Wave power

A kinetic lights system from Whitevoid literally made waves when it appeared on Roca’s stand at 100% Design. Read Andrew Brister’s article and watch the video here

There’s always great lighting on show at 100% Design, but you don’t necessarily expect to see it on a bathroom manufacturer’s stand. Yet, the Wave, a light installation from Berlin-based Whitevoid Interactive Art and Design, certainly made a splash for Roca with its kinetic lights system.

So striking was this installation, with its rolling wave of blue LED tubes, that you wonder whether Roca and its sanitaryware got a look in. “Actually, Roca was not showing any real products on its stand, that was part of the concept,” explains Whitevoid CEO Christopher Bauder. “The Roca stand at 100% Design was more a general statement of the art and design affinity of the brand.

“We integrated a 3D product portfolio on several touch screens and had three reactive video projections triggered behind curved separation walls by visitors passing by.

The Wave installation was meant as an attractor to get people onto the stand, where Roca staff could then share information about their products.”

Development

Whitevoid was called in by Roca some three months before the show to provide the overall design of the stand.

The idea developed into presenting it as a standalone piece of art, of which the kinetic lights would play a part.

“We were thinking about the options for bringing the water element into play as an eyecatcher or lighthouse feature visible from far away, using our kinetic lights winch system,” recalls Bauder. So the team came up with the long hanging wave made from individual light bars, each connected to two winches.

“Roca liked our wave-style kinetic light installation proposal immediately, so we started to design the stand accordingly using wave shapes and curved elements for the counters and seating. We decided to use glossy black walls as a neutral backdrop for the lights to reflect and contrast against. The sculptural hanging light arrangement forms generative wave patterns complemented by blue light animations, which of course symbolise the main element of Roca – water,” says Bauder.

At the heart of the installation is a computer system controlling the winches from which the light fittings hang. “We developed special software that enables us to control any number and arrangement of winches. We can specify maximum lifting height, range and speed and then use our own pattern generator with hundreds of variables to create all kinds of shapes and animations within the array,” explains Bauder. “We can save individual arrangements as modules and then arrange these modules in shows with specified transitions. We can also use the software to perform everything live; it also has an integrated 3D simulation of the actual setup, so we can prepare the whole show before building the actual installation.”

Eye catching

The kinetic lights system is generating huge interest. Bauder is just back from Moscow, where he is working on an installation in a new luxury department store. “With the new system we have realised three installations so far and we are in the planning and design process for many more,” he says. “There is a strong demand for this kind of kinetic light installation. It helps to fill the huge empty spaces present in any public hall or event.”

The project in Moscow’s Tsvetnoy Central Market comprises a ‘crystal chandelier’ in the five-storey entrance atrium to attract customers and passers-by. “We specially designed and produced 49 200cm-long LED-lit crystal elements to be arranged in a 14x7m array. Each crystal hangs from a 16m cable with a lift height of 7m. Over the course of the day there will be a choreography of movement and light displays with ever-changing generative patterns and shapes.

At night the installation becomes the glowing and pulsating heart of the building,” says a buoyant Bauder.

Whitevoid has three different light attachments for its kinetic lights system at the moment. “We have 180cm LED rods that can be combined with longer rods or other shapes like triangles or squares, then we have 50cm diameter spheres and the hanging crystal shaped elements – 200cm long and 40cm diameter – that we designed for the Moscow department store. But basically any shape of light object can be attached to one or multiple winches.

We have a 5kg maximum lift capacity and two Amperes per light channel with four channels available for RGBW (RGB plus white).”

Clearly, these are exciting times for Bauder and Whitevoid. The Wave has been shortlisted for this year’s Lighting Design Awards [Subsequent to this article being written, the installation was Highly Commended at the LDAs] and interest in it is clearly set to increase. “We’ve only just published the kinetic lights system and we were busy last year finishing the latest winch version and preparing the Roca installation and other Whitevoid projects,” says Bauder. “But responses are very good and we hope to realise many more light art pieces with this system over the coming years.”

www.whitevoid.com

www.kinetic-lights.com

Have your say

You must sign in to make a comment.