ART + COM has developed an interactive artistic installation for a building complex in Tokyo called, it’s called Duality. What’s interesting about it is that participants influence their direct environment just by passing by. They leave a trace, a trace of ripples. Ripples that amplify their presence and offer them a moment of contemplation.

The installation consists out of large LED planes installed directly next to water. These planes are covered with translucent glass which diffuses the light of the LEDs. When someone walks across them they provoke virtual ripples and when these ripples hit the edge of the plane, they continue in the water. A transit from the virtual into the real. That’s also where it got it’s name from; Duality. This because it deals with duality between liquid / solid, real / virtual and water ripples / light waves.

It’s a beautiful example of how spaces can adapt depending on the people within them. Most of those concepts so far had an impact on the visceral and behavioral level of processing ((Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everday things – Donald Norman)). Think about changes in temperature or lighting to make someone feel more comfortable. Duality has an impact on the reflective level. It makes people have a moment of contemplation when they don’t expect it.

If  you want to find out more about it, you can check it out here. You can also download the video there to have a look yourself.