Puzzle Facade (2013)

A project by Javier Lloret. The video documentation was shot with Michaela Lakova. The song of the video is Photonic Belt by Lenticular Clouds.

Awards and distinctions:
SEGD Global Design Merit Award, European Design Award (Bronze), :output 2014 Distinction Award, Creativity Award

Publications:
Lloret J. & Valkanova N. Puzzle Facade: a site-specific urban technological intervention. Published in DIS’2014 (Vancouver, Canada),

Featured on:
Time, The Creators Project, Form, Core77, Designboom, PSFK, Inhabitat, Complex, Dvice, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Popular Science, Gizmodo, Adafruit, Hack A Day, CNET, abc News, Channel One (Russia), Discovery Channel, Fusion Channel, Le Figaro, The Huffington Post, Vjspain, Oldskull, Microsiervos, Colossal, WeTheUrban, Lightecture magazine, Professional Lighting Design magazine, Información Newspaper

Description
Puzzle Facade brings the experience of solving a Rubik’s cube to the urban space. It transforms the Ars Electronica’s media facade, into a giant Rubik’s cube, inviting passers-by to engage with an interactive experience that takes place in the city of Linz (Austria).

In Puzzle Facade the player interacts with the specially designed interface-cube. The interface-cube holds electronic components to keep track of rotation and orientation. This data is sent over Bluetooth to a computer that runs the Puzzle Facade designed software. This software changes the lights and color of the large-scale Ars Electronica’s media facade in correlation to the handheld interface-cube.

Due to the nature of this building and its surroundings, the player is only able to see two sides at the same time. This factor increases the difficulty of solving the puzzle, but as the player is able to rotate and flip the interface-cube, it is not a blocking factor.

Acknowledgement
Puzzle Facade was part of my thesis of the Interface Culture master program at the Universität für Künstlerische und Industrielle Gestaltung Linz, Austria. I would like to thank all my thesis’ supervisors for their advice and support (specially Laurent Mignonneau, Christa Sommerer and Martin Kaltenbrunner).

I worked on all the aspects of the project, from the concept, to the electronics, programming and design of the interface-cube. But I would not have been able to solve all the problems I faced without the advice, support and help from many people. I would like to say thanks to them, starting with my parents Bernardo Lloret and Jocelyne Pardo, and continuing with: Cees Baarda, Mario Berenguer, Peter Calicher, Nerea García, Vicente Heras, Travis Kirton, Tijn Kooijmans, Rosa May Hewitt, Dolo Piqueras, Thomas Scharl, Jiskar Schmitz, Mr. Stock, Eric Toering, Jasper van Loenen, Dave Young.

Thanks to Medialab-Prado Madrid for the help and support, specially to Marcos García and Daniel Pietrosemoli.

Special thanks to the talented Gregor van Egdom for his help and guidance on the last steps of the design and production of the interface-cube.

Thanks also to Ars Electronica Futurelab for allowing me to test the project for this video documentation, specially to Andreas Pramboeck, Peter Holzkorn & Wolfgang.

Puzzle Facade was coded in openFrameworks. Thanks to Fabio Varesano (Rest in peace) for his FreeIMU library.

Puzzle Facade (2013)

A project by Javier Lloret. The video documentation was shot with Michaela Lakova. The song of the video is Photonic Belt by Lenticular Clouds.

Awards and distinctions:
SEGD Global Design Merit Award, European Design Award (Bronze), :output 2014 Distinction Award, Creativity Award

Publications:
Lloret J. & Valkanova N. Puzzle Facade: a site-specific urban technological intervention. Published in DIS’2014 (Vancouver, Canada),

Featured on:
Time, The Creators Project, Form, Core77, Designboom, PSFK, Inhabitat, Complex, Dvice, ArchDaily, Archilovers, Popular Science, Gizmodo, Adafruit, Hack A Day, CNET, abc News, Channel One (Russia), Discovery Channel, Fusion Channel, Le Figaro, The Huffington Post, Vjspain, Oldskull, Microsiervos, Colossal, WeTheUrban, Lightecture magazine, Professional Lighting Design magazine, Información Newspaper

Description
Puzzle Facade brings the experience of solving a Rubik’s cube to the urban space. It transforms the Ars Electronica’s media facade, into a giant Rubik’s cube, inviting passers-by to engage with an interactive experience that takes place in the city of Linz (Austria).

In Puzzle Facade the player interacts with the specially designed interface-cube. The interface-cube holds electronic components to keep track of rotation and orientation. This data is sent over Bluetooth to a computer that runs the Puzzle Facade designed software. This software changes the lights and color of the large-scale Ars Electronica’s media facade in correlation to the handheld interface-cube.

Due to the nature of this building and its surroundings, the player is only able to see two sides at the same time. This factor increases the difficulty of solving the puzzle, but as the player is able to rotate and flip the interface-cube, it is not a blocking factor.

Acknowledgement
Puzzle Facade was part of my thesis of the Interface Culture master program at the Universität für Künstlerische und Industrielle Gestaltung Linz, Austria. I would like to thank all my thesis’ supervisors for their advice and support (specially Laurent Mignonneau, Christa Sommerer and Martin Kaltenbrunner).

I worked on all the aspects of the project, from the concept, to the electronics, programming and design of the interface-cube. But I would not have been able to solve all the problems I faced without the advice, support and help from many people. I would like to say thanks to them, starting with my parents Bernardo Lloret and Jocelyne Pardo, and continuing with: Cees Baarda, Mario Berenguer, Peter Calicher, Nerea García, Vicente Heras, Travis Kirton, Tijn Kooijmans, Rosa May Hewitt, Dolo Piqueras, Thomas Scharl, Jiskar Schmitz, Mr. Stock, Eric Toering, Jasper van Loenen, Dave Young.

Thanks to Medialab-Prado Madrid for the help and support, specially to Marcos García and Daniel Pietrosemoli.

Special thanks to the talented Gregor van Egdom for his help and guidance on the last steps of the design and production of the interface-cube.

Thanks also to Ars Electronica Futurelab for allowing me to test the project for this video documentation, specially to Andreas Pramboeck, Peter Holzkorn & Wolfgang.

Puzzle Facade was coded in openFrameworks. Thanks to Fabio Varesano (Rest in peace) for his FreeIMU library.