Teaching

Energy is the main driving force or our society; energy is political; energy is invisible. In previous centuries, energy appeared to be an inexhaustible resouce. Today, we know that using it sustainably and efficiently is crucial for our future on planet Earth. We need to rethink our approach. Instead of looking down into the earth for oil and gas, let´s start looking up to the sky for our energy. In the project module Batteries Not Included – Solar Energy as Artistic Material, we will search for the mysterious, speculative, humorous and imaginative use of renewable energy to enable artefacts to become self-sufficient.

The focus is on generating energy with the help of the sun. In the course of the project module, we will design reactive and interactive objects that feed exclusively on solar energy. This can lead to uncontrollable, complex superimpositions that can astonish, surprise or even disturb us in their appearance, both visually and sonically. The independent life of things, their autonomy and self-sufficiency are at the centre of their presence.

Prof. Martin Hesselmeier

With this project module students can initiate their own self-directed project, while still being provided conceptual and technical support. Students are encouraged to propose a practice-based artistic/design research project that is in line with their own interests and growing body of work. We support proposals that aim to arguably develop the students’ portfolio, skills and overall work in the fields of:

Interactive Art / Light Art / Energy Harvesting / Physical, Tangible Computing / Spatial Interaction / Architectural Interfaces / 2D/3D Prototyping & Printed Electronics / Mobile, Location-based Applications / Artistic Research / Embodied Data

Prof. Martin Hesselmeier, Brian L. Clark, Ting-Chun Liu, Lotta Stöver

A mandatory theoretical and practical introduction for new users of the new Interface Design 3D-Print Lab. This Blockmodul will give participants an overview of the rules and safety regulations for accessing and working in the 3D-Print Lab, as well as an insight into 3D printing, from modeling with different prototyping tools to preparing objects for printing.

Jesús Velázquez

This course is a hands-on exploration of how interactive systems can sense and respond to their surroundings, with a particular focus on energy harvesting in electronic and interactive artworks. As computing moves beyond the familiar paradigm of screen, keyboard, and mouse, we will explore how devices can operate within and in relation to the physical world. Rather than treating energy as an invisible resource, we will approach it as a central design consideration; something that must be captured, transformed, and negotiated. Through this lens, sensors and actuators become not only technical components, but means of mediating relationships between systems and their environments.

Brian Larson Clark

In this hands-on course students will learn the basics of photogrammetry workflows as a basis for bridging the transition from the physical world to digital 2D and 3D environments. Participants will work with photogrammetric equipment (namely digital cameras and laptops) and specific processes and programs to retrieve accurate geometry and position data in order to recreate objects and/or scenarios in a virtual three-dimensional space.

Jesús Velázquez

The Printed Circuit Board (PCB) has become the default architecture of the electronic devices that are driving our largely technologically-mediated reality: Electronic components on two-dimensional stacked layers are routing power and signals, energy and material, usually optimized towards signal integrity, power efficiency, profitable use of material, etc.

A part of this Fachmodul will be to give an introduction to common PCB design and manufacturing practices, with a large emphasis on interventions in the underlying conventions and assumptions that are implied by the state of the art, industrial "best" practices: What happens if the PCB becomes an open space? What alternatives architectures can we imagine if we come up with our own experimental, irrational, expression-oriented rules?

Lotta Stöver