The Earthquake Shelf

Experiential Manufacturing describes a design led investigation into uncovering the latent values that might exist in data that describes our experiences. By learning from the ways we engage with meaning and memory through material encounters, it aims to create more intrinsic, and aesthetic experiences of biographical data, and to provide meaning beyond the recall of information.

The Earthquake Shelf is a designed provocation that implements this approach. It monitors live data feeds for earthquakes at a specified location, and whenever one strikes, the shelf will shake. Depending on the earthquake’s magnitude, the objects placed upon the shelf may fall, being damaged to leave behind material evidence of a remote event. This tangible rendition does not describe a person’s previous earthquake experience, but by evoking it, seeks to allow for the reconstruction of memories, and for their association with ‘new’ objects through the action of the device.

This project is part of my PhD Thesis Experiential Manufacturing: Designing meaningful Connections between People, Data and Things. It was conducted as part of the Horizon CDT, and Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham.