Laboratorium Silencii / Silent Lab EXPO 2015, Milan

Laboratorium Silencii / Silent Lab
EXPO 2015, Milan
multimedia installation
„As a part of the Czech pavilion at EXPO 2015, an istallation called Silent Lab would be
introduced, reacting to the human need of being a part of nature. The result is complex
representation of a forest, where active nature becomes one with technology. Apart from
learning and relaxing in this environment, it also brings unique esthetic and emotional
experience to the visitors.
Silent Lab will offer meditative mood of a Czech forest, enhanced by advanced technologies
that will uncover secret of plants as a new extended reality. Apart from living plants,
projection screens and camera system will also be part of the futuristic laboratory. Visitors
themselves will be able to interact with the installation in order to observe in detail such
marvels as plant cells. The installation will not only provide original look into the active
ecosystem , but at the same time it will also gather data for subsequent scientific botanic
research. With its primary goal - to introduce a forest as an important place of spiritual
relaxation - the installation also wants to show a scientific approach to Czech forest
ecosystem in an attractive and accessible manner.“
Authors of the installation are Dávid Sivý a Jan Tůma, who are also part of Silent Lab
creative team. The whole team is credited with design, production, realization and installation
of the complex system of the laboratory. Realization was carried out by Full Capacity Ltd.
with Jan K. Rolník, a producer of the project. The concept was created under the patronage
of ČVUT (Czech Technical University in Prague) at the Faculty of Architecture, in studios of
Marian Karel and Vladimír Soukenka, with contribution of Institute of Intermedia.
The opportunity to work on the multimeda exposition for the Czech pavilion arose after
winning the competition for installation‘s design, which took place in May 2014. The first
results, showcasing test run, were available since January 2015. In this time, the system was
introduced to the advisory board of the Czech participation at EXPO 2015 and also to wide
public in a press conference (13th January 2015). Preparations followed, as well as the
realization of the installation itself within the Czech pavilion, in March and April of 2015, so
the Silent Lab is ready to welcome first visitors on 1st May 2015, when the EXPO 2015
officially starts in Milan.
One of the key elements of the project was collaboration amongst various fields and
institutions and different groups of creative, technical and scientific background. The
installation represents the Czech republic as a country highly relevant worldwide, with its
cutting edge technology, modern production processes and unique scientific research.
It is worth mentioning that part of the team developping the installation (namely Full Capacity
Ltd. and studio R/FRM) is also creating interior design for another exposition of the Czech
pavilion, called Land of Stories, a space for temporary exhibitions of Czech regions and
partners of the Czech participation at EXPO.
Team Silent Lab:
Dávid Sivý – concept, author supervision
Jan Tůma, Jindřich Ráftl (studio R/FRM) – architecture, design, author supervision
Jan K Rolník – production
Martina Rubačová, Pavlína Dvořáková – expert botanic supervision
Andrej Boleslavský, Jakub Hybler – expert technological supervision, realization
Petr Patočka, Marek Winkler, Barbora Mitošinková – administration, production, PR
Contributing to the project:
Institutions:
Faculty of Architecture at ČVUT – Studio of Marian Karel, Studio of Vladimír Soukénka
Institute of intermedia
Botanical garden of Faculty of Biology at Charles University
Botanical Institute at Academy of Science of the Czech Republic
Research Institute Silva Taroucy
Partners:
Biotopic Systems s.r.o.
Soning a.s.
Příhoda a.s.
Sound Square
Symbiom s.r.o.
Special thanks to:
Marián Karel
Vladimír Soukenka
Miroslav Kukrál
Petr Popelka
Jan Nálepa
Josef Vondrášek
Ladislav Pavlata
Vilém Frič
Jakub Hybler
David titěra
Petr Kašpar
Jana Vokurková
Miroslav Vosátka
Tomáš Vrška
Věra Bidlová
Aleš Sokup
Matouš Glan
contact:
authors:
Dávid Sivý
728 490 685
[email protected]
Jan Tůma
724 662 418
[email protected]
production:
Jan K. Rolník
777 833 692
[email protected]