EXPERIMENT 1 + DOCUMENTATION

EXPERIMENT 1

ANIMAL PERCEPTION EXPERIEMENT:

5 Animals, 1 Building Lobby, 5 Seconds

This is an experiment to speculate what would happen if 5 animals of different and conflicting species were placed in one building lobby designed specifically for human use.

The speculated results of how the animals perceive their surroundings and react to one another are
recorded in a series of film strips from each animals point of view and visual ability.

Insight is revealed into which animals interact, in what ways, and how they occupy the building space.





So what happened? Well...

The Giraffe was nonchalantly standing in the corner swinging its head from side to side to have a look what was outside, and then something made it crash to the floor.

Meanwhile we can see the lion sitting behind the lifts, then it spies the giraffe, slowly stalks it, and - POUNCE

While this is happening the fish is outside in the fountain, oblivious, swimming around and staring up at the Seagram building through the water.

The Bird meanwhile is batting up against the glass, looking outside, then inside, then outside again, then it swoops inside... etc. Poor thing.

And lastly the snake sitting in it's quiet enclave watches the lion walk past, and then the giraffe fall to the floor. It doesn't move.



ANIMAL PERCEPTION DOCUMENTATION:


Animal Perception Study:
This experiment is to represent how animals may occupy and perceive a space constructed specifically for humans.
It takes place in the Seagram Building lobby and forecourt, where 5 animals have been placed
-Giraffe
-Lion
-Eagle
-Snake
-Fish



Giraffe Perception

Vision: Distance is 20/30 and 2 Cone Colour (this is similar to red/green colour blindness in humans, Giraffes can distinguish brightness is greens and blues but yellow’s and reds are indistinguishable, also looking blue and greenish)with a narrow field of vision with poor peripheral detail. The result of this is blurry vision, but not too much worse than that of a human with perfect vision, but the lack of colour perception, contrast, and ability to capture light means the overall vision quality is quite poor, lacking in detail and grainy.

Movement: Vision is Binocular with a blind spot immediately in front. To overcome this giraffes move their heads up and down and side to side to see what is immediately in front of them.

Behaviour: Giraffes are animals that live in an open Savannah environment, even when they sleep they do so standing in the open and do not seek shelter. Because of this behavioural pattern it can be assumed that if a giraffe is put in an enclosure such as the Seagram Building Foyer it is likely they would stick to the glass periphery rather than venturing inwards.

IMG 1

An example of how red/green is perceived

IMG 2

The giraffes blind spots are shaded in grey






Lion Perception

Vision: Lions have a very wide field of vision, which is very clear right up to the end of their peripheral vision. Their 2 cone colour perception with very few rods, they only really see in black and white – colour is not essential for their hunting and survival. Instead they have a very fast frame rate and can see in very sharp detail even in low light. In bright light their vision is slightly less than that of humans, but in limited light it is stronger.

Movement: Lions tend to walk in straight and controlled lines, focusing on what is in front of them. Being an apex predator means they have no animals that prey on them, and thus are not concerned with scanning their environments for threats.

Behaviour: Lions are lazy animals, they seek out shelter and rest for the majority of the day, while hunting at night. If they do make a move they slowly stalk their prey, creeping up as close as they can in hiding only attacking when they are so close that their prey might perceive them – then their movements are lightning fast and precise. In the Seagram Lobby they may seek out any dark quiet shelter they can find to rest rather than remaining in the open.

IMG 1
Lions see in very poor colour


IMG 2
Their field of vision is 200 degrees (humans have 180 degree vision)






Fish Perception
Vision: Surprisingly fish have some of the best vision in the animal kingdom. Only fish and birds have 4 Cone colour perception – which means they can see colours that humans cannot. Their vision however is distorted as their eyes bulge to allow is as much light as possible under water.

Movement: The majority of fish species see out to the sides and not in front and when swimming in schools they can sense the movement of the water in front of them that they are swimming into but can see what is to the side of them, some fish swing their heads side to side to overcome their blind spot.

Behaviour: Fish are timid and obviously must live in water. In the Seagram Lobby area they only place they could survive would being the fountain, they would most likely stick to the edges in the more still water to avoid strong water currents and bursts of water, fish need to remain constantly moving to extract oxygen from the water.



Bird Perception

Vision: Birds have the best vision of all warm blooded creatures, they have not only 4 cone colour perception which allows them to see variations in colour invisible to humans but many species have an extremely fast frame rate and very sharp vision. Some even can see magnetic fields!

Movement: Because birds have such amazing vision they can afford to move through spaces very quickly and with great breadth of movement when flying, the very rarely crash even though to a humans slow eye it may seem that they come very close.

Behaviour: In an enclosed space a bird may become overwhelmed by the small size especially if it is crowded and will most likely become frantic in trying to find an exit.

IMG 1
Birds can perceive subtlety in colour that This colour perception combined
humans can not.




IMG 2
With fast frame rate and magnetic perception means birds see the birds far more quickly and vibrantly than humans do.



Snake Perception

Vision: Most snakes have very poor vision, only really being able to discern between light and dark accompanied by very fuzzy black and white images. However some species of snake can sense infrared heat, meaning they can see their prey very clearly in close range (<2m).

Movement and Behaviour: Snakes move very little, but if they sense much vibration in the floor close by they may depending on the type of snake stalk it and investigate it as prey, or more likely move away.

IMG 1 + 2
Snakes have very poor detail vision But can sense infrared heat in sharp detail



Additional Animals:

Kangaroo Perception
Vision: Kangaroos have very poor day and night vision, this may be due to there being minimal obstructions in their natural habitat and relying on finding food and assessing it with a very keen sense of smell.
Movement and Behaviour: Kangaroos take very large bounding strides, and are used to large spaces, in a small space with multiple obstructions and a cold floor, like the Seagram lobby, a Kangaroo may easily become overwhelmed and after some failed attempts at escape may become aggressive.