So far, the cones have been installed in Copenhagen, London, and Linz, with questions that focus on the relationship between liveable cities and technology. Future iterations of the project will see the cones installed in even more places, relating to other salient topics, from mobility to climate change. Over time, we hope that these insights will develop into a better collective understanding of public opinion and decision-making. 

We will make all knowledge collected available to the public, and we hope that lessons learned can help all cities, developers, technologists, designers, and activists make informed choices around citymaking and public engagement.

Next step in the project, is to build an interactive map in DOKK1, that continuously will change with the sound and pulse of the city. When using the interactive map, you will be able to browse an otherwise hidden digital life shaped by data from the sound sensors. 

The project provides the user with new possible insights on the area; where do I find rest and peace in my neighbourhood? And when? What other areas with Aarhus provide similar possibilities for contemplation – but at other times? Why is that? This allows for uncovering new perspectives of neighbouring areas.

Like other smaller cities worldwide Struer (of approximately 10.000 inhabitants) is challenged as a centre for shopping and business, as a framework for satisfying everyday life and as a place for inhabitants and visitors to have rich experiences.

In 2013 Struer decided to become The City of Sound, and has since developed a series of policies that activate sound in core areas like business development, health care, culture and urban planning. Our recently ratified Sound Manual for Struer Center suggests some tools and approaches on how to think through sound in planning and designing city centers, and Struer is now in process of becoming a Living Lab for urban sound.

The manual has been approved by the city council, and it is going to be a point of reference through the entire process of planning the design of the city centre.

It is fairly common for municipalities to adopt design manuals or guidelines regarding the future development of a city.
It is entirely new, however, that the city council adopt a sound manual as well.

PRIX BLOXHUB INTERACTIVE has been developed by Interactive Spaces Urban Studio at the Alexandra Institute (DK), BLOXHUB (DK) and Ars Electronica (AT), who have joined forces in gathering and building new concrete knowledge about how digital technologies can be used in creating new and improved urban solutions.

‘Technology has never saved the future, but it has a great influence on how we shape our future. Above all technical understanding, our technologically driven world expertise requires the potential of critical thinking, and the questions of how technology has to be developed in order to serve the common good and not just a few. PRIX BLOXHUB Interactive helps to inspire others in doing so, as it will help raising the right questions’’

-Manuela Naveau, – Director Ars Electronica Export

PRIX BLOXHUB Interactive was held for the first time in 2018, and overall consisted of an international competition, award ceremony and a two-day symposium that took place in and around BLOX in Copenhagen, 21-22 May 2019.

The competition was based on UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 11, concerning making our cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable – through collaboration and integrated solutions, and was looking for new ideas on how to enhance civic engagement, and improve quality of life for all.

Stay tuned for news, by following prix.bloxhub.org

The Door is an interactive urban installation, created for the Municipality of Helsingborg in Sweden as a part of the of the light festival Drömljus and as a creative way to connect with other people and places in the world.

A red door. Is someone knocking? Let your curiosity take over and open the door to an exciting parallel universe. Unexpectedly someone else opens a similar door somewhere in Sweden. A door that connects with this door! What happens next?

TREE.0 is an urban interactive installation created in collaboration with Copenhagen Solutions Lab, Danish Design Centre, Danish Architecture Centre and Gehl Architects.

In the first iteration, TREE.0 was placed 2 different places in Vester Voldgade, as a part of Street Lab – a sandbed initiated by The City of Copenhagen with the mission to try out new digital “smart” solutions. 

“Smart cities need thick data, not big data”

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz

 Throughout the project we tested design principles that adds to an ongoing discussion on how thick data can support the way people use the physical spaces in a valuable way. The datasets being gathered, was in realtime organised in different “clusters” (groups) and the installation reacted on the different connections that were being made. 

“The collaboration with Interactive Spaces Lab is an opportunity to complement the tools we normally use at Gehl to understand and document the interaction between urban space and life. Our partnership focuses on understanding how the city is used and new ways of using data to improve the quality of the urban spaces”.

Birgitte Bundesen Svarre, Associate Gehl

“The shops around the square expressed concern that there was only poor activity at the site, and mostly during the few market days. Otherwise, the city centre was completely empty. But the swings have contributed to bring life and activity into the square.  The swings attract people of all ages, and the retailers are very satisfied with the installation.”  

– Peter Sørensen, Mayor of Horsens Municipality 

Digital Neighbourhoods(DigitaleBydele)is a project made for and in collaboration with Citizens’ Service in Aarhus Municipality. Citizens’ Services and the public sector in Denmark is being transformed in the way they communicate with citizens due to the ongoing digitalization of the Society. Previously citizens had to present themselves in person, but now one result of the digitalization is that access points of communication have become mainly digital – changing the way of having dialogues between the Citizens and the public system.

“In collaboration with Interactive Spaces Lab, we have had the possibility to reinvent the way we communicate with the citizens. It has been a very important proces – both when looking at new ways of gathering qualitative data, but also on a societal and democratic level” Torben Glock, Project Manager, The City of Aarhus