Documentation

Project description

The content for this project will be pulled from the ‘Telling Stories’ exhibition at the Museum of Wellington located at Queen’s Wharf. The content for this project will be pulled from the ‘Telling Stories’ exhibition at the Museum of Wellington located at Queen’s Wharf. The story I have chosen is “1969 Cuba Street-the revenge of pedestrian”. This story is talking about the history of Cuba Street that looks back from the Cuba mall with traffic to become a pedestrian mall due to the request of citizens. And the brief of this project is creating a interaction design both interface and hacking mouse that address this story for people to interact with it.

The installation I create is trying to retell the story and get people more interacted with the story. The outcome interface is a combination of images and video that shows the old and present Cuba Street. The video of Cuba Street is set as background for people to walk through. The idea is intended people to know the old vision and story of Cuba Street while experiencing the present.

Design of the hacking mouse is inspired from the Bucket Fountain on the street. I intend to get people more involved in this street when they interact with this installation. If people tip the mouse left and right, the ball in the middle will hit left and right to get forward and backward of the images; if people move the mouse in left and right way, they will move backward and forward on the street.

Particular location

Concept2 of mouse

Concept of Mouse

Concept of Project 1

The interface of screen will be the appearance of both sides on Cuba Street at present day. Users will go through the street as if in the real world by using the mouse. And the information of each prominent place will be shown up on the screen.

The mouse will be addressed in the characteristic of Cuba Street. The Bucket Fountain is well known as a landmark of this city. I am thinking that if the form of mouse designed as an element of the street such as the form and tipping action of Bucket Fountain for users to navigate the interface, it will make the re-tell story more interesting.

Intended response from users: to know those un-known stories and explore interesting things of the place through interacting with interactive screen.

Re-telling tales

After visiting the "Telling tales" exhibition at the Museum of Wellington, I have chosen one of the stories that I am intersted in. The srory comes from 1969 and it tells the story about Cuba street which is a popular shopping area. Starting to think about how to re-tell this story by using new form of input.

"The revenge of the pedestrian"

When Wellington's Cuba Mall opened in 1969 it was the first New Zealand street to be transformed by the removed of traffic.
Cuba street had once been a popular shopping area, but after World War II(1939-45), spreading suburbia drew people away from the central city. In 1965, the street suffered a further blow which the withdrawl of the tram service. However, while the street was closed to remove the tram tracks, retailers soon noticed that the lack of traffic was an attraction. Sales increased and letters to newspapers showed the public like the temporary pedestrian mall. The cuba street Businessmen's Association presented a petition signed by more than 5000 people to the Wellington City Council requesting that the mall become permanent. The city council agreed.
Since then the mall has been revamped twice. The prominent signs that marked each end have been removed, but the mall's most controresial feature, the Bucket Fountain, has survived, Critics detest the icon, but intrigued tourists and children love it.