HackTheBook: Redefining the concept of the book

Last month, Medianeras sent a…representative to “HackTheBook“- a hackathon organised by Onassis Cultural Center, Europeana Space and Goldsmiths University of London

The hackthon invited designers, artists, publishers, programmers, authors, poets, hackers and entrepreneurs to a marathon which will redefine the book. The marathon  revolved around programming, design and entrepreneurial innovation and each team was asked to address #BookDesign, #OpenHardware, #API and #Entrepreneurship & #Sustainability as critical parameters of the project.

Angeliki Zervou together with Nikoleta Balothiari (aka skafandro) and Panagiotis Sebos, with the project “Cook – Lee” was one of the three winning teams and got a chance to travel to London for an intensive Business Model Workshop by the REMIX team of experts, a pioneering label on cultural entrepreneurship.

“Cook Lee” is an interactive artists’ cookbook that combines art and cooking, aiming to change the way cooking is experienced and to transfer knowledge on contemporary art, artists and artistic work through association with recipes.
The team created a cooking set that consists of an art cookbook, an interactive apron which acts as the user interface and guides them though the recipe steps, a box with integrated scales and loudspeaker, and a mobile application. Interactive characteristics were added to these objects by using wearable and washable open hardware technologies (Arduino) on the apron and a Raspberry Pi platform for the box. The mobile app was developed in open software frameworks.
The user’s experience is enhanced with curated material from Europeana and other open platforms through APIs used in real time.
The interaction of the reader with all cooking set objects completes the cooking experience connecting it with the artists’ work.

Click here to watch the HackTheBook video by Onassis Cultural Center

Click here to read an interview with all winning teams by Popaganda.gr