Bristol, UK

The place where it all began, Hello Bristol launched in the summer of 2013 as Hello Lamp Post’s first ever deployment, after winning Watershed’s Playable City Prize. We were tasked with repurposing the city’s existing infrastructure to facilitate playful interactions with the community. The deployment encouraged residents to share stories and engage in conversation with street objects like benches, bus stops and bins.

Project Goals

• Showcase the concept of people-object interaction
• Provide people with a platform to share memories, perspectives and thoughts
• Enhance the public’s experience of Bristol by adding a playful, digital layer to the city

• A first-of-its-kind experience helping people connect with their physical environment
• Uncovered a need for a purposeful, interactive technology that can positively impact local authorities and their communities
• Overwhelmingly positive reception from Bristol’s residents and visitors

“When we commissioned Hello Lamp Post, no one realised the project would create a kind of city analytics platform – able to gauge the mood of a city, to probe particular issues, to understand a bit about mobility and movement” – Executive Producer, Playable City Award.