Design Workshop Architects, including Principal Michael Donaldson (MArch 2005), have an installation at the Interior Design Show (IDS), January 18-21.  Titled How Bright is Our Future?, the installation, designed by Donaldson, explores impact of new technologies and whether they inspire hope or fear.

From the project description:

IDS visitors will enter a dark enclosure to encounter a forest of tree-like fixtures. Each of these “trees” offers the viewer a tactile surface printed on the skin of the tree that responds to the viewers touch. They will be asked to react to the most promising and terrifying changes that will inform our future, and record how they view that topic: either as one of hope or one of fear.

Data gathered from all the inputs contributes to an illuminated meter that displays where each individual, as well as the collective result, puts us on that spectrum of fear and hope. The results will also be projected onto a screen where each participant sees how they influence the future – but they must confront the reality that we will all create this future together.

This immersive installation aims to start a dialogue about recognizing change, and get people thinking about what’s next in the future of design.
 

For more details, visit the project's website. More information on the Interior Design Show, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, can be found here.