There are environmental phenomena that are far from the experience and knowledge of people. For instance, when we speak of temperature and give it a value of 25 degrees Celsius, we easily have an idea of what it means, but when we talk about 2.1ppm CO2 it is not the case. The same occurs with phenomena such as humidity, air pressure, etc. which also cannot be perceived easily with our senses. For people to understand these phenomena they need to become familiar with them. It is necessary to start thinking about information systems, data visualization and the interaction with them that encourage understanding and contribute to disseminating this knowledge. Urban planning has provided rules for issues such as insulation, height, usage etc., but equally important facts like the various interactions of the ecosystems in which we are immersed are often ignored and neglected.
Just as there are traffic lights that help us regulate traffic vehicular and pedestrian, why not to talk about environmental signals that support decision making on environmental issues? They could give us information - not only phenomena but also the environmental state of our ecosystems. We can imagine these lights in different parts of the city, in parks - in contaminated or abandoned contexts.
The environmental traffic light consists of a series of units for independent phenomena; each has sensors displays that provide visual information to the public about the measurement on site. The collected data is sent over the network and stored for further analysis.
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The environmental traffic light is an open project; its designs and processes are public. It is built on the Wiring project. This project is developed in a series of workshops at the Architecture and Design school, Universidad de Los Andes directed by professors Hernando Barragan and Felipe Mesa with the class students.
Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
On this Web site you can find direct links to the developments, the references and material used in class, as well as the students on each group.
45 Comments
Excelente, que iniciativa tan interesante!!!
that`s amazing....this is a graet desing oportunity...and I belive is a good project....congratulatios!
there you can find the process of each unit <a href="http://designblog.uniandes.edu.co/blogs/dise3123/ ">http://designblog.uniandes.edu.co/blogs/dise3123/ </a>
this is actually a good idea, i think it will work well in the long run!
Excelente idea y de mucha utilidad y actualidad para este mundo contaminado. Suerte con este ingenioso proyecto. Eduardo
The primary risk you run with this is that these values are likely to be seen as "acts of nature" rather than the result of human activity. The air quality index issued by many cities is a perfect example: removed from the equasion is the *reason* for the low air quality. Instead, we have a number we assign to the quality of the air, and the the fact that this number has changed is in no way linked to human action.
Great idea!
oyte la verdad es ke este proyecto tiene muxisima vision...me encanto y weno, ke tal les va con eso? donde lo han implementado ya? saludos
What separates this concept from the rest is that it encourages a paradigm shift -- an evolution of how we perceive environmental factors -- rather than just a band aid for a product category that needs "greening." I think the form needs work; the indicators don't look particularly intuitive to read... but overall, truly innovative thinking, bravo
I think it's a great idea to generate consiousness on the environmental hazards of living in densly populated cities. This way people and governments should see first hand the impact of theyr environmental decisions.
Yes for open information!! Many cities already have LED temperature/clock signs, why not with CO2 level? If the cities have any pollution problems, it can also detect the level of the bad thing in the air and make it into the open information. The data visualization is also a fun part!
How different is it form the flags that they put outside to indicate the pollution levels in Mexico City? How is this actually sustainable?
As Mark Twain said: "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." The concept is great. The contraption looks like a prototype. Where is the design? I am horrified by the vision of these "traffic lights" polluting the environment.
It’s a clever and interesting idea; the final question about sustainable world is one of the key questions at this time. Thanks for share it whit us.
Great basic concept, nevertheless, it would be important to make the "traffic light" 's design more friendly with the environment, it would be horrifying to see this "block" in the middle of a park. Keep up with the good work!
Great and different approach, hope this project makes it!
Good idea. I like the idea of piling guilt upon road rage... just kidding! Seriously, this could be a good idea, but it's a bit giant. Of course it's better than the ticket lights we have here (big brother is watching your driving habits). An idea would be to add a co2 sensor for various vehicles passing. Here we have emissions testing, but not everyone is driving a vehicle that passed.
Muy buena idea...
I have no idea what it is for, but looks interesting, these guys did very good and .... I hope useful job. 1
exelente...aunque no es un "gadget" propiamente dicho es una inicativa muy buena... y colombiana!
it seems to be a good idea, but, does the intention justify the cost of it? i mean, is it to expensive just for get irrelevant information about an especific place? i think you're right: the people don't get a real idea about some things round us everytime, but the only way to get them quite, is to study them, every one of us have taken a formation, expierence and other things that when talk about temperature makes the temperature a topic everyone can talk about, but CO2? i'm not saying it's
Creo que esto da un sustento para generar nuevas ideas para una concientizacion seria sobre el cambio climatico; como concepto basico es excelente y creo que abre una puerta para que todos conozcan sobre lo que esta pasando en el mundo a nivel ambiental
It sounds a great idea and a good information service. Good luck!
Buena idea, muy mal diseno....no es para nada atractivo y no explica su funcion.
i feel that this is a good idea, i think the fact that these would be out on the streets where people pass them by all the time we'd take more notice to see whats happening in our own community. i believe it would also boost us as humans to actually try to change how we live to improve the planet.
EXCELENTE TRABAJO, EL MUNDO NECESITA DE ESTOS APORTES CADA VEZ MAS.
Genial idea que nos ayude a concientizarnos y a tomar precauciones encaminadas a mejorar el medio ambiente. Exitos
This is public art. Not a gadget. Why is this information relevant? And how can I make a change based on what I see? Couldn't the local news broadcast this information with the weather, barometer, smog index, etc?
Excellent idea mate ... reminds me of a not to distant future where data systems will be on display to all ... everywhere ... instant information, etc ... well done ... deserves funding ... cheers, Gem :)
creo que es una excelente idea de gadget , que se puede implementar en las grandes ciudades del mundo , los datos del medio ambiente son muy importantes , ya que en el mundo actual en el que vivimos, no tenemos la oportunidad de conocer acerca de los factores ambientales que pueden afectar nuestro entorno.
Muy buena idea! super interesante!!!
sin palabras, exelente idea.
Eso queda en los Andes es muy chevere.
Pss.. es interesante el proyecto.. pero se me ahce q es muy aparatoso, visto desde el diseño, tiene muchas partes segmentadas... q tal vez se podrian resolver en un solo producto. Pero es una beuna iniciativa ;)
excelente iniciativa, espero pase a la segunda ronda felicitaciones!!
full design 100% made in COLOMBIA.... bien........
Es cierto es muy buena la idea pero no llama la atencion ni en sus formas ni en sus colores, deberia evolucionar su forma, seria mejor...
Muy buena idea, más en estos tiempos que vivimos actualmente donde casi nadie presta "verdadera" atención al tema.
Lo malo que tiene es que es horrible, si se le diese una vuelta de tuerca al menos en cuanto a diseño, serÃa más agradable estéticamente y además con mayor funcionalidad (Demasiado alargado)
C'est une idea excelente, il fault en avoir une dans chaque maison. Felicitations!!!
Felicitaciones por la idea, muy interesante y necesario realizar algo que promueva el conocimiento dentro del marco de lo cotidiano. Les deseo lo mejor con su proyecto, que es para todos!!
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