Animated architecture

Italy – Audiovisual installation Shape in Scapes demonstrates how projection mapping can be used to communicate the placemaking process.

• The installation comprises three volumetric cement models of different landscapes, onto which abstract representations of architectural projects are projected
• Designed by Studio Antimateria, it aims to highlight the technical and emotional aspects of architecture

Shape in Scapes visualises a series of architectural projects by students at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Visual representations of the students’ work are projected onto the surface of three 3D topographic maps of the landscapes in which the works are located, including the Margherita di Savoia salt flats in Italy, Lake Askja in Iceland and the Vardar river in Macedonia.

Studio Antimateria used a combination of projection mapping and visual and audio cues to communicate abstract, intangible and emotional aspects of the students’ architectural projects. The installation highlights the potential of projection mapping to make the concept of placemaking more engaging for consumers who might be turned off by technical drawings, speculative renderings and complicated concept statements.