Media Architecture Institute

The Siemens Building Technologies Division headquarters’ car park is a bright new addition to the attractiveness of Zug, Switzerland, and an innovative architectural highlight for the city. To meet the requirements set by Siemens, lighting designer HEFTI.HESS.MARTIGNONI partnered with Traxon Technologies and e:cue due to its numerous international project references in this field, as well as professional expertise. To enhance the parking structure’s façade, 1,230 customized Traxon Liner XB RGB fixtures were installed on the building’s exterior. Equipped with 25,900 high-power LEDs, the individually controllable fixtures of standard and customized lengths perfectly adapted to this challenging surface, accentuating the car park’s architectural design. Despite the large number of LEDs, the operating expenses are low and the lighting solution is environmentally friendly, thus serving as a symbol of sustainable development and renewable energies. All lighting fixtures are controlled by an e:cue lighting control system consisting of four Butler, two Lighting Control Server (LCS1), and the Lighting Application Suite.

by/via: ecue.de, traxontechnologies.com

The timeline depicts international media facades with their different artistic, social or brand messages up to interfaces like iPhone Apps or brain sensors for public participation. The movie is a shortened version of the lecture, „The semiotics of media facades – When buildings start to twitter” that was presented at the Parsons The New School for Design in New York.

via: Thomas Schielke – arclighting.de

The lights and images become part of the body of the surface they inhabit. Does the light mold itself to the architectural forms or do the structures themselves arch into the light? An organic relationship, the urban environment is subtly activated to engage both employees and passersby. Moment Factory was invited by PHA Lighting Group to create an LCD media façade to serve as a continuous visual animation for their iconic location. Integrated into the architecture, the media façade creates an impression of the building as a living organism. The technology is hidden – it is the experience that engages the public. A framework of 5000 pixel RGB LED screens was built on the building’s façade. To avoid use of a matrix, the units are laid out in a quincunx form to make an asymmetrical whole. A prismatic Lexan used for projection warps the pixels to create an impression of 3D.

The City of Dreams is a mega project realised by StandardVision in Macau – China. The whole light installation ist stretching like a giant canvas over four different buildings. Adrian Velicescu of StandardVision:” It´s hard enough to distribute the data to a large screen in a building, but when you start looking at multiple towers that are 500 meters away from each other, it became apparent that we needed to combine a number of new technologies in order to pull it off.”

Rogier van der  Heide:

The past six years, between architects UNStudio and myself a close collaboration has been established. UNStudio is an architecture office with great appreciation of light present in all of their work. The unique 51.3m high concave façade has got a lighting and product design conceived in a joint design process between the architects, my team at Arup and Alliance Optotek (AOP), the local lighting manufacturer. Using workshops and brainstorm sessions, the team developed a textured façade skin responding to the environment by reflecting daylight and showing its 3D nature at night with integrated lighting.

The refurbishment of 77 Des Voeux Road (now known as the Nexxus Building), transformed a 1960’s curtain wall relic into an ‘A’ grade modern and efficient commercial building in the heart of Central, Hong Kong. The sustainable theme was continued into the lighting design. Nexxus needed to make a statement, something that would stand out when viewed in the two parallel ‘concrete canyons’ of Des Voeux Road and Connaught Roads, between which the building is sandwiched.

by: Ruairi Glynn and Sarah Shafiei

Digital Architecture: Passages Through Hinterlands is a collection of provocative projects from a young generation of digitally enabled designers. This publication oscillates between the analog and the digital, from concept to realisation, mapping processes as it explores the diverse digital paths that lead innovative spaces, poetic narratives and social interactions. The book covers a spectrum of London’s leading graduates and young practices, featuring projects from the Architectural Association, Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), University of Westminster and Royal College of Art, and case studies and interviews with architects including Amanda Levete Architects, Plasma Studio, JDS Architects, sixteen* (makers), Horhizon, marcosandmarjan, Mette Ramsgard Thomsen, Philip Beesley, David Greene, Samantha Hardingham, Usman Haque and Neil Spiller.

via: www.interactivearchitecture.org

Trash Mirror – 2001

500 pieces of variously colored trash collected from the streets of New York and artist’s pockets, motors, control electronics, concealed video camera, computer. Size – W 76″ x H 76″ x D 8″ (193cm ,193cm, 20cm) Though built 3 years after the Wooden Mirror, Trash mirror was conceived first, However the concept seemed too risky at the time so I decided to build the Wooden Mirror first. This piece suggests that we are reflected in what we discard. The piece celebrates the ability of computation to inflict order on even the messiest of substances – trash.

by: Marilena Skavara – microhappy
more info on : vagueterrain.net via: interactivearchitecture.org