Media Architecture Institute

Large scale permanent light art installation and a new civic space for city of Helsinki has been created by the sea in the former industrial area of Kruunuvuori. The piece uses natural light as well as parametrically controlled white LED lights to suggest a connection to its surroundings in real time. Officially launched on 10th October 2012 the light art intervention signifies the start of a large urban redevelopment of the area into modern residential zone for 11000 people.

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Baku Flame Towers is a striking new addition to the skyline of Baku. Located atop a hill on the Caspian Sea overlooking Baku Bay and the old city center, the three towers were inspired by Azerbaijan’s ancient history of fire worshipping, and will illuminate the city and act as an eternal flame for modern Baku. The goal of the project was to create a low-resolution media façade to display video content, while integrating inconspicuous lighting fixtures into existing architecture. To meet the project requirements, Traxon created a special fixture, to be installed behind the buildings’ windows and give the allusion of ribbons of light. The main challenge of this project was the varying window dimensions, and that the maximum gap between fixture and window frame needed to be less than 50mm. With a flexible mounting solution and intelligent calculation, the project team reduced the overall amount of needed fixtures to only 16 different modular lengths. The entire three-tower installation is controlled by an e:cue Lighting Control Engine fx (LCE-fx) running Emotion, and Video Micro Converters (VMCs). Typically displaying burning flames, the intelligent control system allows for simple lighting show changes to reflect additional animations and graphics for special events. (more…)

Rockheim is the national experience center for pop and rock. Rockheim to collect, preserve and pass on Norwegian popular music from the 1950s to the present day. Rock House is situated on Brattørkaia in Trondheim. (more…)

Origin is the latest development in UVA’s exploration of large-scale responsive LED sculpture. As part of The Creators Project New York event, UVA have created Origin, a responsive installation meant to explore our society’s acceptance of a technocratic life form. Hedged between the two Bridges on Brooklyn’s shore, a 10m x 10m cube of light both disrupts and reflects the City, eliciting an emotional reaction from those that enter its realm. Origin is the culmination of a series of works derived from Orchestrion, the main stage design created by UVA for Coachella 2011. Origin is the product of a collaboration between United Visual Artists and Scanner, who composed the score. (more…)

BEPS India together with AHL installed the actual biggest media facade in India, Ahmadabad. The whole building consist out of two blocks each providing a irregular shaped curve and two different main viewing angels. (more…)

The new Harpa Concert Hall rises up like a giant cut crystal in front of the jagged coast of Reykjavik harbour. The honeycomb elements of the façade make up a dazzling sea of multicoloured highlights. Refl ections on the water surface reinforce the association with a natural phenomenon, calling to mind mysterious northern lights. The sparkling Concert Hall and Conference Centre that now adorns the cosmopolitan capital of Iceland was designed by Henning Larsen Architects in cooperation with the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, who was responsible for the characteristic appearance of the outer envelope. (more…)

The Media Architecture Institute is hosting a Media Facades Summit in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong this week. The summit will start Friday 25th October evening with a keynote by David Gianotten (OMA) and continue Saturday 26th October morning with a keynote by Andreas Schulz (LichtKunstLicht) as well as a number of talks by experts and professionals working in the field of media architecture in the Asian region.

The event is sponsored by our industry partners AHL, Galaxia and Zumtobel, and supported by Connecting Cities, GDC, and World Architects.

Visit www.mediaarchitecture.org/mfs13hk/ for more information about the program and speakers.

The world’s first media façade featuring LUCEM light transmitting concrete panels has been unveiled in Aachen, Germany. Opened on 6 December 2012, the LUCEM Media Facade, situated at RWTH Aachen University contains the light transmitting concrete panels as designed by German concrete manufacturer LUCEM. As part of the project, which was designed by Aachen-based architects Carpus & Partner, 150cm by 50cm concrete panels containing optical fibres have been used, forming a total area 30m wide by 4m high with 136 panels. Each panel is fitting with colour-changing technology, with the colours becoming brighter approximately one hour before sunset. The LED-panels are controlled using an internet-based DMX technology system, with each panel containing 3% optical fibres. (more…)

The Media Architecture Institute will be presenting the six winning projects from the inaugural Media Architecture Awards, as well as a selection of outstanding projects from the book New Media Facades, as part of the Media Facade Exhibition 2013 in Customs House, Sydney. The exhibition launches on Wednesday the 22^nd of May in the atrium of Custom House, and will be exhibited until the 1^st of July. The exhibition is organised in collaboration with ISEA and Vivid Sydney.

Spine is an interactive installation based on twenty glowing cubes and an atmospheric sound composition. Each cube is moved in fluid motions by two computer-controlled motors. The movements of the cubes, as well as the sound composition, react to nearby visitors by working together as one coherent expression in dialogue with the surroundings – a fifty meter long spine floating in space continually displaying new movements, light scenes and sounds. Spine is moody, sometimes shy and avoidant at other times more curious and almost aggressive. (more…)

Located on the east side of Huangpu River, near the Lujiazuei International Financial District and a striking contrast to the neo-classical buildings along the Bund on the opposite river bank, Shanghai Pearl TV Tower is not only the most remarkable building in Shanghai, but has become the symbolic icon that illuminating the energetic and cultural image of Shanghai City that continuously showcases her beauty to the world.

Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower was built and completed on 1 October, 1994. Though twenty years have come and gone, this iconic Tower has seen an influx of thousands and upon thousands of visitors from all over the world, coming together to embrace the beauty of this Pearl Tower.

As planned, the outdoor lighting system has been re-designed and renovated every decade in order to usher in a new era that shows the best of her beauty to the world. This year, 2014, marks Phase 2 of the renovation, which stands for the most advanced outdoor lighting design and technology. It is expected to attain the world-class level as well as showing the culture, technology, innovation, romance and irresistible charm that surprises all visitors all over the world not only to behold but to gain an amazing experience. StrongLED, as the responsible company for the execution of phase 2 of the project, has achieved an outstanding work.

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