Burbujometro

Software Art / Instalation (2007)

The Burbujometro (Bubble-o-Meter) is an interactive visualization of Spanish real estate prices. It shows, in real time, the prices of apartments in different Spanish cities in the form of bubbles. The user controls the installation with an infrared gun, and as he or she shoots the bubbles these burst and display the prices of apartments. The piece promotes reflection on the socioeconomic dynamics of bubbles, housing, and the Spain of the 2000s.

The context of the installation is, of course, the Spanish real estate bubble. The surge in house prices is perhaps the most important economic event in Spain during the past few years. For some, great news. In a country where almost 90 percent of households are homeowners, a price increase has made almost everyone richer. The building boom has also allowed the country to keep growing while the rest of Europe stagnated. High prices are also a symptom of the entry of tourists and immigrants and the wealth they generate. And Spanish construction companies have grown into big multinationals. In short, the brick economy has paved the way to the definite modernization and Europeization of Spain.

But the real estate prices are for many others the center of all Spanish economic ills. Prices in Madrid and Barcelona are currently above those of New York and London, while salaries have barely converged. The bubble has reduced Spanish investors to mere house flippers, with second, third and fourth residencies that they buy to resell. Houses that, in addition, stay closed and drain life away from city centers. In addition, the bubble has excluded from the market young people, creative professionals and it forces Spaniards to share apartment, live with their parents or take on multiple jobs.

What to make of real estate prices? The debate comes at an interesting time. Economists, sociologists and psychologists are currently questioning existing theories about asset markets in order to accommodate the existence of bubbles. Do we live in a bubble? Do we live in a bubble economy? What creates the? How can we deal with them? Derivart addresses these questions with an installation that compares real estate prices across different Spanish cities. The objective is not to denounce nor praise house prices – but to promote debate on asset bubbles and real estate in Spain.

Exhibited at:

Observatori 2007 Festival (Valencia) - May 2007
Strip-Art 2007 (Barcelona) - June 2007
Bac Festibal 2007 (Barcelona) - October 2007
Museu Abelló (Mollet del Vallès - Barcelona) - March 2008
Homo Ludens - Centro arte La Laboral (Gijèn) - April 2008
En construcció - Bòlit (Girona) - October 2008

This installation was made with Processing based in Java (J2SE) and it is only optimized for Windows XP.

More information - Download PDF / Space Design PDF