operation vitamin d
Fathom Architecture developed Operation Vitamin D in response to the Pacific Northwest’s notoriously gray rainy season. The gloom is known to have an oppressive impact on its population, which is characterized by a constellation of seasonal affective disorder symptoms (or, SADs). With climate scientists forecasting more extreme weather conditions and the probability of an increasingly dismal atmosphere, Fathom Architecture intervened with a series of strategic design initiatives.
Operation Vitamin D targets three urban conditions —transit stations, pedestrian corridors, and urban parks— where the city’s population wait, walk, and gather. At each of these conditions, vitamin D illuminating interventions replace existing architectural elements to counter the effects of seasonal affective disorder. These illuminations, interconnected by a network of sensors, activate upon movement, proximity, and touch to emit vitamin D and provide moments of joy in an otherwise gloomy city.
Location: Seattle, WA
Status: Conceptual
Recognition: Gray Award Winner