MODE Architectural recently deployed Martin by HARMAN LED fixtures and video
processors to create a unique and highly interactive lighting installation in the
atrium of the Nine Two Nine Office Tower in Bellevue, Washington. The piece is
composed of intersecting LED strips that light up and create patterns in response to
real-time traffic and weather data, as well as physical movement within the atrium
itself. Designers Bob Bonniol and Pablo Molina selected Martin products for their
exceptional reliability, efficiency and world-class technical support.
“The atrium functions as a meeting place for people, with a lot of intersecting and
crossing lines,’ said Bonniol. “If you look at the navigation charts for airplanes or
ships, you’ll see lots of “ley lines’, which are the lines of travel between waypoints.
Places where ley lines intersect tend to be very powerful places, like Chicago or
Hong Kong. I wanted to create an installation for the atrium that could reflect that
idea, and I instantly began to think about using Martin’s creative LED products to
create intersecting lines of pixels on the wall. We thought it would be a very
exciting and interesting piece to look at.’
MODE created the piece using custom configurations of several Martin LED products,
including dozens of VC-Strip LED video strips cut to custom lengths, a P3 PowerPort
1500 power and data processor with custom coding, and a P3-200 System Controller
that enables DVI and SDI signals to be mapped onto the VC-Strips. Lighting systems
integrator 4Wall Entertainment collaborated with Martin to manufacture custom
extrusions to house the video strips, as well as a custom frosted front filter that
makes the light softer and more expressive.
The piece is a permanent installation and is designed to operate continuously for a
minimum of 10 years, so reliability was key. The building was also constructed
using stringent green environmental standards, so the piece needed to be incredibly
energy efficient to maintain its LEED gold building certification.
The sculpture uses the sensing system from Google’s autonomous cars to track
people and objects moving through the atrium. The sensing system inputs data to a
bespoke system that was created by MODE, which then feeds accurately mapped
content to the Martin processor. The system also collects traffic data from the
Department of Transportation and weather data from the National Weather Surface.
The content on the video strips moves faster when traffic is heavy, and changes
direction depending on the wind.
Implementing such an ambitious and innovative design required close collaboration
between MODE Architectural and the HARMAN Professional solutions team, who
travelled to the site to help with coding and programming the system.
