Media Facades

Activities and cases

Expo 2010 in Shanghai
With more than 3,500 lighting fixtures embedded in its façade, the Danish pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010 features an advanced lighting system developed by designers and researchers at CAVI, and the Department for Information and Media Studies at Aarhus University. [Read more]

Aarhus by Light is a groundbreaking experiment in media facades. Concert Hall Aarhus presents a new interactive media facade that invites guests and passers-by to encounter and partake in a new dimension of the renowned cultural institution. [Read more]

Colorscan is an interactive lighting installation created by the centre for Digital Urban Living at the University of Aarhus. The installation is equipped with a technology, that scans the surrounding area for clear colors and uses these colors to change the light emitted. The scanner is visible as a crosshair, that moves around the people passing by. [Read more]

Running Sculpture is an experimental, interactive dance performance especially made for the media facade by Archauz og CAVI. The show was performed March 9, 10, and 11, 2008. [Read more]

Outline

The purpose of the Media Facades project is to develop interactive media facades as integrated elements of architectural interiors and exteriors. The specific goal is to build up new concepts for interactive media facades in the fields of urban communication, entertainment and digital art, as well as for branding and product presentation. The project contributes to new ways of displaying dynamic and interactive content – including video and animations – on a large scale. The concepts for new media facades are realized as full-size prototypes, and in a variety of visual representations.

Cases

The activities within the project are mainly structured around a series of cases which will function as vehicles for the development of concepts and core technologies for media facades. Among these cases are submissions to international architectural contests, and structured experiments with various technologies and forms of visual expression.

Materials Library

As a fundamental part of the project, new interactive technologies and materials are examined and combined into new interactive potentials for media facades. The technologies range from traditional LEDs and projections used in new ways, to more experimental materials whose visual or mechanical properties can contribute to new media facades. All materials and technologies are systematically collected and arranged into a materials library that is used for inspiration and grounding of the ongoing experiments and prototypes for media facades.

Design Tools

The research project will provide a systematic approach to both the design and construction of media facades, by means of a structured pattern language that addresses the project’s main focus points. Furthermore, a toolbox of software for customizable and generic media facade ideas will be built up, to be used in conjunction with the specific experiences from the cases, and the studied properties found in the materials library. Furthermore, a toolbox of software for customizable and generic media facade ideas will be built up, to be used in conjunction with the specific experiences from the cases, and the properties identified in the materials within the library.

People and Partners:

CAVI, Centre for Advanced Visualization and Interaction, University of Aarhus

BIG Bjarke Ingels Group

Martin Professional A/S

The Animation Workshop

Wall of Pixels

For more information, please contact: Kim Halskov, Rune Nielsen or Martin Brynskov

Publications

Halskov, K., Dalsgaard, P. & Nielsen, R. (Submitted for publication): Maps for Reflection

Funding

The project is funded by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (Forsknings- & Innovationsstyrelsen) as part of the Regional ICT Corridor program (Den regionale IKT-korridor).

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