We now live in an age in which building facades act as mass media, displaying artistic, social or promotional messages to the public.
The entire face of a structure can change its appearance simply by sending a message from a smartphone through a web application such as Twitter.
German architectural lighting designer Thomas Schielke says, “After sunset, it is artificial lighting that defines the structure of every building. Unlit structures simply ‘sleep’, statically lit ones appear ‘welcoming’, while media facades bring buildings to life by entertaining people.”
Over the past decade these facades have become a widespread feature all over the world. Using traditional illuminated signs to promote products is now considered outdated. Thomas’s office, arclighting, proposes creating a “digital communication” between building owners and citizens, one that would shape the aesthetic by displaying conversations or various kinds of promotional messages.
“The drive to promote products through large signs means that size attracts more interest than the content itself. These signs usually show the same monologues and images, repeated every day in fixed rotations. Few facades pick up signals from their surroundings and turn them into a play of light and shadow that captures people’s interest.” – Thomas Schielke.
The following film is a short version of the lecture “The Semiotics of Media Facades – When buildings start to twitter”, presented at Parsons The New School for Design in New York in 2010.
