REFLECTIVE FLOW, QATAR

Designed for the breath-taking Al Hitmi office development in Doha, Qatar, Reflective Flow is a 126ft long, 20 tonne masterpiece.
Created from more than 2,300 individually hand-ground optical crystals and 165,000 LED lights, Reflective Flow is the largest interactive LED light sculpture in the world.
Suspended from a glass atrium 16m in the air, Reflective Flow snakes between two imposing office complexes. Reflective Flow is created from more than 2,300 individually hand-ground optical crystals, shrouded on both sides by high quality pieces of concaved glass, covered with a unique reflective mirror coating. Above and below each crystal are six LED lights individually controlled by a remote video based system developed by specialists LSI Saco Technologies. When light is introduced behind the glass, the unique mirror coating becomes either fully or semi -transparent allowing the sculpture to transform into an ever-changing stream of light.
This custom made technology allows each of the 2,300 modules to be controlled individually allowing innumerable colour and light variations to evolve. A huge range of abstract content can be displayed via the 165,000 LEDs housed in the optical crystals, which arrives through a system of fibre optics. The associated changes in light, shape or colour of the installation are triggered by external cues, such as the weather or the movement of passers-by or specifically programmed information.
Reflective Flow took more than a month to install and was completed in 2010.

Energy efficiency?
A key principle behind all Beau McClellan's work is his respect for the environment and all care is taken to ensure the latest in eco-friendly LED technology is incorporated into his work to increase its energy efficiency. For example, optical crystal is used to help magnify the strength of LEDs to avoid using too much energy. If all the colours are turned on full to obtain a white light it uses about the same amount of energy as x 70 (100 watt bulbs).

by Beau McClellan Design

Lady Gaga and High-Tech Architecture

 BOFFO Installation Spans the Gap

Image courtesy of Evan Joseph

Gage/Clemenceau Architects, whose work often combines architecture with emerging technologies, designed a temporary installation for BOFFO, a non-profit organization whose stated mission is to “foster collaborations between artists, designers, communities, theorists, and the media in the exploration of contemporary subject matter that inform and educate the public, through innovative, participatory programming.”

The installation showcased the work of Nicola Formichetti, who has acted as Fashion Director for Lady Gaga, Creative Director for Mugler, and fashion stylist to Uniqlo, MAC, and V Magazine. According to a press release, Formichetti displayed his most recent work as well some of his previous work, including several of his original ensembles designed for, and worn by, Lady Gaga. The BOFFO installation was timed to run concurrently with New York City’s 2011 Fashion Week in September and was open to the general public.

When first conceptualizing the project, Gage says, his mind went to history, as it often does, considering that he also holds a degree in art history.

"Generally my mind goes to history when presented with new problems, just to consider previous solutions, and then determine what has been done, what hasn’t, and what we are capable of doing today. When I starting thinking about this project, as it had to do with showing clothing, my mind immediately went to the portrait by Jan Van Eyck called "The Arnolfini Wedding." This painting was the world’s first ‘complete portrait,’ in that the painting itself contained a convex mirror in the background that allows the viewer to see the front and the back of the couple being presented. So from one viewpoint, using architecture, and reflection, you are able to see fashion in a full 360 degree way. Our design took this idea to its logical extreme, pushing the idea of reflection to where there are literally millions of ways to see the clothing in the space – millions of reflections. Jan Van Eyck would be proud, I think."