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Previewing the 2023 SXSW Art Program

2023-03-10T16:55:00-05:00

The annual SXSW festival opens today in Austin, Texas. A total of four installations will be featured prominently along with a series of art-based conferences in the event’s 36th edition, which this year runs until Sunday, March 19th.

“The 2023 SXSW Art Program highlights three artists using mixed reality to explore Afro-Futurisms, holographics that morph between human and animal anatomy, and viewer interactivity beckoned by the use of Quantum Physics,” Aimée Everett, SXSW’s Art Program Curator, said in a statement. "These artists are beginning to interrogate these varied topics that impact society and are confronted on the SXSW stages.”

SXSW adds that each installation “showcases experiential and conceptual visual artworks that apply emerging technologies and immersive environments to spark discovery, inspiration, and connection.”

Scroll down to learn more about the 2023 Art Program.

Ancestral Archives by Josie Williams in association with EY metaverse lab and NEW INC.

"Ancestral...

Inside ICON’s curving 3D printed home by Lake|Flato in Austin

2022-03-02T11:59:00-05:00

ICON has unveiled a completed 3D printed home in Austin, Texas designed by Lake|Flato. Named “House Zero,” the home adopts a “mid-century modernist ranch house aesthetic” while also exploring how 3D printing can enhance resilience and sustainability.

The project comprises of a main three-bedroom home spanning over 2000 square feet, and a one-bedroom accessory dwelling unit spanning 350 square feet. The walls of the home were constructed using “Lavacrete,” a 3D printed cement-based material, with combines with insulation and steel reinforcement to form the external envelope. The team believes that the thermal mass properties of Lavacrete will enhance energy efficiency by slowing heat transfer, increasing insulation, and providing a more airtight envelope.

Photo credit: Casey Dunn

The curved 3D printed walls also serve as a strong design feature throughout the home, with rounded corners creating soft, natural circulation routes through the home. “While the organic nature of the 3D-pri...

SXSW 2020 canceled in Austin due to coronavirus concerns

2020-03-06T18:54:00-05:00

According to a statement released by SXSW today, the City of Austin has canceled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. Initially scheduled to occur from March 13 to March 22, this is the first time in 34 years that the conference has been called off.

"We are devastated to share this news with you. 'The show must go on' is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation," SXSW said in a statement.

A decision drawn from concerns of the coronavirus, just two days ago, Austin Public Health said that "there is no evidence that the closure will make the community safer," but SXSW says it will "honor and respect the City of Austin's decision."

Harvard Square Kiosk by CultureHouse. Via CultureHouse Facebook page

In the world of architecture, one of the more popular happenings at SXSW is the Place By Design competition which "aims to showcase innovative and invigorating d...

SXSW 2012: Can Physical Architecture And Interaction Design Achieve Transcendence?

2012-03-12T14:10:00-04:00

The way to find the sort of transcendence Coulter is looking for is to achieve "flow" [...]. Simplistically, flow is when someone becomes one with an experience, whether that be contained in a game or a building. This type of flow is present in "Snake the Planet!", which merges interaction design and architecture.