Archinect - News

The New Yorker dissects the immersive potential of Sphere and City

2023-11-14T08:00:00-05:00

The differences between “City” and the Sphere are deep, true, yet narrower than you might suppose—the works are trying for the same things but in opposite ways. Both are big, expensive, geometric structures in the desert that offer visitors a vivid encounter with the natural world—one with exquisite footage of jellyfish and the like, the other with deftly roughened rock and concrete.

The New Yorker’s art critic Jackson Arn takes on two of the most recent (and spectacular) cultural offerings of the Silver State — "One with a deluge of images and the other with a tantalizing lack of them," as he writes.

Related on Archinect: Take a look at photos of Michael Heizer's 'City' ahead of its debut (45°, 90°, 180°, City. © Michael Heizer. Courtesy Triple Aught Foundation. Photo: Joe Rome)

Refik Anadol previews new AI data sculpture installation for Las Vegas Sphere

2023-08-31T17:54:00-04:00

A new AI Data Sculpture installation from Refik Anadol has been unveiled ahead of its public premiere tomorrow, September 1st, at the newly-complete Sphere entertainment venue in Las Vegas.

The sculpture utilizes the structure’s Exosphere, a digital canvas covering that can be programmed to display content thanks to its world-leading array of 1.2 million different LED ‘pucks’ which are spaced 8 inches apart to form an almost 580,000-square-foot display.

Anadol says: “It’s so exciting to be given such an architectural and engineering marvel as a canvas. This opportunity aligns perfectly with our studio’s long-term mission of embedding media arts into architecture to create living architectural pieces that are in constant interaction with their environments.”

Rendering courtesy Refik Anadol Studio

The latest in his Machine Hallucinations series will offer viewers a meditative and elaborate multisensory experience based on accumulated local atmospheric data that are consolidated and th...

The Garden of Eden is reimagined with Pamela Tan's ethereal installation

2019-01-22T10:38:00-05:00

Generally depicted as a place filled with lush greenery surrounded by life and abundance, The Garden of Eden is referenced in literature, film, and design. In religious texts, those familiar with the book of Genesis read about Eden and its detailed reference to "Paradise." A place filled with trees bearing the fruits of the earth, Eden also happens to be the place where the serpent tempts Adam and Eve. However, despite its common visual representation architectural designer Pamela Tan used her multidisciplinary background to approach Eden's vision with a different perspective. Tan's project, Eden, is a vision in white. The public installation set to be a permanent exhibition in a Malaysian retail center reflects an ethereal heavenly approach.

Eden designed by Pamela Tan. Photography by David Yeow

The Crystal Palace, 1851. © wikiarquitectura.com

At first glance, the immersive installation embodies shapes forms reminiscent of modern architectural designs. However, upon closer examinati...

Hyper-Reality: Artist envisions our near-future existence submerged in augmented reality

2016-05-26T15:05:00-04:00

Hyper-Reality is a concept film by Keiichi Matsuda. It presents a provocative and kaleidoscopic new vision of the future, where physical and virtual realities have merged, and the city is saturated in media.

"Our physical and virtual realities are becoming increasingly intertwined. Technologies such as VR, augmented reality, wearables, and the internet of things are pointing to a world where technology will envelop every aspect of our lives. It will be the glue between every interaction and experience, offering amazing possibilities, while also controlling the way we understand the world. Hyper-Reality attempts to explore this exciting but dangerous trajectory. It was crowdfunded, and shot on location in Medellín, Colombia."

Here are some stills from artist Keiichi Matsuda's HYPER-REALITY concept film, a fascinating (and slightly disturbing) vision of the near future of the city, of the media, of ourselves, and the blurred sense of 'reality.'

Watch the video below to dive right in.

NBBJ is launching its own VR platform with the help of ex-Microsoft entrepreneurs

2016-04-28T18:22:00-04:00

NBBJ and Visual Vocal will leverage current-generation VR and augmented reality (AR) systems, with a near-term focus on mobile VR platforms for optimal accessibility and scale. While a number of firms in the design industry have examined the promise of VR, this partnership marks the first instance of an established design firm incubating a VR startup inside its own offices and developing new tools to improve decision-making and remove waste from the design process.

"Towards Biology" tells the metaphysical tale of Ricardo Bofill's La Fábrica

2014-11-14T15:51:00-05:00

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura collaborated with Onionlab from Barcelona to create a video-audio installation titled "Towards Biology" as part of the "Time Space Existence" exhibition at the soon-to-conclude Venice Biennale 2014 in Italy.

The exhibition explores going beyond the physical existence of La Fábrica -- the repurposed cement factory in Barcelona that has served as the Taller de Arquitectura's creative headquarters and Ricardo Bofill's private residence since the mid-1970s -- and reimagines it in different contexts, specifically in Venice.

In "Towards Biology", the rotunda-shaped screen draws in viewers to listen and watch a poetic narrative about La Fábrica, which symbolizes the fundamentals of Taller de Arquitectura and the firm's approaches to architecture.

Scroll further down to watch the installation in English or Italian.

Project credits:

Produced by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura and Onionlab
Technical direction: Onionlab
Technical Engineering: Lloc Audiovisu...