Architecture of Radio lets you catch the waves

Juuke Schoorl/photography: Juuke Schoorl

One thing I won’t be doing after downloading the new app Architecture of Radio is complaining that I can’t find any Wi-Fi. Turns out I am being blasted with the stuff from every direction at all times. It also turns out that it’s kind of pretty.

What do I mean by that? Architecture of Radio uses your GPS data and “global open datasets of cell tower, Wi-Fi, and satellite locations” to synthesize a 360-degree “window into the infosphere,” a.k.a. the “technological landscape we interact with through our devices” — a.k.a. our relentless, undetectable bombardment by invisible God-knows-what waves. It does this in a fun and aesthetically pleasing fashion.

PRO: Created by Richard Vijgen, head of the visionary Studio for Object Oriented Information Design & Research in the Netherlands, AoR offers a beautful view and experience. It’s not quite virtual reality, it’s an entirely new lens through which to view the one we have, but rely on every day.

CON: Lead blankets are expensive, I’m learning. And there’s really no way to make them look breezy or casual. Ditto this tin foil.