EMERGENT HOME

EMERGENT HOME is an art installation that began with a provocation from Georgia Tech’s Thomas Ventulett Chair of Architecture, Michael Murphy: What does home feel like to you?

This project builds on artist Samuel Stubblefield's work incorporating brain computer interfaces to explore the psychological, sociological, and neurological aspects of being human.

Murphy asked his group of architecture students to contemplate their idea of home and submit visuals of what came to mind. The student’s real-time brain activity was then used to create an immersive video installation.

After the students submitted the visuals, they were entered into an algorithm developed by Ethan Rainbolt, the technical lead in Stubblefield’s studio. The algorithm takes each student’s drawings and passes them through a series of image transformations controlled by the student’s brain activity, measured in real-time by the brain computer interface. The affected images were then layered one over the next, creating an ever-evolving video.

This work explores emergent design by using parts of the brain that are typically latent in the design process. The video was displayed at the acclaimed Lux Stage at Trilith Studios, with each student being given the opportunity to watch on stage as their designs emerged.

At this scale, the students were able to create an architectural environment in real-time, initiating a distinct evolution in the practice of design.