Flora Ephemera

An augmented garden experience

Berkeley has a network of public paths, steps, and walkways that are removed from the bustling world they exist within. Though they can be natural reprieves from the pace of modern life, people primarily use them as a shortcut to get to public transportation, shopping districts, and schools. Flora Ephemera is a digital experience that uses augmented reality to help passersby slow down and enjoy the gorgeous, green corridors created by the Berkeley Pathwanders’ Association.

The augmentation technology spawns flora native to the region at a rate that corresponds to the speed at which the user traverses through the space. Flora Ephemera’s experience begins at the bottom of the steps and progresses as the user ascends the stairway. The program was designed specifically for a 21x21x21-foot space within the Hill Court Steps that connect Le Roy Avenue to Hill Court in the North Berkeley Hills.

37°52'48.1"N, 122°15'37.0"W
Berkeley, California

Site

The intention of this project was to create an augmented experience in public space. As a team, we were interested in interstitial spaces that had some sort of transitional quality to them. Spaces that implied or contain a constant negotiation between the public and the private. Through a series of public transitional spaces of Berkeley California, we ended up choosing the Hill Court Steps in North Berkeley.

Year
2021

Team

Abhi Ghavalkar, David Zhou, Effie Jia, Georgios Grigoriadis

Medium
Augmented Reality



© Georgios Grigoriadis 2026