James Tichenor & Josh Walton, Rockwell Group: How To Tell Stories Through Social & Interactive Spaces

James Tichenor and Josh Walton are Co-chiefs at the LAB, a subsidiary from the well-known architecture firm the Rockwell Group. At PSFK CONFERENCE LONDON, the duo demonstrated how the future of architecture involves combining physical spaces with virtual inputs and outputs.

One example they gave was the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, where a lobby with no windows became a platform for interactive digital art. The bold columns were transformed into large LCD monitors, where the images were reflected off the glossy ceiling and floor, to create an almost mystical environment.

The main points from the talk were:

• Instead of thinking buildings as having to be cosmopolitan, architects can have a more playful approach instead using digital technology. The  City Hall structure was transformed into an interactive fun playground for passers-by as part of the 01SJ Biennial event.
• Their latest initiation, Specbrew, is a toolkit for prototyping interactive spaces. The open-source projects being developed enable dynamic re-routing of inputs and outputs within a space.
• It’s hard to tell if something is going to be a good or bad idea, until you actually try it.