Presentation at Connecting Cities Urban Media Lab Symposium at iMal (Brussels, Belgium) In recent years, various digital media have been introduced in public space to facilitate communication with and among citizens. Typical examples include public displays, but extends to more abstract forms such as integrated media facades. While most media are introduced to serve commercial, cultural or economic interests, the social and societal values are often undervalued. This talk discusses the qualities and challenges of involving citizens in the design of media interventions in the urban environment, and situates itself across research, design and practice.

1. Digital Media
in Public Space
Bottom-Up Initiatives in
Changing Urban Landscapes
Niels Wouters
niels.wouters@asro.kuleuven.be
@mediatecture
www.nwt.rs

3. TECHNOLOGY SPACE
DESIGN

4. Comparative Feedback in the Street: Exposing Residential Energy Consumption on House Facades
Vande Moere et al.,ACM Interact 2011

5. Street Infographics: Raising Awareness of Local Issues through a Situated UrbanVisualization
Claes andVande Moere,ACM Pervasive Displays 2013

6. ZWERM: a Modular Component Network Approach for an Urban Participation Game
Laureyssens et al.,ACM CHI 2014

7. Media Architecture.

8. Duomo Cathedral, Florence, IT

9. Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, FR

10. Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, USA

11. Galleria Centercity, Cheonan, SK

12. Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, AT

13. Times Square, New York, USA

15. Media Architecture.
But…

16. Dexia Tower, Brussels, BE
Crisis: DexiaTower will no longer display
Christmas Lights.

17. Flagey Square, Brussels / Elsene, BE
LED Screen on Flagey Square vandalised.

18. Public display, Tremelo, BE

19. Cities have the capability of providing
something for everybody, only
because, and only when, they are
created by everybody.
Jane Jacobs, 1961
“
”

20. Park(ing) Day, San Francisco, USA

21. Urban Gardening

22. Pixelator, Jason Eppink (2007)

23. Astral Media Displays, Re:Post Toronto (2012)

24. Parasite, TheGreenEyl (2005)

25. It’s an ongoing challenge to see if
media architecture can evolve into a
place that allows for democratic
voices to be shared.
Ben Rubin, 2012
“
”

26. Media Architecture.
What to Show?△

27. OpenWindow, 2013

28. OpenWindow (Niels Wouters, Jonathan Huyghe, 2013)OpenWindow, 2013

29. OpenWindow, 2013OpenWindow, 2013

30. OpenWindow, 2013

31. OpenWindow (Niels Wouters, Jonathan Huyghe, 2013)OpenWindow, 2013

32. OpenWindow, 2013

33. OpenWindow, 2013

34. Hyperlocal Relevance
Request for Participation
Urban Challenges
OpenWindow: Citizen-Controlled Content on Public Displays
Wouters et al.,ACM Pervasive Displays 2013

35. Media Architecture.
How to Integrate?△

36. StreetTalk, 2014

37. StreetTalk, 2014

38. StreetTalk, 2014

39. StreetTalk, 2014

40. StreetTalk, 2014

41. StreetTalk, 2014

42. StreetTalk, 2014

43. Potential Beyond Skyscraper
Curiosity
Situated Media Architecture

44. Media Architecture.
Take Away.

45. The Role of Context in Media Architecture
Vande Moere andWouters,ACM Pervasive Displays 2012
Message (Content)
Architecture (Carrier)
Society (Environment)

46. Niels Wouters
niels.wouters@asro.kuleuven.be
@mediatecture
www.nwt.rs