Current technology disconnects us from our interaction with our environment. Instead of trying to create a virtual space there is an opportunity for augmenting the physical space, using technology to create a new platform for sharing and discovery. Soundgardening is an attempt to the address constrained nature of sharing digital information by creating a tangible platform for appropriation of the urban environment by means of recording sound and location information from our environment and collecting and sharing it in a way that promotes expression and collaboration.
The garden acts as a storage device for sound and location information, representing it visually as a map to new experiences in the city. Each cube on the garden stores this set of information as a soundplant; becoming an invitation to others to engage with it. The three dimensional presence of the garden allows information to be organised and represented physically encouraging sharing as a collaborative activity. Others can take clippings of soundplants from the garden, saving it to their mobile device for guiding them to points in the city later.
Information is swapped back and forth between mobile platforms and the garden platform treating the garden as the map and the mobile device as the compass to new experiences and locations in the city. Shared information ultimately forms into a collaborative city guide, tailored to the users interests depending on the clippings and soundplants they take.
