Building pixels with others: a participatory experience to make a low-resolution LED matrix

Abstract

This paper is a report about a collective experience of making a LED matrix of 4x5 pixels in the Public Network of Laboratories of Digital Fabrication - Fab Lab Livre SP- in the city of São Paulo. The proposal was to make an accessible and simple media architecture technology. We built the project during a three-day workshop with multidisciplinary participants, using materials and tools from Fab Lab Livre SP. Each pixel measures 39x39x19 cm, and the panel measures 156x195x19 cm. On the first day, we built the pixels; on the second day, we gave an introductory course on coding; on the third day, we assembled and tested the LED matrix. Building the pixels on a scale that dialogues with the architectural space enabled another perception of the media device in the environment and stimulated new uses and ideas for participatory forms of interaction.