Jeroen Barendse

Het Berlijnplein and the district of Hoge Weide exists largely by the grace of the tunnel over the A2, a crucial part of the urban development master plan for Leidsche Rijn by Maxwan from 1994. The tunnel ensures that the district is a single entity, free from nuisance of speeding cars on the motorway. The light installation OPEN HIGHWAY visualizes the reason why the neighborhood is there at the first place and shows that you can make something beautiful out of something intrusive (many cars, noise, exhaust fumes, etc.), a work that translates the traffic flows into a powerful image. The installation consists of a multitude of "light bars". The shape and placement of these bars corresponds exactly to that of the two-times three lanes of the A2 that is exactly below the work. We use detailed traffic data via an API (application programming interface) of the NDW (National Road Traffic Data Database). Here, an estimate is given per minute of the number of vehicles per hour and their speed, per route section. Based on this, we have developed an algorithm that converts this data every minute into realistic patterns as we have observed during the fieldwork we conducted. The work is life-size (scale 1: 1) and spectators can walk through the lights and explore the space freely. A sound component reinforces the desired effect, in the form of a linear actuator that taps the metal of the beam. Sound that moves through space works very powerful and arouses the suggestion that vehicles drive through space. In each light segment a linear actuator is installed, which simultaneously gives a physical "tap" to the metal of the H-beam. As a result, the sound moves in space, parallel to the light. The sound will be reminiscent of vehicles that ride over ripples on the road.

In 2016, the Fortifications of Amsterdam celebrate the 20-year anniversary as a UNESCO world heritage site. The Fortifications of Amsterdam were built in the late 19th century as the hard evidence of Dutch 'neutrality'. However, still during construction, the balance of power on the world stage shifted. Also the martial practice itself changed; then for the first time the skies became battlefields. Finally realized, the Fortifications proved powerless. The mid-1990s rediscovered the Fortifications, then as a symbol of Dutch hydraulic ingenuity. For the Fort bij Vijfhuizen, LUST designed a small exhibition in a hallway, about the fort, as part of the fortification of Amsterdam (Stelling van Amsterdam), but also about all kind of borders and routes dealing with the landscape of war, in the Netherlands, (Fortress) Europe and the rest of the world. The only 13 meter long and 3 meter wide and high hallway is a curious intervention in the Fort, making the whole intrinisic function of the Fort redundant; it opens up a passage way for 'the enemy'. This, together with the notion of the fortification being an already outdated concept upon completion, were starting points for the design. We installed 18 mirrors of 1x2,5 meters that can turn on a central pivot in this tiny space, making the space at the same time claustofobic and open, connecting the inside and the outside with each other, disorienting. Each mirror is fully laser engraved with specially designed maps that tell stories on the landscape of war. "Globalisation, which impacts heritage through processes such as increased migration, urbanisation, commodification, growth of tourism and the acceleration of communication, has to be reflected in a comprehensive approach to Heritage Studies." From The Cottbus Declaration on Heritage Studies; the need for a holistic understanding of heritage ' (2012), at the 40th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention of 1972. You are here. On historical ground. Safe in the inner world, protected by the Fortifications of Amsterdam, UNESCO World Heritage since 1996. No landscape as prestigious as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 'Unique and universal, meaningfull for mankind as a whole '. That status obliges. World Heritage sites should be preserved and made accessible. Physically and in words. The Fortifications of Amsterdam were built in the late 19th century as the hard evidence of Dutch 'neutrality'. However, still during construction, the balance of power on the world stage shifted. Also the martial practice itself changed; then for the first time the skies became battlefields. Finally realized, the Fortifications proved powerless. The mid-1990s rediscovered the Fortifications, then as a symbol of Dutch hydraulic ingenuity. That fairy tale was awarded by UNESCO. You are here. In the distance the evil outside world. There are cities and zones bombed, shot-up, blown up, burned down. World Heritage sites are not spared. That we can find cruel. But remember, once taught the civilized West the rest of the world how to destroy other people's cities: the Baedeker sights Bath and Canterbury; the fate of Lübeck, Wismar, Dresden was sealed with 'European' bombs. All five have now been enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage. You are soon. There is a chance that each country withdraws again on its own territory, within its borders, with its own national cherished heritage. Our concern: how looks on term the 'new map of the new Europe'? The city is called rediscovered: innovative city, creative city. But does those smart cities also invent a new ethics? 'Free city' for example, as moral compass, aimed at a culture of hospitality. Acts of war get company of climate extremes. Elsewhere on the globe coastal cities will drown, other regions are already drying out ... geopolitical tensions intensify. Climate refugees, they are the next guests of Europe. The Fort near Vijfhuizen, building block of the Fortifications of Amsterdam, World Heritage since 1996. Many people says that we should be proud of that title. National pride on a national tradition. But the revitalisation of national sentiment is not the raison d 'être of world heritage. The international exchange of people, goods and ideas deals less and less with places and more and more with dis-place-ments. With '... increased migration, urbanisation, commodification, growth of tourism and the acceleration of communication ... That colours the future world-value of world heritage. Team: Concept: Jan de Graaf / Robert Schutte, LUST, DoepelStrijkers Text and research: Jan de Graaf / Robert Schutte Design: LUST Spatial design: LUST and DoepelStrijkers Mirrors and installation: GlassInside Photography: Nadine Stijns

Interactive installatie

Voor de tentoonstelling Type/Dynamics heeft LUST een nieuwe interactieve installatie gemaakt, in opdracht van het Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, naar aanleiding van het boek dat Frederike Huygen over de ontwerper en typograaf Jurriaan Schrofer (1926-1990) heeft geschreven. Het is een werk dat reageert, speelt met, aansluit op, en commentaar levert op het werk van Schrofer en het in een hedendaags licht stelt. Het project stelt zich ten doel om de ontwerpgeschiedenis te actualiseren en te revitaliseren. Het oeuvre van Jurriaan Schrofer bestaat voornamelijk uit drukwerk dat “met de hand” ontworpen is. Maar al vanaf de jaren zestig reageerde hij op nieuwe technieken als offset om “bewegende” typografie te bereiken. In al zijn werk is eigenlijk dynamiek een rode draad. Vanaf de jaren zeventig exploreerde hij als een onderzoekend vormgever patronen en structuren, mede-geïnspireerd op de ‘Op art’. Vreemde perspectieven, dieptewerking en lettertekens heeft hij met grote bezetenheid onderzocht. Hoewel het werk van LUST en het werk van Jurriaan Schrofer, zeker inhoudelijk, behoorlijk verschillend is, heeft het ook een aantal overeenkomsten. Typografie speelt in het werk van beiden een heel belangrijke rol, en dan vooral waar de typografie tekst en beeld tegelijkertijd is. Verder gebruiken beiden ook regelmatig kleine elementen of modules die bij elkaar een groter geheel vormen, zoals patronen en structuren. In het Stedelijk Museum beslaat de tentoonstelling twee vrijwel identieke ruimtes die zich conceptueel spiegelen: In de eerste ruimte zijn de muren behangen met afbeeldingen van werk van Schrofer. Tussen deze reproducties worden ook originelen getoond, in een aantal vitrines aan de muur. Ook zijn er twee schermen waar bezoekers werken van Schrofer interactief kunnen bekijken met een nadruk op de handmatige productie en het schetsproces. De tweede ruimte is een vrije interpretatie van het werk van Schrofer door LUST. Deze ruimte is geheel gevuld met continu bewegende en dynamische typografie. De installatie is een visualisatie van het gegeven dat we tegenwoordig overal informatie om ons heen hebben, op elk moment en op elke locatie, wat ook nog eens op elk moment oproepbaar is. De ruimte zoekt real-time naar nieuws met een specifieke locatie, zoals "Ground Zero", "Reichstag" of "Tiananmenplein". Plekken die er op dit moment toe doen. Als bezoeker sta je letterlijk op die locatie, geheel omgeven door al het nieuws dat op dit moment over die plek te vinden is. In plaats van een fotografische representatie is de plek puur typografisch verbeeld aan de hand van allerlei nieuwsberichten die over die plek gaan, achtergrondinformatie over die plek, de geschiedenis van die plek, etc.. De bezoeker wordt door middel van 3D sensoren gevolgd en de projecties reageren op de positie van de bezoeker, de hoeveelheid bezoekers, hoe bezoekers zich door de ruimte bewegen en hun afstand tot de muren. Als bezoeker kan je meer te weten komen over een bepaald onderwerp, door naar iets wat je interessant lijkt toe te lopen. Hierdoor wordt het typografisch grid groter en is het deel waar je voor staat duidelijker te lezend en wanneer je nog dichter naar de muur loopt, toont het systeem meer informatie rond het onderwerp waar je op "ingezoomd" bent. Het inzoomen is geen letterlijke inzoom, maar een "schalen" van informatie. De tekst wordt niet veel groter, maar je kan de teksten als bezoeker beter lezen. Het typografisch grid deelt zich in meer cellen die weer gevuld worden met nieuwe informatie. In de installatie kan de bezoeker tot drie lagen diep informatie tot zich nemen. De ervaring is als een soort 'Aleph' uit het gelijknamige boek van Jorge Luis Borges, een punt waar je tegelijkertijd alles wat er op de wereld in heden en verleden is gebeurt tegelijkertijd ziet. Dit is zo veel en overweldigend dat je eigenlijk niets meer ziet.

During the 22nd International Poster and Graphic Design Festival of Chaumont, LUST (NL) took over the Chapelle des Jésuites with an in-situ piece intended to build bridges between the Festival’s past and future. Extending the notion of archiving to the future and to hypothetical pasts. Prior to the exhibition, they compiled a visual and textual database. Visitors at La Chapelle could interact with this ‘polyarc’ to make their own digital or print publication, before adding their own contributions to it. Through its content, the installation explores and informs us about graphic design in Chaumont: venues, accomplishments and projects. Through its form, it considers the paths and media travelled by graphic design; and how they are evolving in light of technology, the amount of information and images being produced, and changes in the applications of the discipline. During the festival visitors could pick up one-of-a-kind print-on-demand booklets at La Chapelle which could be inserted into this dossier. This dossier functions as a ‘snapshot’ of a constantly growing archive. Visitors were invited to contribute to this archive by sending Twitter messages. Any messages sent will be stored and made accessible via the installation and printed for the dossiers.

The Res Sapiens project merges the digital world with the physical. It connects them seamlessly, treating both entities equally. It asks questions not only to us, but also to itself. Res Sapiens refers to thinking physical objects, from products to architecture, that surpass their visual representation and display their meaning, role and status in society. The continuous stream of (public) digital data and information form the energy on which the Res Sapiens can live. It builds the oil fields of the future, where an ever growing digital heritage increases our understanding and knowledge and, most importantly, creates a stronger collective consciousness. With our limited perceptual capabilities we can only surf on the surface of the Digital Information Bubble. Lamp001/1 is a visualization of a living internet organism, and moreover it attempts to fuse human and machine senses and build on finding answers of how it could help us. Lamp001/1 is the first Res Sapiens of its kind. It is both a parasite and a paradox, an identical clone and a unique individual. It thrives on information, collecting and conveying data in seamless communication with others while continuously learning from its surrounding. You can begin a direct conversation (tweet @ressapiens), interacting one on one but also observe as your interaction lingers, instigating new conversations and new streams of information.

Five graphic design studios were invited to create site specific urban interventions bound by the Experimenta Design biennale’s theme Useless, in one of downtown Lisbon’s most central squares. Triggered by varying instances of scale and volume, detail and emptiness, architecture features and superficial embellishments, the resulting interventions establish a dialogue with the chosen sites. We designed and installed 8 giant pictures on the square, citing and playing on the impression you get when looking at a city through Google Streetview. QR-codes provided mobile access to an online environment where visitors can upload their own "picture-in-picture" and browse the archive of previously taken photos. Curated by R2 (PT), with Conditional Design – Luna Maurer & Roel Wouters (NL), LUST (NL), Sulki & Min (KR), Frédéric Teschner (FR), Morag Myerscough & Luke Morgan (UK), on the Praça da Figueira, Lisbon. The installation will be up until 27 of November 2011. The idea of this installation is related to the concept of DataSpace we developed a few years ago. “DataSpace” is a spatial and temporal concept, embedded in the physical reality surrounding us. The “local area network” is replaced by a room, a street, or a building, depending on where the user is located. The concept of a DataSpace is in contrast to that of a standard database. Databases store information locally about remote physical objects. In this scenario, the physical objects become merely the artifacts of their corresponding entry in a database. In a DataSpace, the data is stored locally in objects, and becomes a property when queried (highlighted or “illuminated”). DataSpace is geographically organised as opposed to the logical structure of computer databases and Internet. Therefore, DataSpace is structured analogously to the real physical space which surrounds us, as opposed to a mere reference. The move away from the referential to the empirical is important because of the higher level of abstraction empirical data allows. By definition, referential data inherently contains a certain level of abstraction (cliché), while empirical data can still be open to any abstraction applied to or projected onto it, allowing a much greater level of manipulation.

Together with Casey Reas (Processing) and Chandler McWilliams LUST developed the book and site Form+Code in Design, Art and Architecture, published by Princeton Architectural Press. The publication discusses the role of software in visual design, art, and architecture. It hopes to generate interest in creating visual and spatial form with software across diverse fields by focusing on the history, theory, and practice of software in the arts. The book is about one fourth text and three fourths images and is organized around two parallel narratives: one told through images and captions, and the other through essays with related diagrams and images. This allows the book to be read cover-to-cover or leisurely looked through as a source of inspiration. The first two chapters set the foundation for the rest of the book by discussing the history of the computer in the arts and how software is used to create form. The five themes of repetition, transformation, parameters, visualization, and simulation are deeply linked to code. Each of these sections begin with an essay to define the territory, continues with images and captions, and concludes with code examples. Form+Code is not a programming tutorial; its goal is to inspire though the discussion of themes and projects. Each chapter starts with a paragraph set in a specially designed typeface, that does not exist as a typeface, but is programmed. The code generates the form, and this form will be different with each combination of letters. The book is available at Amazon.

For the Graphic Design Museum in Breda we developed in 2008 the Poster Wall for the 21st Century, both online and as a part of the museum’s permanent installation '100 Years of Graphic Design in the Netherlands'. In the museum 600 unique posters are automatically generated daily using content gathered from various internet sources. Online, one new poster is generated every five minutes. New posters are automatically generated when physical events occur in the space: for example, when visitors enter the space, when visitors view the touchtables, and when visitors approach the wall itself. Live-versions of the posterwall have been shown at the 2010-2011 Triennial of Design at the Cooper Hewitt in New York, at the Wide White Space exhibition in Wattis, San Francisco and Public Design Expo in Seoul. This 2.0 version of the Posterwall offered new possibilities, like Tweets, QR-codes, and social sharing. The latest version of Posterwall is currently up at the Walker Art in Minneapolis and travels in Januari 2012 to the Cooper Hewitt in New York before travelling all over the States.

Turning the city of The Hague into an International Airport. The Grote Markstraat —600 meters long— was transformed into a landingstrip, using 36x6 indivual controllable lights and 48 2000-Watt speakers, creating the experience of airplanes landing in the street. The landingstrip connected the two main areas of the festival, with a total of more than 25 stages throughout the city. The Volharding building functioned as an arrivals & departures sign, all tied together by audio-announcements of ‘incoming’ artists in eight different languages.

The North Sea project consists of an atlas and a map. The map serves multiple purposes. The North Sea features on many urbanism agendas. This map wishes to play a role of significance when these agendas are discussed. Seas are intrinsically different from land - not just physically, socially too, and symbolically: mare is different from terra firma. Therefore we need to adopt and test a new type of cartography. In the way urbanism wants to be cultural urbanism, in that same way cartography becomes cultural cartography. The map aims first of all, to paint a picture of a small and, in geologic terms, youthful Inland Sea, which is at the same time a striking and multifaceted ‘World Sea’. That sea is described from 21 different points of view. As a consequence the map matrix is comprised of 21 distinct thematic maps: a seafloor map and a city map, a water map and a dirt map, a myth map and a scary map. The combination of these maps reveals intriguing links. This map, together with the grid map yields 421 unique maps. A sea that appears so empty yet is so full; full of the traces of man: ship wrecks, cables, pipes, conduits, oil rigs and, who knows, soon maybe even a massive invasion of ‘Monster Crabs’. The companion atlas contains 21 separate essays highlighting multiple cross-links. The atlas is illustrated with visual essays: 70 plus maps including historic ones from archives, new ones made by others as well as new ones hand-made for this project.