PIETRO FORINO

Treccani Studiolo

Medium
Interactive Installation
Role
Interaction Designer @Dotdotdot
Year
2024
Deliverables
An immersive journey into the iconography of the historic Encyclopedia, between morphing experiences and niches of wonder
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Studiolo Treccani was conceived as an innovative interactive installation for Treccani, presented at the Frankfurt Buchmesse. The project aimed to breathe new life into Treccani’s vast archive of historical images and drawings, spanning back to the 1930s and containing over 36,000 unique pieces. By leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence and interactive design, the installation provided a dynamic, immersive exploration of this rich visual heritage. The goal was to showcase the diversity and beauty of Treccani’s archive while creating a sensory, engaging experience that seamlessly bridged art, history, and technology.

The conceptual foundation of Studiolo Treccani revolved around reinterpreting and revealing the hidden nuances within Treccani’s image archive. Inspired by historical "wunderkammern" (cabinets of curiosity), the installation divided the archive into three categories: Artificialia (man-made creations), Naturalia (natural wonders), and Mirabilia (marvels that blur the lines between the natural and artificial). The installation’s design allowed users to traverse these categories and immerse themselves in a three-dimensional cloud of images, experiencing a continuous journey of interconnected visual interpretations. Each transition represented an exploration of how concepts such as “city,” “animal,” or “drawing” evolved visually within the archive, offering a profound and poetic interaction with Treccani’s history.

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To unlock the potential of Treccani’s archive, the project utilized two distinct artificial intelligence models. The first model categorized each image into one of the three conceptual themes—Artificialia, Naturalia, and Mirabilia. This classification allowed for an intuitive exploration of the archive, grouping similar pieces in meaningful clusters. The second model analyzed the images in greater depth, identifying specific subjects, artistic techniques, and stylistic details. These models were custom-built and trained specifically to handle the unique characteristics of the Treccani archive, ensuring an accurate representation of its visual diversity. The data generated by these models became the foundation for creating an intricate and mesmerizing 3D visualization.

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The project’s centerpiece was the 3D cloud of images, a dynamic, immersive environment built using Three.js. Creating this cloud required meticulous optimization to ensure high performance and smooth interactions, even on web platforms. This was achieved through advanced techniques such as packing all images into efficient atlases, which significantly reduced memory usage and enabled faster loading times. Additionally, instanced meshes were employed to reuse geometry and shaders for multiple instances, minimizing the rendering workload and allowing for the visualization of thousands of images in real time. Custom shaders further added depth and interactivity to the visualization, creating a seamless and visually striking experience.

Together, these technologies allowed users to explore a vast, floating tapestry of images without compromising performance or aesthetic quality. The result was not only technically impressive but also emotionally resonant, offering a sense of wonder and discovery.

A key feature of the installation was its ability to animate transitions between concepts using a frame interpolation algorithm. This technique created smooth morphing effects between images that represented a shared theme or concept. For example, when transitioning through the concept of “city,” the algorithm generated visually stunning interpolations, blending one image into the next. This process provided a fluid and hypnotic sense of movement, enabling users to experience the evolution of a theme as a continuous, living narrative. The interpolation added a cinematic quality to the experience, turning the archive into a vibrant, ever-changing spectacle.

The interactive experience was brought to life through TouchDesigner, which acted as the central hub for managing interactions and content. It provided real-time responsiveness to user inputs, ensuring that every exploration felt personal and engaging. TouchDesigner also enabled the seamless integration of the visual cloud, AI-generated data, and interpolated animations into a cohesive and immersive presentation.

The final result was an installation that captivated audiences with its blend of artistry and innovation. Users were not just observers but active participants, navigating a multidimensional landscape where history, technology, and creativity converged. Studiolo Treccani was more than an archive—it was a living, breathing exploration of human knowledge and imagination, brought to life through cutting-edge tools and visionary design.

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