For our third Applied Experiment, artist Spencer Chang created a collection of site-specific objects, enhanced so they may foster a shared sense of meaning.

We face an increasing loneliness epidemic as free third spaces for communities continue to disappear. Computing Shrines responds to this crisis by reimagining technology as a public good for fostering local connection rather than replacing it.

Public shrines hold digital memories of fellow visitors.

In a sense they are computers you can touch.

Through NFC-chips these sculpted physical objects, placed in different public places, are able to have computational properties such as digital memories.

A simple tap of the phone enables visitors to reach the shrine's site-specific website. It's here that memories in relevant mediums can be exchanged with fellow locals, whether through voice, image or text.

We already feel a latent connection to those in our communities even if we don't know them: regulars at the cafe, those who love the same park bench, our neighbors we pass on the street.

That bond activates with a surprising strength when we learn something intimate about them.

How it works

Each shrine, when tapped by phone, connects visitors to a site-specific website. Here, an interactive exchange between past and future visitors can take place. Each website can only be accessed at the shrine, anchoring a virtual space to a physical place.

With “Shrine to Earth" visitors are invited to share photos of rocks they’ve found, which become pieces in a rock-stacking mini-game. And in "Shrine to Others," a clay tablet invites connection with others by prompting visitors to note the qualities they appreciate in strangers.

Where next

From June 4-22 the Shrines can be experienced live during the Demo Festival by NEW INC. After this period, Spencer will place them somewhere in public to live on (sign up for email updates below).

But beyond an installation, Computing Shrines is an open protocol for creating public good technology. Designed with common materials and electronics, we hope to inspire the normally solitary and exclusive act of creating technology into a community improvement project for all to shape.

Related Research

Computing Shrines are an example of what Donald Hall calls "third things"—objects that deepen connection because they create shared meaning between people.

The merits of such objects are well-supported by psychological research. Mazumdar and Mazumdar's research on place attachment demonstrates that rituals anchored to specific objects and places generate collective meaning. Von Terzi et al.'s work on technology-mediated experiences shows that people experience greater psychological need satisfaction and positive affect when using technology in social contexts rather than alone. And Jenny Crowley's work on self-disclosure shows that expressing oneself in supportive social contexts enhances wellbeing, particularly when people feel they are contributing something meaningful to the group.

Typical social technologies circulate shallow social imagery and information, but do very little to deepen connection between people within a community. Computing Shrines move beyond this, offering a durable artifact whose shared meaning and communal value accumulates based on the contributions of individuals.

For more theoretical and practical references, explore Computing Shrines' connections below.