HoloDecks is a project aiming to create a stronger relationship between music and the physical world. In previous experiments it had manifested as 3d printed sound sculptures, drawing on the relationship of the disc shape seen in compact discs and vinyl records as the bridge between the two worlds. In this latest iteration, HoloDecks uses augmented reality to transform Brian Eno's and Karl Hyde's new vinyl release, Someday World into an augmented interactive experience for the iPhone and iPad.

Outsider Architecture

Users of the app can listen to 'Strip it down', a track from the Eno Hyde album and watch colourful, geometric worlds spring to life on top of the record. The visuals are inspired by 'outsider architecture', a concept of impossible architectural forms which defy the laws of our known universe. Four worlds were created for the experience, each one with its individual backstory and constructed using a number of rules specific to the architecture of that world.

HoloDecks - geometric AR architecture on record

HoloDecks - outsider architecture AR visualization

HoloDecks - colorful AR buildings on record

HoloDecks - generative AR cityscape on record

Generative Process

A custom circle packing algorithm was written to drive the placement and growth of buildings on the record. Two categories of buildings were created at random, the normal type grew until it made contact with another building and stopped growing, another type known as the 'merger' would grow and engulf other nearby buildings. Once a merger reached a maximum limit it would collapse to create space for new buildings to grow. The system was programmed to resemble the natural growth of trees in a forest.

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