What can self-sustaining habitats teach us about living together?
The Past, Present, and Future of Resource Generation Systems
What do outer space capsules, submarines, and office buildings have in common? Each was conceived as a closed system: a self-sustaining physical environment demarcated from its surroundings by a boundary that does not allow for the transfer of matter or energy.
The Project.
Closed Worlds, curated by Storefront for Art and Architecture and Lydia Kallipoliti, exhibits an archive of 41 historical living prototypes built over the last century that present an unexplored genealogy of closed resource regeneration systems.
The project encompassed an exhibition, a book, a conference, a design competition, a hackathon and much more.
Virtual Reality As Closed Loop System
The exhibition features Some World Games, a virtual reality ecosystem by Farzin Farzin that presents a contemporary 42nd prototype. Some World Games, the winning installation of the Closed Worlds Design Competition, is an immersive environment that urges visitors to explore and experiment with virtual prototypes generated from the archive of 41 closed systems exhibited as part of the larger Closed Worlds exhibition. Participants are guided through the installation on a looped track that channels their kinetic motion through an orbiting virtual environment.
Production & Hackathon
I led program direction and exhibition production for Closed Worlds, as part of which I organized a day-long hackathon. Coders, game designers, architects, artists, and filmmakers were invited to collaboratively build new virtual worlds using the Some World Games installation as an interface. Teams had 8 hours to produce VR experiences to be uploaded directly to the headset walking loop, each presented at an evening reception.
Lead Hackers: Kaho Abe, John Arnold, Ezio Blasetti, Nick Fox-Gieg, Tims Gardner, Farzin Lotfi-Jam, Ramsey Nasser, Daniel Perlin, Dan Taeyoung, George Valdes, Rohan Sawhney, Clayton Peterson
Project Credits & Information
- Project type
- Exhibition
- Partner
- Storefront for Art & Architecture
- Agency
- —
- Role
- Program Direction, Production
- Credits
- Organized by the Storefront Team. Director: Eva Franch i Gilabert. Curator and Principal Researcher: Lydia Kallipoliti. Production by Maximilian Lauter and the Storefront team. Graphic Design and Exhibition Design: Pentagram/Natasha Jen with Melodie Yashar and JangHyun Han. Installation photography: Jake Naughton. 42nd Prototype, Some World Games: Installation Design, Concept, and Fabrication: Farzin Farzin (Farzin Lotfi-Jam, Sharif Anous, John Arnold).
- Website
- Storefront — Closed Worlds
- Date
- 2016
