cosimo scotucci proposes a dynamic model for social distancing that moves as you do

since a rise of coronavirus cases has been reported in the netherlands and in countries across the world, rotterdam-based architect cosimo scotucci has envisioned a dynamic installation to ensure social distancing measures are adhered to. to be placed in front of rotterdam central station, ‘physx’ goes one step further than the static solutions we have already seen, such as circles marked on the grass in parks, or tape on supermarket floors so you know how much distance to keep. this proposal instead uses colored fibers that move as you do, all the while defining a safe zone of 1.5 meters. 

all images courtesy of cosimo scotucci

to design ‘physx’ cosimo scotucci took inspiration from the space-time net, in which an astronomical body bends the spatial network around it defining an ‘area of interest’ depending on the mass and the gravity that it generates. the installation consists of a tensile surface made out of an elastic fiber and raised about 50cm from the ground. once a person steps on the membrane, the surface absorbs the pressure, bending in a depression-like valley. the membrane stretches and reveals the inner fibers that are in different colors. automatically a colored ‘safe zone’ of 1.5 meters with different intensity is generated around the person, defining the distance that should be kept while interacting with other people.

when people get close to each other, the personal areas start to blend together showing that the measures are not respected. thanks to the different colors of the fibers it is also easy to understand the level of danger when people stand facing next to one another.

project info:

project name: physx

type: proposal

location: rotterdam centraal, the netherlands

design: cosimo scotucci

year: 2020

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom