Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation by Responsive Spaces is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 Bronze A' Design Award in Installation Design Competition Category.
BronzeInstallation· 2023
Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation
Client: Welser Profile
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Installation Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #147550The Design
About Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation
Welser Profile is a global provider of steel profiles. The company was looking for an interactive brand experience for its visitor center. Over 13 generations Welser Profile grew into a world leader in the industry. Therefore it made perfect sense for Responsive Spaces to build upon the very core of this success story and let the product be the hero. Real client products were used to build a steel organ, which aesthetically hints towards tradition and reacts to every human touch by offering a glimpse of the underlying magic through the creation of mystical soundscapes.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Grand Interview
Your innovative fusion of traditional steel profiles with interactive sound technology in the Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation beautifully bridges industrial heritage with contemporary experience - could you share the conceptual journey that led to this unique intersection of materials and interaction?
If it is possible to use the real products of our clients, we always prefer to do so. Sometimes the creative process is a little bit longer then some other times. Here, we started with a core idea. How can we create a surprising experience around the magic, that lies "behind" the products of our client Welser Profile.
The Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation features an intriguing combination of capacitive sensors and dynamic sound engine - how did you approach the technical challenges of creating seamless interaction while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the steel organ design?
We did soon know, we wanted to create an interactive sound installation. We just needed some rounds of testing of how to accomplish it the best way. Sometimes it is really the best way, to not think too hard about possible problems but just go out there and try stuff. You never know, what might happen on the creative side while doing so
In developing the Sounds of Welser Interactive Installation, what inspired your decision to create constantly changing soundscapes rather than fixed tones, and how does this dynamic element enhance the visitor experience at Welser Profile's visitor center?
Since we believed that the interaction with the installation should always lead to a good experience, we could not build just "another piano". By rather leaning on soundscapes than very definitive sounds, we ensured that - what ever the users do - it will always sound good.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- While The design of the installation resembles an organ, it is far more technical, with sophisticated capacitive sensors that respond to touch and a dynamic sound engine that changes its sets of instruments every other minute.
One of the unique features of the installation is the way in which the technology is hidden, allowing visitors to focus on the tactile and sonic experience of interacting with the steel profiles. The capacitive sensors allowing for a precise and intuitive interaction with the product, while the dynamic sound engine creates a constantly changing soundscape that is unique and engaging. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Dimensions: Width 4000 mm x Depth max. 1000 mm x Height max. 3400 mm
- Tags
- interactive installation, sound installation, organ, soundscapes, touch installation
- Production Technology
- Developing the organ required a combination of advanced production technology and carefully selected materials. Hidden from the users, there are a PC, 2 speakers and a microcontroller. Capacitive sensors for each steel profile are triggered by touch through the change of its resistance. The profiles are electrically conductive but are insulated by a wooden base, which allows for safe and distinguishable interaction with them. 18 profiles result in 9 tones and two different octaves on each side.
- Design Challenge
- An alloy coating was applied to each profile to prevent flash rusting and ensure durability. However, this presented a challenge as the alloy negatively impacted the profiles' electrical conductivity. Different alloys were meticulously tested until the best solution was found. The calibration of the sensors had to be consistent across all 18 profiles, which presented an additional challenge. The developed sensor system demanded attention to detail and a lot of testing under various conditions.
- Research
- Through a process of exploration and experimentation, an idea was settled upon for an interactive installation featuring an organ made entirely of real customer steel profiles from Welser Profile. Visitors would be able to touch the profiles to create various sounds.To bring the idea to fruition, prototypes were tested using various materials and production techniques. The result is an installation that combines advanced production technology with carefully selected materials and an intuitive design to create a truly immersive experience for visitors.
- Inspiration
- As a global provider of steel profiles, Welser Profile was looking for an interactive brand experience for its visitor center. "The product is the hero" was the core idea of this installation. The history of Welser is a ongoing success story, which building upon made perfect sense. Real products were used to build this steel organ, which aesthetically hints towards tradition and reacts to every human touch by offering a glimpse of the underlying magic through creation of mystical soundscapes.
- Project Duration
- The project launched in September 2021 in Gresten, Lower Austria in the Headquarter of Welser Profile and will be a permanent interactive installation.
- Operation Flow
- The organ installation is an interactive experience that allows visitors to explore and create sounds by touching real steel profiles. The sounds produced by the installation are constantly changing, and visitors can experiment with different combinations of touches to create their own unique soundscapes.
- Team Members
- Steel Organ Design, 3D & Development: Julian Reil
- Image Credits
- Photos / 3D Sketches / Sound: Julian Reil
Video: Isabella Rogl (das narrativ), Manuel Bauer (das narrativ)
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