Kentia Hall
Sunday, 3 August  6 pm to 8 pm
Monday-Thursday, 4-7 August  9 am to 6 pm
Friday, 8 August  9 am to 1 pm

"I like to think (right now please!) of a cybernetic forest filled with pines and electonica where deer stroll peacefully past computers as if they were flowers with spinning blossoms." -David Greene Gardener's Notebook Archigram

In 1961, Archigram published a series of experimental projects that began to explore the new and emerging technologies of the period. This small group of British architects adopted audio/visual display systems, projection television, computer technology, entertainment facilities, exhibits, gantries, and electric lights as the building blocks of their designs. They imagined temporary cities of activity and light.

Through their projects and proposals, they predicted a blurring of boundaries and a convergence of technologies. They realized that these technologies would begin shaping and altering the world in ways that they could only begin to imagine.

The Electric Garden at SIGGRAPH 97 is inspired by this group.

Over 30 years later, Archigram's vision of the future is being realized through the inventors, artists, programmers, and designers of today. The fabulous machines they imagined and the wonderful speculations they engaged in are now becoming a reality. As they predicted, these machines are shaping and altering our world in many ways.

The Electric Garden is an instant city that celebrates new and emerging technologies. Our garden is full of beautiful technology that we can experience today. There are remarkable things to see, hear, and touch in this rich, sensual environment.

Computer-generated images displayed by a variety of 2D and 3D systems provide color, motion, and beauty in the garden. Motion-capture systems and electronic cameras capture your gestures and expressions, and allow you to manipulate a synthetic world. Computer-controlled electric motors and machines provide surface information, telling us about the density, weight, and texture of a virtual object.

In the garden, you experience the power of a volcano or the cool breeze of a mountain glacier. You can play basketball in cyberspace and feel the weight of the virtual basketball. You can travel to another planet and hover in its atmosphere. Visit Berlin, Tokyo, or a remote part of Finland and learn about their cultures. Digitally transport your body into a computer-generated world by walking in front of a camera array and laser range finder.

The Electric Garden is a place where we can experience and celebrate our spectacular new electric toys.

It delights and amazes us.

It challenges all that you know.

It allows you to forget convention and law.

It seduces us.

Contributors from around the world have come to SIGGRAPH 97 to show us their wonderful creations. They have filled the Electric Garden with sights and sounds. For a few days, we can see their inventions and experience all they have to offer.

We are delighted by the possibilities, and we thank them for sharing their flowers with us.

Rick Hopkins
SIGGRAPH 98 Electric Garden Chair

Electric Garden Projects

Committee & Jury