Designer normal_rend
DesignerOHM (Ω)
HM of Open Source Biennale
+ HONOURABLE MENTION
Open Source Biennale
[14312]
OHM (Ω): Resistances and asymmetries in circuits of power.
Team
Name: Navjot Dhanoa
Instagram: @normal.rend
Nationality: Canadian
Institution / Company: University of Toronto
Name: Emilie Tamtik
Instagram: @normal.rend
Nationality: Canadian
Institution / Company: University of Toronto
“Technology extends power and understanding; but when applied unevenly, it also concentrates power and understanding” (New Dark Age, 2018). The installation OHM explores the power asymmetries embodied in the open-source. Carlo Rossi’s notion of Open-Source Architecture implies democracy in design, but has democracy ever been truly open to all?
OHM invites visitors to navigate the parallels between political power and the power of energy, as they gather in OHM’s public charging facility. The daily gesture of plugging into the grid is a ritual of our technologically entangled society. At OHM, however, one may find their device will not always charge—the facility periodically draws power and stores it in power-banks held at the head of the room.
OHM is a place to gather. Citing the architectural canon of spaces where power is performed (the Roman colosseum, the Italian senate, the United States House of Representatives), it is no coincidence that the space too resembles the power drawn by radial solar panels in a Concentrated Solar Power system.
Plugging in, we connect to the remote systems, facilities, and labourers entangled in contested politics, precarious labour and environmentally destructive ventures; all to keep a phone charged. OHM begs the question, to whom is power truly open? To whom is it closed?
Jury Comments
– [Hamidreza Khademi] Thought-provoking concept exploring power dynamics. The charging facility is feasible but requires careful electrical engineering. The periodic power draw feature adds complexity but enhances the conceptual impact.
– [m2ft architects] The project introduces a critical view of power dynamics related to technology and energy. This is certainly not the first time this topic has emerged, but the proposal has managed to interpret it in an innovative and insightful way. The installation is evidently complex and requires a lot of different knowledge to be realized, but it is certainly capable of questioning the norms of architecture required by the competition.
– [Olli Andrew] knock off hunger games
Responses