Team: Anna Pierce, Cheenar Shah, Ella Rocker
Outcome:
Our Speculative and Discursive Design Studio (SDDS) investigated the ways in which design can be used as a form of critique, speculation, and hypothetical proposition.
We partnered with the Times Square Alliance and deployed a series of pop-ups to create a “Walking Tour of the Future” in Times Square.
Our experiment was set in 2063. My group members and I acted as employees of “Legacy Energy” a start-up company that developed the technology to harness excess thermal energy and convert that energy into “Eons” — a currency meant to alleviate the cost of living expenses.
As employees, we were signing people up for a free seven-day trial of Legacy Energy, we had a spiel, paperwork, and the application of a topical energy transistor (a temporary tattoo). The core of the Legacy Energy investigation was the belief that simply existing qualifies you to access the goods and services necessary to live a full and joyful life.
Once a client of Legacy Energy you are free to choose 5 living costs to put your eons toward, they could include housing, climate stabilizers, healthcare, etc. Any remaining Eons are automatically deposited into your Energy Reserve, and when you no longer need the Reserve, it can be passed along to future generations.
Our Speculative and Discursive Design Studio (SDDS) investigated the ways in which design can be used as a form of critique, speculation, and hypothetical proposition.
We partnered with the Times Square Alliance and deployed a series of pop-ups to create a “Walking Tour of the Future” in Times Square.
Our experiment was set in 2063. My group members and I acted as employees of “Legacy Energy” a start-up company that developed the technology to harness excess thermal energy and convert that energy into “Eons” — a currency meant to alleviate the cost of living expenses.
As employees, we were signing people up for a free seven-day trial of Legacy Energy, we had a spiel, paperwork, and the application of a topical energy transistor (a temporary tattoo). The core of the Legacy Energy investigation was the belief that simply existing qualifies you to access the goods and services necessary to live a full and joyful life.
Once a client of Legacy Energy you are free to choose 5 living costs to put your eons toward, they could include housing, climate stabilizers, healthcare, etc. Any remaining Eons are automatically deposited into your Energy Reserve, and when you no longer need the Reserve, it can be passed along to future generations.
Process:
- We learned through the Times Square Alliance that
“Though it comprises only 0.1% of New York City's land area, Times Square supports nearly 10% of the city's jobs and generates 15% of its economic output.”
- With the economic power of Times Square in mind, we began with a bold idea: Times Square had seceded from NYC and started operating as its own state.
- We signal scanned (a practice of researching indicators of trends with a futures-thinking focus) and focused on documenting the literal and figurative borders of Times Square.
- We pivoted from secession and explored the idea of making Times Square the “People’s Capital” separate from the nation’s capital: it would be a melting pot, a place of radical expression, and a way to pilot new ways of thinking, living, and doing.
- We went back to Times Square to test the idea of the “People’s Capital” and were met with the response “Why would I want or need that?”
Graphic Design:
![1/4]()
![2/4]()
![3/4]()
![4/4]()
Pop Up Experiment:
![1/5]()
![2/5]()
![3/5, Topical Energy Transistor]()
![4/5, Topical Energy Transistor application]()
![5/5, Topical Energy Transistor, applied]()
