips]