Inspiration and Context

Some of the projects that acted as inspiration and a guide for our project were:

21 Swings:  A musical installation in Montreal that plays certain melodies only through cooperation between the users. Thus, creating a sense of community and ownership of the space. 

Heated Bus Stop: A bus stop in Montreal that heats up when the people at the bus stop hold hands and touch the sensor to complete the circuit. Although it is a marketing campaign for Duracell, it spreads a positive message that "you are not alone". You are part of a much larger community and together you can spread warmth. At first, people look at the poster quizzically, but once they participate, you can see that they start smiling and have a fun experience while waiting for the bus.

Coca-Cola Friendship Machine: A tall vending machine that can be used only when people work together to reach the keypad. From the video we can see how the machine attracts a lot of attention, making people more aware of their everyday surroundings. Soon we see more and more people crowd around the machine looking at each other with surprise and broad smiles. We then see how people come together to buy soda from the machine. It shows how we can overcome any obstacle if we work together as a community and that no obstacle is big enough if we have each other. 

All these projects highlight how collaboration through a shared activity can bring people together even if they may not know each other, it has the ability to create a positive experience for people. Our project builds on this ideology.