Laurens Kolks > spatial design

Smart City Souvenirs

Smart City Souvenirs was custom made for the design competition Show Us The Data organized by the Centre for BOLD Cities. An excerpt from the competition assignment reads:

While urban data is present in a multitude of ways, it is not always very visible or recognisable. By creatively showing the ubiquity of data in cities, the Centre for BOLD Cities aims to contribute to city users' data awareness.

The smart city is not a physical city but a concept that describes a variety of technologies and processes within the urban environment. The smart city is not a singular city, but many cities: the term applies to a steadily growing number of urban environments throughout the world.

Smart City Souvenirs represents the smart city as an environment in which practically everything can be noticed, recorded, stored and multiplied; linked, exchanged and shared. A connected world where everything reacts to everything else, an environment where everything decentralizes and (at least in theory) democratizes.

Smart City Souvenirs aims to increase the awareness of 'smart citizens': informed and committed residents, users and visitors of smart cities. Smart City Souvenirs aims to encourage smart citizens to think about the possible consequences of the increasing application of (interactive) technology within the urban environment, without contributing to an urban sensorial overload.

This competition entry consists of a symbolic utensil: a souvenir that can be sold in all places where regular souvenirs are offered for sale, in all cities that consider themselves smart cities. The souvenir is packed in a black cardboard box with a label that reads: Greetings from the Smart City.

The box contains a mug that is finished with a black, heat-sensitive coating that (similar to the responsive surroundings of the smart city) responds to changes in its environment. When the mug is filled with a hot drink, a pattern of icons and logos shining through its black coating becomes fully visible. The pattern shows visual representations of phenomena concerning smart city technology and processes ranging from facial recognition to 3D print communities, drones to Airbnb, cloud computing to smart mobility...

This pattern of icons aims to spark the user's imagination, whilst enjoying a mug of coffee or tea: to make him or her think about the intertwining of (interactive) technology with urban life. The QR code on the mug has a visual function within the pattern of icons, but (by scanning it) also works as an actual link to the website smartcitysouvenirs.com.

This website provides background information regarding news and developments concerning the smart city, attributing to the increasing awareness of smart citizens.

Client

Centre for BOLD Cities

Details

Smart City Souvenirs: 2nd prize - Show Us The Data competition 2017

The competition was organized by the Centre for BOLD Cities and Bouwend Nederland.

Links

Smart City souvenirs: serial production, first batch