Les Sons de Nice
How do you create an experience of being a Nicoise which is not just about the Cote d’Azur but communicates the history and identity of Nice?
Nice is one of France's largest cities and despite its image as the hotspot of the French Riviera, is actually an old, extremely proud, hardworking and sometimes-tumultuous metropolis. Beyond the famous Promenade and its glitzy hotels and restaurants lies a city with immigration problems, quite high crime, corrupt local politics and a strong far-right political party but also a city of small people, stubborn but open at the same time.
A Nicoise is just a normal everyday person, with no significant defining factor. However, there is a distinct divide in the locals and the tourists perception of Nice, almost like a show with a front stage and back stage.
The challenge was to make the tourist venture beyond the ‘Nice’ depicted in most tour guides and explore the rest of the city.
In this project we explored the application of interactive narrative for the communication of the city's identity. Using big data, we allowed someone other than the author to effect, choose or change the story. The role of the listener, audience or user as an active participant in the construction of meaning is the focus.
The tourist's Nice is quite different from the local's Nissa. All the tourist pamphlets and websites only highlight a small part of the city.
THE PROPOSAL
Opt into a system upon arrival that will effortlessly track your movement through Nice to produce a personalised soundscape that will be delivered to your mobile device upon departure.
With the use of a soundscape artist and GPS tracking, one will be able to receive their own soundscape of their holiday and their rating of how much they actually experienced Nice. From this an interactive pavilion positioned near the departures gates will allow visitors to visually experience their soundscapes and those they may have missed.
Nice is divided into a square grid consisting of 100 squares. To be a 100% Nicoise, you must visit each of the squares at least once, for the GPS on your phone to pick up the sound from that spot. By doing this, the visitor enters spaces that they would not normally go to, thus learning more about Nice.
Cisco is already funding research and mapping in Nice
Use of our app/system simultaneously produces our intended outcome while also providing essential “Big Data”
Our product is not only useful and entertaining but also has a life and can grow
The technology exists and is practical
“For Nice to continue welcoming millions more visitors and companies while ensuring a high quality of life, using Internet intelligence is key. Many more things are going to get connected between people, with and between objects, creating valuable interactions and processes including that of public administration. Our ability as a city to harness this data is crucial to understanding what’s going on in real-time and to enhance a multitude of services for city-dwellers”
THE PAVILION
+ Cube with projected map and sounds
+ Interactive to explore your personal sound and what you may have missed
+ Intimate yet spacious enough to accommodate both individual or shared interactions
+ Separate yet connected to our final product of becoming a Nicoise
ROLE + COMPETENCIES
DIGITAL RESEARCH • SPECULATIVE RESEARCH • ACTION RESEARCH • CO-CURATION • STAKEHOLDER PRESENTATION • SPATIAL DESIGN • STORY BOARDS
Core collaborators include Anna Lincoln, Daniel Morrison, Hannah Rogers, Mamta Khanna and Pei Hsin Chen
