Media Architecture Institute

The Media Architecture Awards are given to outstanding projects at the intersection of architecture, media and interaction design. Three projects are nominated in each of the five categories – Animated Architecture; Money Architecture; Participatory Architecture and Urban Interaction; Spatial Media Art and Future Trends and Prototypes. The winners in each category will be announced during the Media Architecture Biennale award ceremony in Sydney on the evening of June 3rd, 2016.

The nominees are:

ANIMATED ARCHITECTURE
LED Frieze
Train Station Falkenberg
The Wings

MONEY ARCHITECTURE
Klubhaus St. Pauli
LAX — Tom Bradley International Terminal
Morgan Stanley — Times Square Headquarters

PARTICIPATORY ARCHITECTURE & URBAN INTERACTION
In the Air, Tonight
The Sentiment Cocoon
Le Circuit De Bachelard

SPATIAL MEDIA ART
Star
Waterlicht
Field of Light

FUTURE TRENDS AND PROTOTYPES
City Lights Orchestra
Drone 100
Fluidic

For more details visit the Media Architecture Biennale awards page. Tickets to the awards show are on sale via Ticketek.

We are pleased to confirm the remarkably talented and highly respected Carlo Ratti, as keynote speaker and panelist for the 2016 Media Architecture Biennale (MAB16) closing ceremony on June 4th.

“Carlo Ratti is a pioneer in media architecture and smart city developments, with an illustrious, celebrated career. His inventions, idea’s and designs are ahead of our time. It is a privilege to have Prof Ratti participating in our official closing ceremony for the MAB16.” said Dr M. Hank Haeusler, General Chair of The Media Architecture Biennale 2016 (UNSW Australia).
Prof Ratti is an architect, an engineer, a designer, an inventor and educator. He is at the forefront of connecting technology and the built environment. His Digital Water Pavilion at the 2008 World Expo was hailed by Time Magazine as “One of the Best Inventions of the Year.” He has been included in Esquire Magazine’s “Best and Brightest list,” in Blueprint Magazine’s “25 People who will Change the World of Design” and in Forbes Magazine’s “People you need to know” in 2011.

His work is internationally revered, exhibited at events and venues including: Venice Biennale, the Design Museum Barcelona, the Science Museum in London, GAFTA in San Francisco and The Museum of Modern Art in New York. He has also co-authored over 250 publications.

Prof Ratti currently Chair at the Senseable City Lab which he founded, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is also the head of Carlo Ratti Associati. He is currently serving as Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Future Cities, and has been selected as Special Adviser to the President and Commissioners of the European Commission, to advise on urban innovation.

Carlo Ratti will take the main stage at The Concourse, Theatre on June 4 from 5pm to 6pm and officiate the MAB16 closing ceremony with a keynote speech, followed by a panel discussion on smart cities.

Tickets are now available for his keynote via Ticketek.

The Media Architecture Biennale 2016 is presented as part of the Vivid Ideas program at Vivid Sydney, the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas.

Dr M. Hank Haeusler, General Chair of the Media Architecture Biennale 2016 and Director of Computational Design at UNSW Australia shares Top 5 Things you didn’t know about Digital Placemaking…

Digital Placemaking is defined as the use of digital technology within a dedicated public urban space, designed specifically for the purpose of communicating with the public. More often than not, it is associated with images on public buildings. These are only a part of the picture that makes up the world of digital placemaking.

Here, Dr Haeusler, de-bunks some common myths and introduces us to world of digital placemaking:

1. Digital Placemaking IS energy efficient.
Dr Haeusler explains this is because it optimises the use of resources by providing better data and accurate information. Also, the LED lights used in projects are the most energy efficient available.

2. The World’s BIGGEST placemaking project is…
The transformation of Times Square, New York. MAB16, Keynote speaker, Ethan Kent worked on this project with the aim of creating an interactive, digital plaza.

3. Digital Placemaking is critical to the creation of future cities.
Digital Placemaking and Smart Cities will transform the use of our cities in the same way the smart phone has transformed the way we communicate with each other.

4. More and more people are studying Digital Placemaking.
The Bachelor Degree of Design Computing at the University of Sydney and the Bachelor of Computational Design at UNSW are two “one-of-a-kind” degrees where future digital placemakers are educated.

5. Digital Placemaking projects come from everywhere.
… and bring people together as Vivid Sydney does each year – what digital placemaking aims is bringing the buzz of Vivid Sydney into a city and using the connectivness and interaction to address problems in our cities such as public transport.

MEDIA ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE 2016
BE PART OF THE DIGITAL PLACEMAKING EXPERIENCE

Come June 2016, the prestigious Media Architecture Biennale 2016 will project Sydney into the digital media spotlight. From June 1st, the world’s leading experts in architectural digital technology will arrive in the harbour city to host a series of conferences, seminars and symposia designed to discuss, assess and debate the impact of digital technology in the future design and development of smarter and more liveable cities.

Design and urban planning experts from around the globe will transform The Concourse, on Sydney’s North Shore into technology driven idea’s hub, for the 5th international Media Architecture Biennale 2016, presented as a part of the Vivid Ideas program. From June 1st to June 4th, architectural and design professionals, academics, state and federal government representatives and specialised experts in digital placemaking will host a series of workshops, symposia and events designed to explore the existing and future impact of digital technologies on urban planning within global cities.

“The Media Architecture Biennale 2016 brings together specialists who are passionate about reinventing urban communities and utilising public spaces to communicate. The official buzzword and theme for this year’s event is digital placemaking; the use of digital technology within a dedicated public urban space, designed specifically for the purpose of communicating with the public,” said Dr M. Hank Haeusler, General Chair of The Media Architecture Biennale 2016 (UNSW Australia).

Federation Square, in central Melbourne is currently Australia’s best example of digital placemaking; in 2014 it was named the 6th Best Public Square in the world by Landscape Architects Network. Mr Matt Jones, General Manager of Program & Events at the iconic Australian outdoor gathering space, will be on hand at this year’s event to share knowledge from his own first-hand experience with digital placemaking.

Among the illustrious line-up of over 50 international guests attending The Media Architecture Biennale 2016 is Carlo Ratti. Prof. Ratti is currently Chair at the Senseable City Lab and Ratti Associati. He is at the forefront of connecting technology and the built environment and was included in Blueprint Magazine’s “25 People who will Change the World of Design” list.

Highly regarded in the field of digital placemaking, Ethan Kent, Senior Vice President at Projects for Public Spaces (PPS) in New York City is also supporting The Media Architecture Biennale 2016. Mr Kent has worked on over 200 public space projects including, Times Square in New York.

Locally, MAB16 welcomes Mr Bruce Duyshart, Director of Meld Strategies, who recently developed a Smart City Masterplan for Parramatta (NSW) in collaboration with the City of Parramatta.

The calendar of Media Architecture Biennale 2016 activities commences on June 1st and concludes June 4th, among the events are: symposia, workshops, seminars, an MAB Awards exhibition and a Gala Awards Dinner held on Sydney Harbour. The Media Architecture Awards Exhibition will feature over 100 media architecture projects on display at Artspace, The Concourse from May 27th. The exhibition is a showcase of projects that explore the possibilities of and outcomes of interactions between the built environment with technology and communities. It is free and open to the public.

Industry professionals travelling to Sydney for the MAB16 might take the opportunity to combine the visit with the DIS 2016 (Designing Interactive Systems) conference, which takes place in Brisbane, Queensland from 4-8 June.

The Media Architecture Biennale 2016 is presented as part of the Vivid Ideas program at Vivid Sydney, the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas.

Both industry enthusiasts and the public alike are welcome to all events, with ticket sales available through Ticketek.

MEDIA ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE 2016 (mab16.org)
JUNE 1ST – 4TH
THE CONCOURSE (theconcourse.com.au) AND OTHER LOCATIONS ACROSS SYDNEY
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA