Physx

Since the Corona cases start to rise again in the Netherlands and all around the world, more strict social distancing measures should be taken. Till now all the proposed models are based on a static solution, circles on the grass, tape in the restaurant, generally people are confined in a given space but we know, daily reality is much different.
Is it possible to imagine a dynamic model then?

Physx placed in front of Rotterdam central station, takes inspiration from the space-time net, in which an astronomical body bends the spatial network around it defining an “area of interest” depending on the mass and the gravity that generates.

The installation consists in a tight tend surface, made out of an elastic fiber, raised from the ground of about 50cm. Once a person step on the membrane, this one absorbs the pressure, bending in a depression-like valley. The membrane stretches and reveals the inner fibers that are in different colors. Automatically a colored “safe zone” of 1,5m with different intensity is generated around the person, defining the distance that should be kept while interacting with the other people.

When people get close to each other, the personal areas start to blend together showing that the measures are not respected. Thanks to the different colors of the fibers it is also easy to understand what’s the grade of danger people face standing next to each other.

Credits:

• Design: Cosimo Scotucci

• Year: 2020

• Type: Proposal

• Location: Rotterdam Centraal, NL