Uit De Schaduw - Concept for the National Library
For my Bachelor End Project, I spent 10 weeks designing for the National Library in the Hague.
The full book archive of the KB National Library is moving to a new location, and they want a new visitor experience to replace it with in the old building. Where there used to be tours through the collection, there now needs to be a different solution to connect visitors to the archive.
Design Journey
Throughout my design journey, I developed a method through which I could explore my design frame in a broad but relevant way. Within an ideation map, I diverged the design statement into subconcepts and concepts, from which I chose a direction to continue in.
I looked to develop a passive installation which can stimulate visitors to actively explore and find themselves within the collection, thereby giving them control over giving form to their position in society.
Ideation Map
An important factor I wanted to be visible in my design was the feeling of the greatness and importance of the collection. The history of physical books should remain appreciated for generations to come, even if the books are stored in a depot which can only be accessed by robots.
UIT DE SCHADUW
Uit De Schaduw (Out of the Shadow) is a large shadow installation around the request and collection desk in the national library. The installation seeks a connection between visitors and the robots of the depot, thereby attempting to strengthen the connection between humans and the collection.
The installation is a play of shadows, where visitors' shadows follow, escape, and play with the wandering shadows of the robots from the depths of the collection.
Using short-throw projectors, depth cameras, and AI driven visualisation, a fabricated shadow is projected onto the fabric walls. This fabricated shadow can be interacted with by visitors, and is used to nudge people into entering the request and collection area of the library.
The robots of the depot are represented using simplified shadows, and their movement around the area creates an illusion that the collection of books is behind the fabric walls, instead of in a completely different building.
