Proposal for Analysing Environments

‘Cloud Gardens’: A site-specific interactive installationSubmitted by: Raeleen Murugan, Karina Nicole & Erin Brazeau

Ryerson University – MPM 406

A site specific interactive installation within Cloud Gardens that explores how its users interact within the space and in turn how their reactions ‘trigger’ the installation.

BEFORE Idea #1 AFTER

Large floor screen projecting aquatic life and sensory LED rainbow lights.

Idea #2

Sensory moving LED light up ‘boxes’

Proposal Outline

To make a site-specific interactive installation which requires user’s participation and explores how they interact within the space of ‘Cloud Gardens’. We want to incorporate aesthetically pleasing installations within the waterfall and monumental wall area: each installation triggered with sensors reacting to human movement. For example, the waterfall ‘lights’ equipped with rainbow LEDS and its large water floor screen project aquatic animals only when users are standing within the space itself. Similarly, the second installation is triggered by human movement within the space, where for example a person walks up the ramp leading to the wall which then responds with only a few of the light-up LED boxes moving in and out of its position repeatedly. The increase of an audience will cause the installation to react accordingly with how many people are within the space. For both installations, a large amount of participants will trigger numerous boxes to move or for the waterfall site: an increase of aquatic life within the pond area.

Social Use Documentation

Upon visiting the area on different days at different times of the day, we noticed the majority of people who utilise the space are youth to young adults, a few families and urban ‘street youth’. The monumental wall area attracted the ‘youth’ to utilise it for parkour, skate boarding and extreme biking: with its high ledges, bridge and zigzag ramp: an obstacle heaven which is not off limits to the public. In comparison, the waterfall area within the day attracts tourists, young adults and families who come to enjoy the visually pleasing aesthetics of the site whilst taking photos. At night, Cloud Garden’s scene changes dramatically, with the waterfall lighting up creating a radiating glow, attracting ‘urban youth’ as well as the homeless who vacate the area as well as couples who use the area as a romantic type of date space.