Award of Merit:

Simon Modra Design for HEXADECA by Pulsing Heart

 Since 1993 a cross-disciplinary design consultancy specialising in residential building, custom furniture production, interior design and hospitality venue branding. Simon has completed a Master of design (design construct), master of architecture, bachelor of architecture and is currently a PhD candidate investigating capabilities of Virtual Reality and 1:1 mock-ups in the human-centred design process.  

About the Project

A cluster of 16 custom made bucket spinner playground seats of various sizes lie empty and silent. As one person finds a seat suited to them and begins to spin,1/16 of a musical score begins to play. As another participant begins to spin, another segment of the score is heard, aligning seamlessly with the already audible track. As natural light fades, the seats begin to glow internally triggered by the seat's activity. This continues until all 16 seats are spinning simultaneously, only then will the soundscape be heard in its entirety. The joy that exudes from playgrounds is universal. The grins and laughter that a slippery dip or a bucket spinner seat spark, transcend any generational, socio-economic or cultural barriers. HEXADECA encourages this multigenerational, all-inclusive play. Through agile design and a diverse soundscape created by leading Australian musicians, HEXADECA can be adapted to suit a diverse range of presentation formats.

How it works.
Sixteen steel hexagons puzzle together to create a structural frame. This frame supports sixteen custom made fiberglass bucket spinner seats arranged in a cluster. Each seat is fitted with a sensor that relays when the seat is spinning to the central hub. Bespoke musical scores have been created in 16 parts for the work, each individual section assigned to a seat at random. When a participant begins to spin, the corresponding 1/16 of the musical arrangement will fade in and begin to play and the LED lights inside that seat will illuminate. Regardless of when each segment of the track is introduced, it aligns seamlessly to ensure a consistently satisfying aural experience.

Category: Use

Designers and Project Team:
Concept & creative producer - Joren Dawson for Pulsing Heart
Producer - Jascha Boyce for Pulsing Heart
Tech wizard - David Musch for Mapped Design
Design and production lead - Jake Jenkins
Design and technical consultant - Simon Modra
Frame fabrication - Ashley Hayes