Flux 1.0: An Interactive Real-time Video Portal (2013)

In collaboration with David Clark (concept, sound & lighting)
Concept, programming & interaction design by Nima Navab

By creating fluid portals between different parts of a building, Flux aims to collapse the physical nature of a structure. An intimate interaction is defined in which visitors, seated on the concrete floor, use gestures to open a window onto another space. In the current iteration the other space is defined by pre-recorded audio and video of the atrium in Concordia’s EV building. While the portal is closed, visitors hear the sounds of pedestrians from the perspective of the atrium. As the portal opens, the sound travels to the perspective of the pedestrians thereby drawing the focus into the public space. Antecedent works, including the TML’s 2011 Alexander Wang FNO project, have inspired the experiential nature of project insofar as gestures are used to open a window between two places. (Video processing techniques are adapted from those developed in the FNO project.)