SHOP
Sofia Lelis
Installation
Switzerland
2026
(see full project team
down below in the credits)
#InteractionDesign #DesignResearch
#LLM #AI #VisualSystem
Canton & University Library of Fribourg
Swiss Data Science Center
Swiss National Library
Èvokâ is an interactive installation that invites visitors to the Cantonal and University Library of Fribourg to enter into dialogue with the archives. Through an AI-based conversational interface, a presence living within the collections gathers memories connected to the canton and, in return, reveals fragments, stories and traces of Fribourg’s heritage.
HOW TO ENGAGE SOCIETY WITH HERITAGE TODAY?
BCU Fribourg asked us to imagine a new space inside its building, one that invites visitors to explore the canton's archives and helps citizens feel connected to the collective memory these documents hold.
Inside a soundproof booth, a telephone invites you to pick up. On the line is Evoka, a mysterious presence living within the archives. She invites you to share a memory, and in response, the archives tied to it come to light, ready to be explored and navigated.
I was in charge of researching and designing the interaction for Èvokâ. The question guiding this process was: how can digitised archives become interactive experiences that help people connect with a region's collective identity?
This project was carried out as part of my Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in the Postgraduate Programme in Design Research at EPFL+ECAL Lab.
I explored how archives could become more personal and meaningful for each individual, using places, stories, emotions, and lived memories as starting points to create a shared sense of belonging. I also investigated how AI could help people navigate the vast archival corpus.
Using generative qualitative methods, I immersed myself in the world of the Canton of Fribourg: its landscapes, history, traditions, and the people who live it. Through a series of in-depth interviews, I explored how people relate to the canton. What emerged is that people form a deep bond with certain special places, which become part of who they are (a sense of place). To express and share this connection, they tend to tell the memories they have made in these places.
I visited the library to conduct on-site observations, documenting people's movements, interactions, objects, and visible emotions through drawing. By tracing how the space was used and experienced, I identified opportunities for Èvokâ to exist within it as a space for participation, reflection, and collective memory.
The experience was then conceived as a dialogue with Èvokâ, a presence emerging from the archives of Fribourg.
Visitors are invited to share a memory, and in exchange, Èvokâ reveals archival materials connected to their contribution.
The project explores the use of AI in two ways: LLM-based dialogues with users, and an AI-powered search engine, developed by the SDSC, that enables exploration of the archive database.
A TIMELESS VISUAL SYSTEM
I explored how this experience could be expressed through a visual system in which every element of the interface helps convey a journey through time, infused with a sense of nostalgia. The goal was to create a timeless experience that bridges past memories with contemporary interaction
Some references were key to the design process, such as Community Memory, one of the earliest public computer bulletin board systems. Established in California in 1973, it allowed people to post and retrieve messages through a shared public terminal. Initially conceived as a resource-sharing network for local organisations, it quickly became an open communication space for information, art, commerce, storytelling and everyday conversation. Its community-led and unmediated approach informed my thinking about how digital archives can support participation, collective memory and a shared sense of place.
EPFL+ECAL Lab
| Nicolas Henchoz | Direction |
| Sofia Lelis | Research Assistant, Interaction Design |
| Lara Défayes | Project Management & Art Direction |
| Delphine Ribes | Engineering & Technology Manager |
| Gabriel Luthier | Software Engineering |
| Andrea Rovescalli | Software Engineering |
| Lison Christe | Product Design |
| Sebastian Baez Lugo | UX Research, UX Psychology |
University of Fribourg (UNIFR)
| Sharon Guardini | UX Research assistant |
| Alexandra Pereira Santos | UX Research assistant |
Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC)
| Clément Lefebvre | Senior Data Scientist |
| Raphaël Matusiak | Senior Data Scientist |
| Chiara Preti | Senior Data Scientist |
| Johan Berdat | Senior Machine Learning Engineer |
| Alessandro Nesti | Principal Data Scientist |
Cantonal and University Library of Fribourg (BCUFR)
| Angélique Boschung | Direction |
| Silvia Zehnder-Jörg | Project management |
| Athéna Schuwey | Communication |
| Davide Nerini | Curation, Iconography |
| Yves Cirio | Curation, film and sound |
| Caroline Arbellay | Curation, written archives |
| Loraine Molliet | Data Curation |
| Andreas Christe | Data Curation |
Swiss National Library (BN)
| Elena Balzardi | Vice-direction |
| Isabelle Aeschbach | Chef Public Section |
| Günther Giovannoni | Direction Fonoteca |
Full research document including methods, findings and discussion available upon demand: