Published on: February 20, 2009

Realities:United from Berlin were commisioned to design a media facade for the Espacio de Creación Artística Contemporánea in Cordoba/Spain. The building itself was designed by Nieto Sobejano Architects, Madrid.

It features compact fluorescent that light up the inlets in the facade and together they create a low-res display.

The info that realities:United sent us follows:

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The winning competition entry for the  “Espacio de Creación Artística Contemporánea” by Nieto Sobejano architects (Madrid) proposed the integration of a low resolution light- and media façade on the building surface facing the Río Guadalquivir.

In a second step realities:united was commissioned to further develop the conception and the design for this media skin. So the final design was developed in a cooperation between Nieto Sobejano architects and realities:united.

The departure point for the formal development of the façade was found in the significant inner structure of the building made up of a tessellated (self repeating) pattern of polygonal shaped rooms. This motive was translated in the topography of the outer surface of the building. Here the GRC (glass fibre reinforced cement) surface shows a system of irregular shaped indentations of varying density and size. Those “bowls” are individually lit and become “pixels” of a large display system.

Each bowl appears to be unique in shape and size. Also the distribution of the bowls appears to be irregular. Only the distribution density stays consistent.

In addition the panels carrying the bowls come in three different types differing in the average size and number of the bowls molded into their surface.

Analog to the eye’s retina skin these components allow the definition of areas of varying density or “sensitivity” on the façade.

The interest in the aspect of “visual acuity” stems from earlier projects and extensive research showing the enormous importance of the brain for the process of visual perception. For visualizations with very low resolution the precognition of the brain determines whether an image or animation can be recognized.

A motive, which has been displayed at a higher resolution, can be moved to much lower resolution and will still preserve its readability.
Technically each bowl is lit indirectly by lateral light sources (compact fluorescent lights), which light up the bowl’s bottom and side surfaces. The grayscale system based on fluorescent light will allow the display of moving images at a rate of 20 frames per second.

The surfaces of the bowls are milled to focus the light reflection in a horizontal direction limiting light pollution and energy consumption.