The Campfire Project
Two-Sided Site Specific Interactive Installation
Challenge
Design a public interactive system that bridges two disconnected communities within a shared physical space
Roles
Solo senior capstone project
Personal Goals
Reconnect disconnected communities through active participation and reflection
Create an installation that continuously invites and incentivizes interaction
Design a responsive spatial experience that challenge users’ existing perceptions and drive new behaviors
Timeline
10/2025-03/2026
Scope/ Method
Spatial Experience Design
Interaction Design
Projection Design
Public Participatory Art
Cross-Space Interactive Systems
Tools
Isadora
Figma
Shadertoy
Project background & Goals
The MADD Arts Lab and CSIL are two major facilities housed under the UChicago MADD Center. Despite being physically adjacent within a shared open space, people from both sides rarely visit or interact.
This separation is particularly unfortunate given the space’s original purpose: to foster more collaboration between the arts and computing. While interest in collaboration remains, departmental structures, space design, and social dynamics limit opportunities for interaction to emerge organically.
As someone who actively engages with both spaces, I want to re-activate the original vision. I created an interactive third space that serves as a catalyst for interactions between the two communities. Ultimately, the project aims to reimagine a lively, collaborative perception of the space and spark stronger desire for reconnection.
Process highlights
Understanding the phenomenon & Problem
The Space introduced
When you enter the MADD center from the front door, you are immediately faced with two choices:
go left to CSIL or right to the Arts Lab.
The institute website describes the MADD center as “University of Chicago’s collaborative space for inquiry and experimentation at this transdisciplinary crossroads”.
However:
Despite being only steps apart and technically being a shared space with open access, people on each side almost never interact!
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
To validate my observation and further understand the cause of the phenomenon, I interviewed 5 students from each space and the two space managers to gain deeper insight.
PROBLEM DEFINED: tHERE LACKS AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT!
Insights from the interview and research reveals 3 core motivation behind such phenomenon:
Functional: “We go to each for different purposes”
Due to the functionality differences of the two spaces, one with individual monitors, and the other with shared spaces for game play and group work, the utility of both spaces also drive people to different spaces.
Structural: “We’ve been occupied by our separate departments”
The Arts Lab operates under The Arts and Humanities division while CSIL is overseen by the Computer Science Department.
Both spaces are constantly being occupied by their own department’s priorities, there lacks clear incentives or opportunities for the two to interact or collaborate.
Physical: “There’s a physical wall between us!”
Despite the open area at the top and end of the MADD center, the two spaces are also divided by a row of classroom, physically dividing the spaces and the communities occupying them
Developing a solution
Identifying the design opportunity
The main problem: There lacks an excuse/opportunity/ shared goal that brings the two communities together rather than dividing them.
Among the three core motivation that drives the division, physical separation emerged as the most immediate design opportunity. While functional and structural barriers are more deeply embedded in the institution and hence hard to change, spatial design and technology available offered a more flexible and realistic opportunity for creating incentive for interaction and collaboration.
How can I design a spatial experience within the existing architectural framework that makes a physically separated space feel more connected?
methodology research
Method #1: Spatial Branding
Moderate alignment
Rebranding the shared environment through visual identity, way finding graphics help the two sides feel like part of a larger whole and drives users to different side of the space they are not usually in.
However:
Too passive for generating meaningful interaction with others on its own
Passive branding and choice making can even further emphasize the categorization and divide
Method #2: Responsive environment and visualizing joint interactions
Strong alignment
2 part responsive environments build connection by making interaction visible and consequential: the space responds in real time to people’s presence, then intensifies as more interaction is made, the space goes from subtle cues to a fully “alive” shared state.
Method #3: Participatory art/ Co - creation
Strong alignment
Participatory art often engages multiple participants in a process of collective creation, guided by a framework established by the artist. A strong sense of community is created through the piece while also highlighting differences between the individuals.
Design synthesis
Create an opportunity for collaboration: the experience should gather two communities to collaborate in real time
Lower the physical barrier: Make it easier for the two communities to interact physically. the interaction itself should also feel effortless, intuitive and engaging
Participatory: there should be clear incentive for users to actively incentivize engage with the other side
Cross-space communication: each side should be able to clearly sense the presence and actions of the other
Visible reward: There should be a clear outcome/ reward that is activated when the two sides interact
Spark future connection: the experience should bring new perspective to the space and its social dynamic, spark curiosity and inspire more collaboration beyond the installation itself