Binary waves – cybernetic urban installation

LAb[au]

Binary waves – cybernetic urban installation ,
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Description
The urban installation is based on the measuring of infrastructural ( passengers, cars…) and communicational ( electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones, radio…) flows and their transposition into luminous, sonic and kinetic actions.

It was conceived in 2008 for the area of the Saint-Denis RER train station, a northern region of Paris, used by an average of 60,000 commuters each day. More precisely, it is located on the banks of the Saint-Denis canal framed by two bridges and a bus station. The piazza of the train station opens up to the canal by large descending steps forming an open stage facing this urban scene.

The installation is constituted of 40 rotating and illuminated panels 3 meters high and 60 centimetres wide, placed at regular intervals to form a kinetic light wall. On one side the panels have a black reflective surface and on the other a matt silver / whitish surface. The rotation around their vertical axis produces an alternating perception of the panels as reflected in the water and the water reflected in the panels. Even more the synchronisation of their movement itself produces optical wave patterns whereas its amplitudes and frequency depend on the speed of each panel's rotation.
Keywords
  • aesthetics
    • installation-based
  • subjects
    • Society and Culture
      • cities
Technology & Material
Bibliography