Q.S. Serafijn & Lars Spuybroek

Still image of the installation “Interactive D-tower” (1998 – 2004)

Note on “Interactive D-tower”:

36-foot tower designed by Nox, illuminated epoxy structure of geometries that have been computer generated, the building can be lit by 4 colors that correspond to the “9-basic human emotions” that is determined by a website survey input daily by the city.

The D-Tower in Doetinchem is a project that consists of three parts: a physical tower along one of the city’s approach roads, a website, and a survey taken among the local population. The D-Tower will measure the emotions of the residents of Doetinchem, every week, every day, for seven years. It measures their degree of happiness, hatred, fear and love using the survey and website. Doetinchem is divided into eleven postal code areas. In each area, participants fill out a survey which consists of 360 questions that become more and more detailed over the course of the year. For example: Are you happy? Are you happy with your relationships? Are you happy with your partner? Are you happy with your partner because your partner is faithful, or because you and your partner do everything together, or because of sex? Finally, the survey asks participants how long their happiness with their partners lasts, and how often they have sex.

The results of the questionnaires are represented visually on the website in the form of emotional landscapes. The answers are translated into peaks and dips: a lot of happiness, little happiness, a huge amount of hatred, scarcely any hatred, barely any love, some love. Hatred toward foreigners, dogs, vandalism. Love for children, parents or friends, or simply a dislike for workmates because they are stupid. The division into postal codes is interesting because every emotion, high or low, can be located somewhere on the map of Doetinchem. In other words, an emotional map is placed over the geographical map of the city, something like a relief map, to render visible the emotions of the residents.