Aalto Energy Clock - concept

Product design in the Energy visualization project for Aalto Real Estate

The project brief was visualizing Aalto’s energy usage and its development during the construction of the new Väre-building. Our process included stakeholder mapping according to their power and interests in the project followed by analysing the values embedded in their positions. The project process was structured around the Value Sensitive Design process. We especially considered sustainability and addressing actual user needs.

What we found out in our design research phase was that there was no clear meeting point in Aalto during construction or otherwise. We discovered that users were not interested in spending time on understanding complicated energy data, but rather in what the time is, where their friends are and if they are late or not. There was no clear visible landmark on Campus near the main building. And as the construction was going on, the students and others found the campus hard to orient. We didn’t want to add more screens on campus for updatable energy data, which only some would then only look at. We created different concepts and used a concept evaluation tool to rate them according to chosen values.

Our design concept Aalto Energy clock answers to objectives of embedding energy awareness in the campus experience of visitors, providing a focus point and gathering place and building the energy-efficiency identity of the new campus. The energy data is provided on the back of the clock face from a screen, this makes both uses for the clock possible. The clock becomes a monument for Aalto University, using Aalto’s visual identity and brand without having to sacrifice the original architecture of Alvar Aalto, that is protected by the Alvar Aalto foundation.

The Aalto Energy Clock is located outside and acts as a simple wooden element, that signals about the Campus to Aalto tourists also. As the clock provides a meeting point, the people gathering will also have more time to absorb the provided information. This way we could combine the values of Aalto University, ease the pains of users while still of providing updatable energy data on Campus in our value proposition.

My responsibilities in the project were related to product design - the shape, renderings and operating principles of the clock. You can find the report here.