Volunteer: Trojan Cow Listening Sculpture — Design & Fabrication Concept

This is a volunteer opportunity provided by Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit creating social change through pro bono connections.

Climate House is seeking a designer with experience in physical/product design, spatial design, fabrication, engineering and/or material studies to further develop the fabrication concept of a small interactive listening sculpture being developed as part of an art x policy project, Forest Encounters. The Trojan Cow sculpture is conceived as a compact object that uses the form of a cow as an entry point into the commodity systems connecting cattle, land use, forests, and deforestation. The sculpture will contain or activate soundscapes and be interactive through proximity: as a person approaches the object, the sculpture will trigger or reveal an associated forest soundscape. The artistic and sonic concept is already in development, and Climate House has a spatial and sound designer who can participate in a working session to help inform the design itself. What we need now is someone who can help translate these ideas into a coherent physical object so it can move into a 3d entering and prototyping phase. We are looking for someone who can help explore the sculpture’s scale, proportions, materials, construction, sustainability, interaction, internal components, and practical fabrication requirements. Experience with material studies or sustainable materials would be particularly valuable. The sculpture should remain relatively small, materially thoughtful, and feasible to fabricate and transport. The designer could also help us determine how the interactive sound component can be integrated into the physical form while maintaining the artistic character of the work, if they possess these skills. The project will unpack and refine design concepts for feasibility, materiality, elegance, and legibility.

The goal is to conclude with a workable design concept for the Trojan Cow so that it can move into 3d rendering and a prototyping phase. The deliverable should include: * Basic dimensional drawings or views sufficient to communicate scale, proportions, and construction. * Exploration and recommendation of appropriate sustainable materials and fabrication approaches. * Basic thinking around assembly, stability, access to internal components, transportation, and installation. * A preliminary fabrication scope identifying materials, major components, fabrication processes, and technical questions requiring resolution during prototyping. If you possess these skills: * Preliminary consideration of how the proximity-triggered sound system and related components could be integrated into the object. * Where feasible, a 3d rendering with editable 3D/CAD files or other design files that can support subsequent fabrication. The intention is not to produce final engineering or construction documents. The outcome should be a visually compelling and technically informed concept that Climate House can take into a prototyping and fabrication phase. This is an opportunity to work collaboratively at the intersection of sculpture, sound, interaction design, sustainable materials, and fabrication to help turn an artistic concept into a physically realizable listening instrument.

Climate House US (“Climate House”) Mission: Climate House is a creative think tank using the arts to illustrate actionable pathways forward—and bring them to life. Our Mythos Embodied Climate: Climate change is not the abstract, technical issue it’s often framed to be–but a universal, ambient one experienced through our bodies and daily lives. CH communicates using universal sensory language, to reintegrate our understanding of climate change as real in the felt sense, and as a core defining issue shaping everything around us. Universal Sensory Language: By speaking this universal language of the senses, we can communicate in a language everyone speaks and understands. This helps reframe climate as an everyone issue–providing an opportunity for the general public to reclaim their agency in understanding it and engaging with its solutions creatively, collaboratively, and meaningfully. Culture-First: Culture is the fabric of daily life. CH uses a broad suite of cultural tools to meet people where they are, designing programming that is audience-tailored and culture-first, recognizing this as the carrier oil for engaging with more complex topics. Show-not-tell: Because seeing is believing, we design programs that show…