Bike path between Möllevången and Rosengård
Commissioned by the City of Malmö Unsworn Industries is running a project aiming at contributing to the development of Rosengårdsstråket – a bike path that stretches between Möllevången and Rosengård in Malmö. Expected outcome of the project is a number of interaction design concepts which in the next phase can be implemented, and set up along the pathway. The overall project aim is to stimulate movements, and increase the connection between the inner city and the suburbs to create a more sustainable city.

The concepts are developed in a prototype-oriented, interative design process. Besides City of Malmö and Unsworn Industries other partners involved in the project are Urban Art Solutions, Medea, Malmö University, and Do-Fi.

Workshops and prototypes
Up to now two workshops have been organised, and a number of prototypes designed and tested.

Prototyping sessions

Workshop # 1 on April 28, 2011

Workshop # 2 on May 12, 2011

During 2011 we will develop and try out new - pragmatic and extravagant - ways of visualising the history of the 700-year-old Bohus fortress.

IKON?

IKON is an EU-financed project with the aim to strengthen the tourism industry by developing new technologies, tools and solutions that enhance visitors’ experiences of historical sites, and cultural attractions. The project has 47 participating organisations from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. As a part of IKON National Property Board Sweden (Statens Fastighetsverk) and the City of Kungälv have commissioned Unsworn Industries, in collaboration with Testbedstudioand Terje Östling, to develop and prototype a wide range of visualisation concepts at Bohus fortress in western Sweden.

Bohus fortess

The fortress was built in 1308 by the Norwegian King Håkon V. With its strategic location, next to the river Nordre Älv, and close to the borders of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it has played an important role in Nordic power struggles. The fortress was besieged fourteen times, but has never been taken. In 1789 it was closed down and left to decay. Today the fortress is the main attraction of the city of Kungälv and open to visitors during the summer.

Prototyping historical visualisations

A range of events, activities, and guided tours are today offered to people visiting the fortress. IKON aim, by means of low and high tech innovations, to enhance the public activities to attract more visitors, both tourists and locals. How can we bring to life the historical treasures hidden behind the walls of the fortress without disturbing a sensitive site?

Our first experiment is a, yet unnamed, Mobile panorama application for smart phones and tablets that visualises, site-specific historical views, and layers. Inspired by the Parascope the app displays multiple panoramic visualisations of how the fortress might have looked like in the past. The users can immediately compare these views with the current millieu.

Another experiment, the Fickla Walk, explores ultra-violet (UV) torches and ink. When walking the walk using the torch to light up the UV markings, hidden messages are discovered, secrets revealed, and stories told. We have developed prototypes of both production methods and storytelling techniques. We are also researching how the UV-materials might affect these fragile historical environments.

On-site prototyping sessions in March and April 2011:

UPDATE: Check out these videos from the user-testing!

We’re on our way back from Gothenburg, after four days of public city-prototyping workshops and urban planning conversations with the Ingrepp research group.

Dead dialogue

A few years ago when a major, central throughway was diverted through a new tunnel, a large slab of land on the southern riverbed area (Södra Älvstranden) in central Gothenburg was suddenly opened for redevelopment. In a (then) much applauded gesture the reponsible quango Älvstranden AB invited teams of citizens to come up with proposals for their future vision of the area. But, as the teams entered politically sensitive proposals that didn’t fit the wishlist of quango, the process was slowly quieted and bottled up.

Keeping up the conversation

The Ingrepp (Intervention) research group has been exploring artistic interventions in city planning in general, and the collapsed Södra Älvstranden process in particular. Ingrepp invited Unsworn Research to host panorama-making workshops at four different locations along the riverbed.

In our custom-made panorama studio passers-by as well as the participating researchers, artists and architects created new versions and visions of the location at hand. The panoramas were uploaded to a Parascope where the different scenarios could be explored and compared to the present milieu.

Learn more about the Ingrepp project through the Ingrepp Tabloid or their rhizomatic Politics of Magma publication.