5-3 Individual page - Giovanni

My focus for this interface will be mainly on the use of spikes, which symbolically represent a macroscopic enlargement of the virus. These spikes will be placed on objects which are commonly touched by the people of the academy. My intention, however, is not to harm anyone with the use of these spikes ( and implicitly cause a diffusion of the virus), but to warn people of the potential danger of the virus, by keeping them alarmed. For this reason I have decided to isolate these spike-covered objects, similarly to some standalone installations, and to utilize them as some symbolic reminders of the presence of the virus. These installations will also be strategically placed around the building, so they will be able to have a greater impact on a specific audience and, therefore, be more effective. For example, a keyboard covered in spikes might not be as successful in the fashion station in the Wijnhaven building as it might be in the research lab in the Blaak building. Viceversa, if we consider a spike-covered doorknob, it will result more impactful in the Wijnhaven classrooms than in the printmaking station in Blaak. These installations will also be accompanied by a breif statement to compliment and inhance the intent of the spikes.

The entrace to the Blaak building is always a busy and crowded people, thus meaning it is a perfect candidate for this interface. People mostly hang out there to smoke and to catch a break from the closed enviroment of the Academy. While catching a break or resting outside, people tend to lean on the outer brick wall of the building (both with their hands or with their body).

My preventive intervention to encourage social distancing and to reduce contacts with the surfaces of the Academy, is to install four clear pvc panels (two on each side of the entrance), covered with sharp spikes, in order to "scare" the user away and make it ultimately not want to lean on the wall. I believe that panels would be the ideal surface to nail the spikes to, making it easier to remove the interface and to avoid making permanent damage to the wall. Also, clear pvc panels give a better idea of unity between the wall and the nails, thus making the appearance of the interface much more impactful and realistic.

The bottom floor (research lab and print studio) and the second floor of the Blaak building are the most computer-dense areas in the building. This ovbiously implies the use of the computers in these locations, which translates to a lot of contact with the surroundings.

My interface for these locations is a symbolic computer keyboard, with nails or needles pointing upwards from every key, placed on a small white table and isolated from the crowd and other computers (but still visible). This interface would be aimed for the computer users and would remind them of the virus, its danger and its easy transmissibility. It would also encourage them to sanitize their hands before and after having used the keyboard, based on the fear created by the interface.

Chairs are arguably one of the most touched objects in the Academy: academically, chairs, together with tables, define the standard concept of a classroom, thus making it unevitably one of the most touched objects. While the Blaak building is not as classroom-based, the Wijnhaven building is where the majority of the classrooms are focused, thus making it an ideal location for this interface.

Following my spike 'theory', my re-adaptation of the chair, to enhance the presence of the COVID-19 and to raise its awareness, would be a chair with spikes placed in the most commonly touched places (behind the back and underneath the bottom). This chair would be placed far from the other chairs, to avoid people sitting on it and getting hurt, but still be visible for the people going to class. This chair would hopefully encourage the users to not touch the chairs in the classrooms with their hands.

Accessing all the different parts of the Academy and moving from one station to other is an everyday routine for all of us. For these reasons, the door, and more specefically its handle, is the main interface that allows to move from one room to another, also making it a very 'touched' object. Door handles however are more commonly used in classroom-focused areas such as the top floors on the Blaak building and most of the Wijnhaven building.

Similarly to the other interfaces, my version of the door handle will act as a symbolic one, with very little actual functionality but a great visual impact. This doorknob will be covered in spikes and placed on a wall (even if you push the door handle down, it won't take you anywhere) at a safe distance from other real doors, so to not be mistakenly confused and utilized as such.

Stairs are also one of the most commonly used interfaces of the Academy, making them essential to access all the different classrooms and stations. This implies that the hand rails, which are placed for support and protection, come in contact with many people everyday (also implied by the name itself).

My interface for the hand rails in the Academy, in relation to the COVID-19, is to cover a small section of the hand rails with spikes, as a reminder of the presence and the danger of the virus. These spikes will be placed both at the top and at the bottom of the stairs, with the intent to alert both users who are ascending or descending. The spikes will also be placed on the left side of the user. This is due to the fact that commonly people walk up/down the stairs on the right side. Placing the spikes on the left then, alerts the user but avoids it getting hurt.