The documentation of our Media Facades Exhibition Berlin 2008 is now available.
The Exhibition takes place at Deutsches Architektur Zentrum (German Center for Architecture)
October 16 - December 12 2008 and was curated by Gernot Tscherteu
have a look at
Videos
Photos
Exhibition Companion (Catalogue)

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see photos in bigger size
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Download the MEDIA FACADES EXHIBITION COMPANION (7 mb)
including all exhibited projects and an extensive introductory text by the curator Gernot Tscherteu about MEDIA FACADES: FUNDAMENTAL TERMS AND CONCEPTS.

for more info [click here].

The ‘Medien und Raum’ Studio is a master course subject taught by Dr. Haeusler at the HfT Stuttgart – Hochschule für Technik. The Studio is part of a new research focus at the university on media architecture and interactive architecture. ‘Medien und Raum’ focused on the architectural integration of state of the art media technology. The two projects presented ‘Concrete LED Façade’ by Angela Renz and Dominik Kommerell and ‘Lochblech LED Façade’ by Ute Schweinle, Melek Güler and Andrea Fackler are prototypes resulting from this studio. Both projects were conducted as scientific research projects where conditions and materials were tested and documented and the prototypes are a result of the research.

Can a deactivated media façade transform back to an architectural surface or to ask the question the other way around can an architectural surface temporarily become a media façade? Both presented projects offer a possible answer to the question – the architectural surface is, when activated, a media façade that can display media content without having a persistent urge for new media contents. This urge is the result of media technology that exists as an added element onto architectural surfaces that when deactivating the technology unmasks the assembling of parts. Through an amalgam of architectural surface and technology one can create a media augmented element that is able to transform either to a space-defining element or a message-delivering vehicle.

Links: Medienraum, Mevaco GmbH, Hochschule für Technik - Stuttgart

LED lighting project designer LightWild has just completed two software-controlled architectural projects on the newly opened, 17,000-seat, O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany. The arena is located on 50 acres along the Spree River near the Berlin Wall East Side Gallery. On the exterior, a massive LED installation stretches across the building’s curved glass facade and inside, two lobbies glisten with thousands of controlled fluorescent and LED fixtures behind frosted acrylic lenses. Visitors to the arena are greeted by the colorful moving graphics and video effects that are driven across the installations on event nights. LightWild provided the engineering piece and the physical supplies. Installation was done by a German construction firm.
Randy Jones, LightWild’s Director of Engineering, added that a key feature to the project’s success was the company’s “ability to work early on with the architects and engineers and achieve both the light output and the look — aesthetically — that was appealing to the owners. It was a rewarding challenge doing it long distance across the globe.” Using its LightWild Pixel as the LED light source, LightWild worked closely with the arena’s architects — HOK Sport and JSK Architects — and owner Anschutz Entertainment Group to engineer a building mullion that houses the Pixels while blending seamlessly into the building’s exterior facade. In the lobbies, LightWild’s project engineering team and building architects designed a blue aluminum housing with openings for lenses that encased the Pixels and installed directly to the arena walls.

LED façade
The LED façade is 380 feet (116 m) long by 40 feet (12 m) tall and is built on a 104-degree curve with an average radius of 213 feet (65 m). There are 117 vertical mullions spaced slightly more than 3 feet (1 m) horizontally across the façade. In all, there are 7020 LightWild Pixels installed in the vertical mullions on the façade of the arena. With 40 LEDs/Pixel, 280,800 LEDs are in use on the façade.
“The curved façade presented an optical challenge more than a physical challenge. Physically, each section of glass on the facade is flat but there is a slight angle (<1°) between each section so that collectively the façade is curved. Therefore, the horizontal light from our LEDs tends to separate more than it would from a flat surface,” said Jones.
“Added to this natural separation of the light was the desire of the owner for maximum view-ability from both close-in and from the side of the façade. LightWild’s solution was to develop a secondary optical lens that allowed maximum light transmission (88%) but also created light dispersion in the horizontal direction. Multiple samples were created and reviewed with the US architects and the German project team to find the perfect solution,” continued Jones.
“The furthest I saw the façade was from a mile and half away, from the 200 m tall TV tower at the Alexander Plaza. We actually could read some of the lettering at that distance,” said Jones.
A PC with LightWild’s proprietary software controls content scheduling. Within the system, the operator can do quick text interrupts. For example, if a player inside scores a goal, they can replace the exterior façade to read “Goal!”
via: ledsmagazine.com

LEDs go with the flow in New York City waterfalls 30 Oct 2008. A series of man-made waterfalls installed around New York Harbor were lit using LED lighting fixtures to simulate the effect of moonlight on the water. The New York City Waterfalls public art installation, by artist Olafur Eliasson, comprised four man-made waterfalls in the New York Harbor situated along the shorelines of Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Governors Island. One of the key features of the waterfalls was their use of LED lighting behind the water flow to simulate the effect of moonlight. The Waterfalls ranged from 90 to 120-feet tall and were on view from June 26 through October 13, 2008. The project was commissioned by the non-profit Public Art Fund in Each waterfall pumped 35,000 gallons of water per minute from the East River to the top of a scaffold. As the water flowed over the lip of the falls it was illuminated by LED fixtures.

Each waterfall utilized a continuous row of assembled 5 feet sections of LED fixtures, supplied by Boca Flasher Inc, with a mixture of cool and warm white LEDs controlled by 3 separate channels. The total wattage was 300W per 5 ft. section at 100% output, while the actual operating load was 15-25%, depending on the site. Light from the LED fixtures grazed the back of the water, penetrating the flow and accentuating the effect of wind gusts and changes in water flow rate. A custom baffle just below the LED source prevented glare at normal viewing angles. The Lighting Designer for the project was Michael Mehl of Jaros, Baum & Bolles. “Working with LEDs offered us very interesting possibilities both technically and aesthetically in realizing Eliasson’s artistic vision,” he said.
Some immediate concerns over the use of LEDs, such as color rendering and heat dissipation, were overcome by the nature of the exterior environment in this project, said Mehl. “Unlike prior projects we have worked on, LEDs were not initially chosen for their promise of extended life, since the project had a limited installation period of only four months of operation,” he added.
Hiding the source was the biggest challenge, so that the water would appear as if lit by moonlight. “The size-to-light output ratio of the LEDs favored them over conventional lamp sources,” said Mehl. “We focused our design attention on the caveats of the technology, such as lamp-to-lamp color consistency and optics.”

via: ledsmagazine.com

“Water and sustainability” is the motto of this year’s international world exhibition held from 14 June to 14 September in Zaragoza, Northern Spain. In 140 pavilions, approximately 100 nations are presenting solutions for the responsible use of the precious resource. Ledon’s contribution is the visionary illuminated façade “Wall of Africa”, an impressive example of the variable use of light-emitting diodes.

Light as a medium of communication
In compliance with the world exhibition’s objective to promote and continuously develop innovative technologies on a sustainable basis, Ledon created a media façade spanning more than 1,500 square metres. In collaboration with the exhibition stand designers and builders Nüssli and architects from Atelier Brückner, a concept was devised which incorporates more than 220,000 LEDs and is intended to visualise the theme of the Expo and bring it to life.
As each pixel can be individually addressed, a wide variety of light shows and videos with seamless transitions can be realised. In addition, arrays of semi-transparent plastic squares flexibly arranged on the façade flutter in the wind, reminiscent of moving water. While by day African landscapes are created across the façade, by night climatic events such as thunderstorm clouds and impressions of African people and animals are shown on the video wall.

via: ledonlighting.com, atelier-brueckner

The Media Facade Conference 2008 will take place on Oct 17 and 18. Please check the conference program. Still tickets available. Please register directly at DAZ.

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The main objective was to create an inviting and attractive façade which at the same could be used for commercial messages. Currently the Creative LED Media façade is used for animations, advertisement, logo’s and artistic color effects. The orignal idea of the architect was to mount LED pixels on every cross section of a flexible steel net (part of the building is covered by such a net).

Philips Vidiwall evaluated this concept and proposed a solution based on laser cut steel panels with 85% transparancy. The pattern in the steel panels is diamond shaped, based on the diamond shapes of the steel net. On every cross section of the diamond pattern a full color LED pixel is mounted.

This solution gives optimal results on creating the shape, picture quality and viewing angle of the LED display. The curved transparent LED display is almost invisible during the day due to its transparency and has full visibility during the night.
The 80m width and 8m height display (640m2) contains 37.620 individually controllable full color pixels. The system is connected to a media server to play animations.

via: www.lighting.philips.com

Aleph is an experimental public display, that is using the spaces, people and objects it faces as a palette to display messages from hidden viewpoints. When looking at a small mirror, it reflects a fraction of the space around us, when looking at a mirror façade, it reflects most things around us, containing segments that are dark or bright, red or green. But if we build a matrix of small mirrors, which can adjust their tilt according to the site they are facing, we can create a display that uses the ever changing flux of the place to show images from certain points in space.
Concept explaining collage This image is generated from unedited photos using a mirror and tilting it to reflect various brightness levels

It will not be comprehendible from all viewpoints, just from specific ones, asking visitors to explore the space, or providing surprising flashes in a public setup that can stay around the edge of comprehension. We can for example limit this point to the height of a child, so whenever she or he looks at the mirror, drawings emerge from the reflections of the clouds, drawings that appear only for them, that adults will not be able to see.

via: www.aether.hu

This Project is some years old; even older than Blinken Lights and also very influential. By posting it now, we are fixing a big hole in our collection

The BBL, an ING bank decided to organize a major event around their headquarters in Brussels, Belgium to celebrate the new Millennium. The bank’s goals were to valorize its unique architecture and clearly identify the bank to the building. The extraordinary building designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill was an absolute inspiration to the Magic Monkey design team.

The Magic Monkey turnkey solution (original concept, design, installation & management) was to convert the entire 2000 m2 façade of the building into a giant video display transparent to the occupants of the building but highly visible to the thousands of people driving by everyday. The project was inaugurated on December 8th 1999. Everyone was invited to participate and create their own images and animations by downloading a free animation interface from the burgeoning web (remember dial-in connections!).

As soon as a new animation was uploaded via the website created for the project, participants would receive an email thanking them for their participation and telling them when their animation would play on the building. Entire families could then come see their animations on the building or watch from the web cam. The Marnix Monumental Interactive Matrix project was a huge success, lots of participations and a big impact on people’s imagination. The Bank was delighted and so was everyone else. As a little bonus, a jury of artists (Yvaral, Yann Kersalé, Robert Palmer and Franco Dragone) was invited to award 4 equal prizes of 2000 Euros to their favorite animations for the 1st edition and 4 equal prizes of 2001 Euros for the second edition.

via: www.magicmonkey.net