Italian Limes

Near the Similaun glacier, the border between Italy and Austria follows the ice, so as the glacier melts, the border moves. Italian Limes, with Studio Folder, made that visible.

I built and installed a network of sensor units on the glacier at 3,300 meters. High-precision barometers measured vertical displacement, compared against reference sensors fixed to stable rock to filter out noise. With almost no connectivity up there, the units sent small packets over 2G GSM to a server. The grid had to survive months of cold with no maintenance, which meant a lot of testing of batteries and of anchoring in ice and snow.

In the exhibition, the data drove a drawing machine I built with Arduino and Processing that traced the border's current position on paper. Visitors could take home a map printed from live data.

Italian Limes debuted at the Venice Architecture Biennale, where it received a Special Mention, then traveled to Istanbul and Milan. It won a Silver Medal at the European Design Awards and is now in the permanent collection of the V&A.