It’s not often that we see e-textiles used as an elixir for stress. As much as LEDs can be a shriek for attention (look no further than the Black Eyed Peas stagewear) , they also can be used to create a meditative environment according to AHO design students.
Developed by Coralie Rocque, Maria Bacus Edvardsen and Aleksander Imset Wassum, Slenduro is an electronic wind chime designed to create a “a relaxing interactive installation.” Part of the charm of the installation is its use of natural materials such as wool and home grown crafting techniques (knitting and crocheting). Interacting with the crocheted wool tendrils causes the “snowballs” to illuminate and play a melody.
Students Silje Maloney Barth, Siren Dversnes, Yen Sigird Cheung and Siri Yran take a more holistic approach with their project HYSJ. HYSJ is an entire built environment that incorporates a woven carpet with embedded LEDs and a rocking chair. The “relaxation” strategy is, at first, to overwhelm the visitor with a bit of sensory overload and then blanket them in calmness. I do question the bizarre strategy but I’m sure it has some alluring effect.
