Tag: Coral reefs

LFA & SA+C: Re-Imagining Coral Reefs | Wednesday – Friday, June 28-30, 2023 from 10:00 to 19:00 (BST) daily | MG28, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Wednesday – Friday, 28th – 30th of June 2023, 10am-7pm daily

Where: Ground Floor Learning Platform Room MG28, University of Westminster Marylebone Campus, 35 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5LS

We are delighted to invite you to Re-Imagining Coral Reefs – a virtual reality (VR) experience aimed at communicating the climate science of coral reef research to a wider audience.

Part of the London Festival of Architecture (LFA)’s programme of events, Re-Imagining Coral Reefs is funded by the QHT Small Grant, and co-created with students from across the School of Architecture and Cities.

Read more about the event here.

Register:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/re-imagining-coral-reefs-tickets-633628308327

Background:

Hosted at the University of Westminster and as part of the London Festival of Architecture, visitors to the event venue are invited to try on VR headsets and experience healthy, degraded and re-imagined coral reefs from both human and non-human perspectives. Their virtual experiences are projected in real-time in the event space, which also contains 3D printed models of the virtual corals they’re experiencing. Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that sustain 30% of all ocean species. Their degradation is a visceral example of the Climate Crisis. Research into and restoration of these rich habitats constitute a critical enterprise that bring together the scientific community, local citizens, designers, governments, and NGOs, towards the common goal of preserving our biodiversity. Created via a range of digital tools typically deployed in spatial and game design, and utilising the audio and 3D photogrammetry data collected from the field in Indonesia, the installation is a collaborative creation between design students, marine biologists, and architects.

VR Design Summer School: “Re-Imagining Coral Reefs” run by John Zhang | June 19-28, 2023

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Re-Imagining Coral Reefs is a VR Design Summer School that invites student co-creators to contribute to an immersive VR installation that communicates the vital climate science of coral reef restoration to a wider audience. Working with marine biologists from ZSL London, students will explore the vital scientific research on coral reefs, an ecosystem that provides habitats to 25% of the world’s marine species. 

Using 3D scans and audio data of coral reefs collected from the field in Indonesia, students will create their own 3D VR interpretations of coral reef models that engage the public in a more empathic understanding of the climate science. They will also be re-designing new forms of reef restoration structures in collaboration with the scientists. Through these activities, students will be learning to use the Meta Quest VR headset as a design tool, as well as a range of digital tools typically deployed in spatial and game design, such as Grasshopper, Unity, Gravity Sketch, as well as fabricating their creation via 3D printing. The output from the summer school will be part of an London Festival of Architecture Exhibition/Event.

The Summer School is open to all students within the school, including final year students. Places are limited, so an interview process will be implemented. Once we have received your application, we will be in touch with further instructions. 

Briefing Session 1: 31st  March 1pm M327

Briefing Session 2: 27th of April 1pm M306

Apply at: https://tinyurl.com/yc5dtufy

Contact: John Zhang at zhangj@westminster.ac.uk