Physx | Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Since the Corona positive cases start to rise again in the Netherlands and worldwide, more strict social distancing measures should be taken. All the proposed models are based on a static solution, circles on the grass, tape in the restaurant, generally, people are confined in a given space, but we know, daily reality is much different.

Is it possible to imagine a dynamic model then?

Physx placed in front of Rotterdam central station, takes inspiration from the space-time net, in which an astronomical body bends the spatial network around it defining an “area of interest” depending on the mass and the gravity that generates.

The installation consists of a tight tend surface, made out of elastic fibre, raised from the ground of about 50cm. Once a person steps on the membrane, this absorbs the pressure, bending in a depression-like valley. The membrane stretches and reveals the inner fibres that are in different colours. Automatically a coloured “safe zone” of 1,5m with different intensity is generated around the person, defining the distance that should be kept while interacting with the other people.

When people get close to each other, the personal areas start to blend, showing that they are not respected. The different colours of the fibres make it easy for the viewer to understand the danger people face standing next to each other.

Physx

Location: Rotterdam, NL

Design: Cosimo Scotucci

Year: 2020

Type: Proposal

About Damian Holmes 3429 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/