As the temperature rises yearly, we cannot ignore the effects climate change has brought to our life. It influences many aspects such as the comfortless in public spaces and buildings, the health of people especially elderly and weak in our society. Labor productivity and academic performance would be affected, and public transportation would be disrupted. This phenomenon is called urban heat island or UHI, one of the top climate issues that all humans are facing continuously.
Heat Groningen (2020) is an interactive “heat map”. The temperature data from the hottest days will be transformed and displayed with heat modules on the map. Visitors will feel the temperature on their hands to compare the drastic difference between areas. On top of the touching feature, I would also like to go around the city, collect visual and audio data of the environment, this can be interviews, film, sound, or image, and edit them into memorable forms. When a visitor touches an area, it triggers a pop-up media that explains this area’s problem and share solutions with the audio-visual display. Through interaction, I hope to catch the attention of climate issues, share useful information, and link the public with helpful sources.
This project is in progress now and was presented during the Global Climate Week in January, 2021.