2. Unconscious space
2024
3D model/ interactive animation
“As Lefebvre said, ‘Activity in space is restricted by that space; space ‘decides’ what actually may occur, but even this ‘decision’ has limits placed upon it’’ (1991: 143). So the space of the study is shaped by a decision (that this room is for this kind of work), which itself then ‘‘shapes’’ what actions ‘‘happen’’ in that space.”
“Orientations shape what bodies do, while bodies are shaped by orientations they already have, as effects of the work that must take place for a body to arrive where it does.”
Space restricts activity and indirectly restricts orientation. At the same time, space shapes activity and indirectly shapes orientation. We create new spaces partly to shape new activity and orientation or to accommodate activity that aligns more closely with our current orientation. Since we always inhabit consciously created spaces imbued with orientation, our activity is inherently defined by the space containing that orientation. To liberate activity, we require an unconscious space—one without orientation. When I was constructing this space, I deliberately left a part of subjectivity to the architecture itself. For this reason, I consider it as an unconscious body space.
In this project, I used Cinema 4D to create a building model and applied subsurface scattering to adjust the material, enabling it to refract and reflect various colors through light interactions. A central circular light source was added to enhance the visibility of these color effects. Besides, I placed small human figures around and within the structure to illustrate proportions and their responses to the environment.
Focusing on the model's details, I manipulated parameters and shader fields to transform the static buildings into dynamic shapes. These shapes were then imported into TouchDesigner, where I integrated MediaPipe to enable real-time interaction. By mapping palm movements to control building parameters, I created an interactive animation that responds to user gestures.
Touchdesigner animation:
Orientation → Body → Activity → Space
In the TouchDesigner interactive animation, the audience controls the building (space) directly with their bodies, challenging the traditional notion that space constrains bodily movement. As body’s action (activity) in a given moment is often unconscious, the interaction bypasses conscious orientation, allowing the body’s actions to unconsciously transform the space.
Process: