Portfolio: Alexander Altenkov

This portfolio consists of selected projects by:

made in a period:

Table of contents

CV...............................................................................................................................................4

Anemokinetics: Transformation of tree branches movements into an energy source.....................6 Reflections of the sun generator.................................................................................................16 Canvases: Moscow....................................................................................................................22

CV

Personal information: Name: Alexander Altenkov Mobile: +7(937)523-30-37 E-mail: alexandraltenkov@gmail.com Linkedin: aaaltenkov

Education: Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering BA in reconstruction and restoration of acrchitectural heritage and basis of architecture (2011-2017) National Research University "Higher School of Economics" Graduate school of urbanism MA in City and technologies: Prototyping future cities (2017-2019) Program director: Vicente Guallart

Recent activities (2018-2019): GeekPicnic 2019: (Im)mortality (Participant; main program) Moscow Urban Forum 2019; (Delegate; business program) Biodesign Challenge 2019 (Participant; main program) Lexus Design Award 2019 (Participant; shortlisted) Lexus Design Award 2019: Russia Top Choice (Participant; shortlisted) 3rd Artmossphere Biennale 2018 (Participant, main program) HSE Murmansk research expedition: New cities in the Arctic North (Participant; Socio-cultural lab) Moscow Urban Forum 2018 (Delegate; business program) IAAC Barcelona research trip: Self-sufficient habitat (Participant; Food in the city lab) DOCA: Days of contemporary art (Participant; parallel program) "Open Museum" exhibition; Electromuseum (Participant; main program) "Voice of the city/Recording the city" exhibition; Peresvetov pereulok gallery (Participant; main program)

Recent publications (2018-2019): Urbanization.org Distributed city. Analizing how much distributed are cities around the world using neighborhood public facilties. (http://urbanization.org/project.html?project=6) Strelkamag.com What will be, if on the streets of Moscow leave a white canvas? (https://strelkamag.com/ru/article/canvases) 

Employment history: BERNASKONI architectural bureau Russia,Moscow Architectural intern (2019) Activities: public architecture, residential architecture Peresvetov pereulok gallery Russia,Moscow Curator assistant (2018) Activities: organization of parallel program for exhibitions, exhibition preparation Alt+KU art group Russia,Moscow Founder, artist (2017-2019) Activities: urban interventions, experiments and installations HSE Graduate School of Urbanism Russia,Moscow Researcher (2017) Activities: urban studies and analysis OFFICE DE architects Russia,Kazan Junior architect (2017) Activities: public architecture,private architecture,interior design, public spaces, industrial design, research Ostozhenka architectural bureau Russia,Moscow Architectural intern (2016) Activities: public architecture, public spaces, research Space4SoulsArchitects Russia,Kazan (2015) Junior architect Activities: private architecture, public architecture, interior design Concept Houses Store Russia,Kazan Architectural intern (2014) Activities: private architecture

Skills and software: Rhinoceros, 3ds max, Sketchup, Vray, Grasshopper, Autocad, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Premiere, Corel Draw, Processing, VVVV, Qgis; 3d printing, 3d scanning, CNC milling, laser cutting, clay casting, sketching, scientific research

Languages: Russian, English



Anemokinetics: Transformation of tree branches movements into an energy source Thesis project; 2019 Full research: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tYE2ObHMhzpzWODC3KNNV_pknwelwbow/view?usp=sharing Video: https://youtu.be/kXXf57Gj_AU "Nature involves continual flows of energy. Energy can never be created or destroyed, but only transformed from one state to another."

-Steven Shaviro "We have to get away from the binary oppositions of nature and technology in order to start thinking about how technology can facilitate new opportunities for ecology."

-Liam Young

Project description: Continuous flows of energy are involved in Nature. Energy neither arises nor disappears, but only passes from one state to another (the first law of thermodynamics). Emerging technologies and contemporary cultural context allow scientists, inventors and artists to invade this continuous cycle of energy transformation in order to use this resource for various needs. This project offers one of the new approaches to invading the aforementioned cycle. Namely, this study explores the potential of generating electricity using repetitive oscillatory movements of tree branches.

To achieve this goal, first an analysis of tree branch movements was carried out. This stage included tracking fluctuations of branches in order to identify the average deflection from the initial position of the branch. As a result, it was found that, depending on the type of branch, the height of its location and the wind speed, fluctuations may vary from 1 to 25 cm. Further work was carried out to develop a mechanism capable of converting these waverings into electricity. For this purpose, it was decided to use the piezoelectric method of generating electricity. The developed mechanism consists of a piezo disc fixed between the movable part which is the rod and the static element, which is a branch fastening. During the development of the prototype, electric circuit and field testing, the result was obtained that each cycle of the branch movement generates a charge equal to 3.6 volts with a current of 0.1 amperes and a duration of 200 milliseconds. The project proposal involves the use of generated electricity for the purpose of off-grid navigation in urbanized spaces, where nature in the form of a green infrastructure has partially gone out of control, creating shaded and wild areas. The application of this technology is not limited to navigation, the range of possible applications depends on the number of "anemokinetiks" mechanisms. For example, several mechanisms can power sensors creating an Internet of forest (IoF). 

Energy harvester (PV panel wind generator etc) Ein

nner energy transformation cycle Eb

iving obect

Sun ind eat ater C2 utriens Eout etc

Environment

Eisting approach

Ein

Ea Energy harvester (Anemokinetics)

Ea

Sun ind eat ater C2 utriens Eout etc

nner energy transformation cycle Eb

iving obect

Environment Proposal

existing technological and cultural context, as well as a change in ethical paradigms allow us to reinvent the approach to obtaining alternative energy...

... by invading energy transformation cycles within an animate objects.





Observations and traking of tree branches movements showed that branches with a diameter of about 9  mm, located at a height of about 2,5 meters from ground level with a wind speed of 3 m/s, is characterized by an average amplitude of oscillation equal to 45 mm.













  

So how we can utilize these movements in order to produce electricity?









1.

Wind flow or local species activity creates oscillatory movements of the branch (F).

This movements is characterized by extreme upper and lower positions of the branch's movement trajectory, reaching which it begins to move in the opposite direction.

r r

r

2.

p

In this moment, due to the flexibility of the piezo disk, to which the rod is fixed, inertia (p) arises at the farest point of the rod, which multiplied by the moment of force (r) deforms the piezo disk, which in turn generates an electric charge.

p

F

3.

This charge, passing through the electrical circuit, stabilizes and becomes suitable for powering the electrical components, in our case, LED



1st iteration of the energy harvesting mechanism prototype development and its field testing

Species: Syringa Average wind speed: 3 m/sec Mean shift from starting position: 30 mm Produced voltage: ~1,5 V / cycle

2nd iteration of the energy harvesting mechanism prototype development and its field testing

Species: Malus sylvestris Average wind speed: 2 m/sec Mean shift from starting position: 20 mm Produced voltage: ~2,5 V / cycle

3rd iteration of the energy harvesting mechanism prototype development and its field testing (page 8)

Species: Elaeagnus angustifolia Average wind speed: 1 m/sec Mean shift from starting position: 10 mm Produced voltage: ~4 V / cycle



During the development of the prototype, electric circuit and field testing, the result was obtained that each cycle of the branch movement generates a charge equal to: 3.6 volts with a current of 0.1 amperes and a duration of 200 milliseconds.

This means that in order to charge the battery with a capacity of 600 mAh, it will take 43,000 cycles of movement of a tree branch, which is approximately equal to 6 hours.

(a)

(b)

(c)

The project proposal involves the use of generated electricity for the purpose of off-grid navigation in urbanized spaces, where nature in the form of a green infrastructure has partially gone out of control. The application of this technology is not limited to navigation (a). Several mechanisms can power sensors creating an Internet of forest (IoF) (b).

On the scale of the forest, it is can be possible to supply electricity to small settlements (c).

 

   



By accumulating energy during daylight hours,

the project proposal involves the use of collected energy for off-grid navigation in wild urban spaces.







In the photo with exposure you can see how each movement of a tree branch creates a flash of light.





Reflections of the Sun generator Independent project; 2018 Video: https://youtu.be/kXmL2SmYYUE Project description: I have always been inspired by the light and its color. As well as pure water or fresh air, light and colors are basic human need, they makes the world around us visible and shapes our attitude to the environment. According to EPFL LIPID (Laboratory of Integrated Performance in Design), daylight, including both direct sunlight and indirect skylight, drives a powerful range of perceptual phenomena, regulating our productivity, mood, behavior and perception of space.

It so happened that the Residents of Moscow saw a total of six minutes of sunlight in December because of an immense amount of cloud cover. Moscow typically averages 18 hours of sunlight in December, their sunlit hours were drastically cut short. Because of the lack of sunshine there was a surge psychiatric visits. This is the darkest month in the capital has been since the city started keeping sunlight records. This project speculates on the theme of the Moscow sun. I tried to imitate the presence of a Sun in a Moscow apartment or gallery in order to remind Muscovites of the existence of sunlight and cause the personal associations related to it.

The principle of operation of the generator is as follows: the closer a person approaches the installation, the stronger and more dynamic the reflective surface begins to deform. Thus, the space in which the generator is located is filled with reflections of the Sun of various shapes and dynamics.



December 2017 in Moscow, became the darkest in the history of synoptic observations. In December, the sun is usually above the horizon and is not obscured by clouds for an average of 18 hours. But in December 2017 for the entire month, the sun showed its clear appearance only for 6 minutes.

This is 180 times less than normal.

This anomaly was caused by unusually frequent cyclone vortices, which generate cloudiness, as well as air temperature, which was 5,8 degrees above normal. This led to the fact that in December there was practically no sun in Moscow.

  







  





This Reflections of the Sun generator was designed in order to emotionally mitigate the physical lack of sunlight if in the near future the anomaly described above becomes a new normal.





The closer the observer approaches the generator, the more intense and dynamic the reflected light.

1,5 meters

0,9 meters

0,4 meters



Various states of reflected light, similar to those existing in nature, as rainbow, gleams of water, shadows of foliage, etc.





Canvases: Moscow Independent project; 2018 Interactive map: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U08wA3Fc9oDFBikWlrIpsqjGv7BBUa95&usp=sharing

Project description: There are a lot of anthropogenic processes of transforming the urban space on the streets of large cities such as Moscow. Tags, graffiti, stickers, announcements and advertisements appear, one information is overlays on another or painted over by public service employees. These processes are of a daily nature and as a rule, citizens do not notice them, nevertheless, they have their artistic value and identity, as they are a visual product of the conscious and unconscious interaction of the individual with the urban environment at a certain point in time and location.

The idea of the project "Canvases: Moscow" arose intuitively, I tried to create an environment that would provoke the aforementioned processes of creating artworks, statements and situations. Thus, the white canvas (white square) became the ideal medium for provocation - it is a foreign object in relation to the existing visual context and at the same time the starting point for subsequent processes of filling the surface of various types with information. The project is ambiguous and simultaneously represents a fixation and further museification of everyday life, the practice of manipulating agents involved in changing the visual content of the city and a new methodology in studying the socio-cultural landscape of cities, the essence of which is the literal capturing of visual information characteristic of an urbanized environment. 

1.

2.

3.

The main idea of ​​the project is to distribute white canvases in different parts of the city in order to fix on it the identity of the place surrounding the canvas. To create these canvases 52 square meters of advertising banner were reused. As a result, 85 canvases of different sizes were split in various parts of the city within 8 months.

However, only 24 of them managed to be saved, the rest were either destroyed or lost in the urban space.

Time

18.01.2018 (22:31)

23.01.2018 (16:25) 

XXL size (100 x 100 cm)

L size (50 x 50 cm)

XXL size (100 x 100 cm) 

Starting as a project within the framework of the "recording sociology" course, raising the topic of possible methods for fixing processes in urban spaces, the project went beyond the scope of project course, becoming a small phenomenon both in the closed environment of street art and the community involved in it, as well as in urbanistic and cultural institutions, such as galleries, universities and educational organisations.

Thus, during the 8 months of the project's existence, public lectures and discussions were held on the topic of the problems of street art and its place in contemporary art. In addition, the project participated in several exhibition and cultural projects of different scales, ranging from exhibitions in small galleries and educational programs to the International Biennale.

08.01.2018 Project start

03.02.2018 Project presentation "Urban youth" festival

03.02.2018 Project presentation "Urban youth" festival

13.02.2018 Exhibition "Recording the city"

10.03.2018 Discussion "Contemporary street art in Russia"

14.03.2018 Strelka.com publication

10.04.2018 Public talk "Street as art"

22.04.2018 Participation in "DOCA - days of contemporary art" festival

30.08.2018 Participation in "Artmossphere" international Biennale

01.09.2018 End of project



The final view of the exposition at the International Biennale "Artmossphere"







