The artwork can be seen as a self-portrait or live-stream of the activities at Örebro University and on campus, the placed sensors depict the movements of the place and how people meet and interact with each other. It's a focus on color, intensity, transitions, and speed, like a heat map.
"It's beautiful to see that the artwork expresses how we move, here and now. How we meet and how our thoughts and opinions meet. Just like a stream," says Anna-Karin Andershed, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Örebro University.
Using data from the university's 4000 sensors, the sculpture transforms the information into a visual portrait of the area. The more people who move and interact on campus, the more color, shape, and movement are generated on the wavy LED screen.
Sensors show how premises can be used smarter
"To know is to understand. And the sensors that are on campus help us understand how we can use the premises smarter. For example, we save energy by adapting the ventilation to when the premises are in use, so that the ventilation is active at that time and not when the premises are empty and unbooked," says Karl Karlström, Project Manager at Akademiska Hus.
Izabel Lind, artist, continued: "I want you to experience activity, presence – and that it is exciting. But also that the sculpture reflects that it is a high-tech university. It can also be interesting to think that one's own movement is involved in creating the work.
Anna-Karin Andershed, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Örebro University, Izabel Lind, artist, Marcus Rancken, art director at Akademiska Hus, Karl Karlström, project manager at Akademiska Hus, and Peter Hagdahl, curator at Public Art Agency Sweden, participated in the inauguration.
Izabel Lind by the artwork "Stream".
Part of digitising Örebro University
The artwork is part of Akademiska Hus and Örebro University's work to make the university the country's most digitalised university. Within the framework of the initiative, named Örebro Campus Lab, the university campus has been equipped with over 4,000 sensors that measure light, temperature, humidity and movement, among other things. The data generated by the sensors is linked to the digital twin that Örebro University in 2019 became the first of the country's higher education institutions to receive. The aim is to use the premises in a more sustainable and efficient way while improving the indoor environment and energy use.
The artwork has also been produced together with Public Art Agency Sweden, with which Akademiska Hus has a national collaboration for more art on the country's campuses.