Without electricity, human life does not exist.

At the very core of our physical being, the human heart can be found continuously sending blood throughout the body. A heartbeat occurs when the atria and ventricles work together, alternately contracting to pump blood through your heart. The power source that makes all of this possible - electricity.

Deep within the heart’s interior, an electrical impulse starts with a small bundle of specialized cells (SA node), which causes the atrial walls to contract. A similar cluster of cells between the atria and ventricles (AV node) acts as a gate that slows the electrical signal before it enters the ventricles. From there, an intricate pathway of fibers, known as the “His-Perkinje” system, sends an impulse down the ventricle’s muscular walls, causing them to also contract. The result is a fascinating rhythmic synergy known as life.

The urban electric grid has proven to have a pulse of its own. By gathering electricity from a variety of sources and distributing it through a complex network of “feeders”, the power grid supplies and regulates electricity in a similar manner to the heart. The result is a large-scale example of “biomimcry” - the abstraction of one of nature’s sustainable systems. Like the electrical fiber network that keeps the heart beating strong, the grid continues to light our path and power our lives.

Welcome to the Grid of the Future Lab, where ComEd tests emerging technologies before field deployment, while supporting research efforts to enable a smarter grid. The objective is to build an intelligent network that accommodates to rapid changes in energy production and consumption while providing a highly reliable “always on” service.

Electricity is the inspiration for the sculptural form that surrounds you. This installation becomes an inhabitable translation of the body’s most important life system. Similar to the ‘‘His-Perkinje’ system (shown below in an electron microscope image) twisting and turning through the heart’s walls, you will find an open network of panels undulating across the structure itself. Once “inside”, an artistic collage represents the complex and intricate layering inherent in the grid itself.

Much like the human heart powers our very existence, electricity powers our society. And ComEd supports this vital service for a growing and evolving world.

3D modeling assistance: Pooya Mohaghegh + Travis Spears