Plantphony
Interaction and Experience Design | Coding
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound that composes our atmosphere and, in addition to other substances such as methane, nitrous oxides and water vapour, compose the so-called “greenhouse gases”. This particular types of elements influences the Earth’s temperature provoking the “greenhouse effect”: trapping the heat from the sun within the atmosphere is a natural and balanced condition that promotes life on the planet. However, since the mid-19th century, the levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere have increased as a result of human industrialisation: transport, buildings, agriculture, land and various other operations burn carbon and/or oil to create energy. This mechanism, the first step of a downwards spiral, releases into the air excessive amounts of carbon dioxide, pollutants and other toxic particles that aggravate global warming. The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are more than what the Earth can process, meaning that there is an impracticality in releasing heat, resulting in an augment of the global temperature. When it comes to our cities and lands, it is inevitable to see a grey environment burdened with smog, toxic gases and chemicals. The air quality is degenerating and this will have alarming consequences both on our environment and on our physical and mental state.
However, this devastating condition can be gradually reversed through a simple yet important and fragile element: plants. Throughout its considerable effects, flora can absorb carbon dioxide and other particles in the air, restraining them in soil, and release oxygen as a result, contributing to enhance our lives and the ones of all the living organisms. Even if nowadays the number of people concerned and active to contrast climate change is proliferating, humans may seem too immersed and focused on their lives and their place in the society. This behaviour causes them to miss the bigger picture and to detach themselves from nature. Some schools of thought believe that the Earth is a living organism and as such, it has the power to self-regulate: every living being (and not) on the planet has a connection to others and the aim is to pursue balance. Sometimes, humans forget that they as well are a component of this engine. It is now believed that communication with nature dates back thousands of years, something even related to primitive religions, when, in fact, it is a natural connection that has been lost through the ages. How can the soil, the sky, the river tell humanity what is wrong? How can they tell how they are feeling or determine what needs to be changed in order to promote growth and life? This final thought leads to the core of this project.
The study aims to restore, reinvent and support the connection between humans, non-humans and the environment through the usage of Interactive Design systems. The technology could be identified as the missing medium to combine and reconstruct the people-plants communication with the final intent to ameliorate the overall environment.
This condition can help with the development of tools and techniques to mutually exchange information with plants and directly interact with them. Because this field
is recent and rather unexplored, the designer has the possibility and the opportunity to research and question, broaden and narrow down its process to find a way to revive the people-plants synergy.
Movements asking for the protection of the planet began half a century ago, however, it was from 2015, with the protest of Fridays for Future, that was possible to notice and strengthen the compelling activism of the young generations toward a sustainable and green future. Young climate activists, protesters and rebels fight to have the future that capitalism and globalisation have stolen from them. This study is aimed at them: their knowledge and skills about technology and social devices as well as the willingness to look out for a better future are the key elements of choosing this generation as a user group. The knowledge of experts and scientific figures in the biological, environmental and agricultural fields is necessary to understand the plant’s condition and its potential. The final result is an interactive design system that aspires to intervene and invigorate the people-plants interaction.
The final project of the Master in Interaction and Experience Design focused on the design of an artifact that was able not only to question the actions of man with respect to the environment, especially in the urban environment, but also to restore and reinvent the people-plant relationship. The approach used involved both a User-Centered Design method and the addition of an Ecoempathy-based approach.
Since these two characters speak different languages, an element shared by both was sought to facilitate communication: sound. Music, in fact, affects both humans, contributing to the production of hormones, and plants, influencing their growth.
In addition to this, to accentuate the contact between the two characters, the user has the ability to connect their heartbeat to the set of sounds produced by the plant.
Only the achievement of a balance between man and nature will lead to the creation of a symphony.
