This project was inspired by a trip to Berlin, primarily Mies von der Rohe's New National Gallery and Peter Eisenman's Holocaust Memorial. But the over all atmosphere of the city, especially in the East side, seemed to be one of hoplessness and a complete lack of enthusiasm to move forward.
I developed this idea initially as an installation for Alexanderplatz, one of the main hubs in the Eastern side of the city. The concept uses many cubes of varying sizes to create a see of vast large faces, or screens. Projected upon to these screens is a schedule of educational programs ranging from Philosophy to Biology to Art History to Law and Social Science. This schedule is then publicised, and if someone wants to go along, they simply turn up in time.
The screens would be of varying sizes from big enough for three or four people, to big enough for a whole collective, maybe listening to a guest speaker. The benches would have headphone sockets built into them so out side noise could be cancelled out allowing full concentration on the subject.
On the smaller screens, an on-demand style service could be available, so if you missed a lecture, or want to go back and study something particular, you have access to these past tutorials. Of course, when the screens are not in use, they make perfect space for commercial advertisement, which would help to re-coop a lot of the costs.
On the smaller screens, an on-demand style service could be available, so if you missed a lecture, or want to go back and study something particular, you have access to these past tutorials. Of course, when the screens are not in use, they make perfect space for commercial advertisement, which would help to re-coop a lot of the costs.
During the larger lectures, a PDF format of the lecture would be sent via bluetooth towards the audience, so anyone with an appropriate device would be able to take a copy of the lecture home, but along with the lecture itself, the user would also recieve a list of other people that downloaded the lecture. So for instance, if a user finds themselves stuck or particularly interested in a certain subject, they can contact these fellow students to discuss their ideas, or ask questions, forcing a relationship that other wise, would never have existed.
An alternative to the Bluetooth reception would be the popular iPod format, which could be sync'd from base stations in the proximity of the screen (Illustrated below).
An alternative to the Bluetooth reception would be the popular iPod format, which could be sync'd from base stations in the proximity of the screen (Illustrated below).
I picture the scenario taking place in the open air, or in a semi-covered area similar to Potsdamer Platz in the Western side of the city. It could also be moved to an interior space.
The one thing that is key about this idea is that it was not designed specifically for Berlin. The ideal of granting free education to the people is one I feel very strongly about, and this template could slot into any culture, in a wide range of scenarios, and produce the same results.
The one thing that is key about this idea is that it was not designed specifically for Berlin. The ideal of granting free education to the people is one I feel very strongly about, and this template could slot into any culture, in a wide range of scenarios, and produce the same results.