MESH Studio Showcase: Experience technology through playful interfaces
Join us for an immersive showcase presented by MESH Studio, a division of the Digital Architecture Lab (DAL) dedicated to transforming frontier research into playful, interactive experiences. Our mission is to make cutting-edge technology accessible and relatable to the public through engaging installations and media.
Cohort Projects:
Biotopy: An art installation and biotic game demo that explores bio-digital symbiosis. Players cultivate microbial cultures using a Pioreactor-based engine to terraform a virtual planet, delving into the interaction between biotic agents and virtual environments.
Researchers:Digital Terrarium: This project examines the link between physical and digital ecosystems, featuring evolving digital life forms that respond to their environment. Environmental data collected by sensors influence agent behavior, visualised through holograms or screens, simulating synthetic evolution and natural processes.
Researchers:Distributed Musical Organ: A mechanical organ in Fukuoka's historic Red Brick Culture Center, controlled by local visitors, remote online participants, and AI music generation software. This installation fuses historic architecture with modern technology to create an interactive musical experience.
Researchers:Computing Shrines: Public art installations utilising small computing rigs to offer intimate, site-specific experiences. Visitors can share memories via their phones, connecting two locations through light, sound, or ambient interactions displayed on a website.
Researchers:
Schedule:
10:00-10:05 Gathering / Intro
10:05-10:15 Joi Talk on Digital Architecture
10:15-10:25 Biotopy
10:25-10:35 Computing Shrines
10:35-10:45 Distributed Organ
10:45-10:55 Digital Terrariums
10:55-11:00 Close
This online event will be followed by an in-person exhibition on 17th March: https://lu.ma/hpvb2ihn
Whether you’re an artist, scientist, technologist, or just curious about the future of technology, we hope to see you there!
About Joi Ito
Joichi “Joi” Ito is a digital architect, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, writer, and scholar focusing on the transformation of society and technology. Ito holds academic roles as President of the Chiba Institute of Technology and Director the Center for Radical Transformation at CIT. He is also the Co-Founder of Neurodiversity School in Tokyo. He served as Director of the MIT Media Lab from 2011 to 2019. Ito was previously the Chief Executive of Creative Commons and a Board Member at The New York Times, Sony, the Knight Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, ICANN, and The Mozilla Foundation. Ito founded Digital Architecture Lab in 2022 to participate in and contribute to a new sensibility expressed as a new digital architecture with expressions in technology, norms, laws, and business.
MESH Researchers/Team
Ira Winder is a researcher specializing in interactive simulations for complex problem-solving. With degrees in City Planning and Art and Design from MIT, he is a researcher at MIT Engineering Systems Laboratory and the University of Tokyo. He developed the Tangible Interactive Matrix (TIM), used in the MIT Media Lab's CityScope Project, and has presented at TEDx Boston and the G7 ICT Conference. His work has been featured in The Atlantic, Financial Times Magazine, and a White House report on future cities.
Darren Zhu is a synthetic biologist building a new consumer therapeutics startup. A graduate of Yale and a former Thiel Fellow, Darren has worked with a range of biotech startups (Hexagon Bio, Enevolv, and Synbiosys) and research organizations (Berggruen Institute, Ethereum Foundation, and Gates Foundation). He is also developing new media and philosophy projects that explore the aesthetic and epistemic implications of generative models, particularly as they pertain to creativity and scientific discovery.
Wendi Yan is an artist and researcher combining folktales with speculative philosophy in simulations, film, and sculpture. A History of Science graduate from Princeton University and recipient of the Horace H. Wilson Thesis Prize, her work has been supported by the Arctic Circle Residency, Berggruen Institute, and Ethereum Foundation. Based in Los Angeles, Wendi is a Steve Jobs Archive Fellow and VH Award finalist, with features in WeTransfer and Wallpaper.
Will Freudenheim is a New York-based game designer creating experimental games and virtual worlds. He co-founded Laser Days, where he directs films, live performances, and installations that have premiered globally. His work explores collaboration among human, artificial, and biological participants in shared digital spaces.
Spencer Chang is an internet artist and engineer focused on speculative communal infrastructure through participatory installations and creative technologies. Their work has been featured at the de Young Museum, Gray Area, and CultureHub, with exhibitions in San Francisco, New York, and Berlin. A NEW INC Art & Code member, they emphasize collective play and dismantling oppressive systems.
Laurie Griffiths is a software engineer and consultant based in Fukuoka, Japan, with a Computer Science degree from Cambridge. A former early hire at startups, he now helps software teams simplify development and reduce costs. Outside of work, Laurie mentors engineers at Fukuoka’s Engineer Cafe and builds creative projects in his workshop.
Michelle Huang is a mixed-media artist and technologist exploring human flourishing through immersive experiences. She is the founder of Akiya Collective, a non-profit renovating abandoned homes in Japan, and director of MESH Studio, a media lab for emerging technologies. A graduate of NYU, she previously worked at Goldman Sachs and received an Emergent Ventures grant. Her work has been featured on Business Insider, NPR, Vox Media (Now This), ABC, CNET, The Independent, BBC, and more
Keiko Ono is a strategist and ecosystem builder with +10years experience in social impact and technology across the public and private sector (Google, British Embassy). A graduate of SOAS, she consults for Series A–C startups in Japan and is Co-Director of MESH Studio, a media lab for emerging technologies. Her previous work as Co-founder of Social Innovation Japan has been recognised by Nikkei’s ‘100 Businesses Creating the Future of Japan’ and the Minister of Environment Prize.
About MESH Studio:
MESH Studio serves as a platform for experiments and collaborations between citizen and professional researchers, aiming to bring ideas to life. Our goal is to make frontier research accessible and relatable to the public through playful and interactive installations and other forms of media.
Directors: Michelle Huang and Keiko Ono
https://dalab.xyz/en/project/mesh-studio/
About Digital Architecture Lab (DAL):
DAL is an experimental research lab where designers, engineers, and scientists collaborate to bridge the gap between technology, culture, and society. Our mission is to develop "a new digital sensibility" that shapes the emerging architectural paradigm by blending practical application with theoretical understanding.
https://dalab.xyz/