Archinect - News

Mies' Farnsworth House to be awash in gridded lasers for this year's Chicago Architecture Biennial

2019-06-18T13:55:00-04:00

In conjunction with the upcoming Chicago Architecture Biennial, Iker Gil and Luftwerk will present their collaborative light and sound installation at Mies van Der Rohe's Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois. Titled 'Geometry of Light,' the installation will cast red lasers onto the elements of the building to emphasize its openness while tracing its underlying geometric principles. Gil and Luftwerk recently unveiled a preview of the installation:

Amazing turnout last night for our Chicagoland Art + Design Community preview of "Geometry of Light", the @_luftwerk and Iker Gil collaboration that will be co-presented by @MiesGlassHouse and @MASContext October 11-13, 2019. Tickets at https://t.co/VVVyQ92CrL #geometryoflight pic.twitter.com/mX3mjdp6Ol
— Farnsworth House (@MiesGlassHouse) June 15, 2019 Scenes from the @_luftwerk @MASContext Geometry of Light preview at the @MiesGlassHouse last weekend. Check out the real deal Oct. 11-13 pic.twitter.com/NOuxEwEGJR
— Zach Mortice (@zachmortic...

VIDEO: Luftwerk's INsite performance at the Farnsworth House

2014-12-02T14:24:00-05:00

INsite by Chicago-based Luftwerk put Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House in the public eye yet again this past October in Plano, Illinois. Spectators got to see the Miesian landmark transformed into a structure of light and sound through site-specific digital video projections directed by Liviu Pasare and original music compositions by Owen Clayton Condon.

Check out the performance in the video below.

Previously: INsite by Luftwerk turns Mies' Farnsworth House inside-out with light and sound

Luftwerk's FLOW/Im Fluss to illuminate Chicago's Couch Place alley with screens made of water

2014-09-11T17:06:00-04:00

Crafty space manipulator Luftwerk will showcase FLOW/Im Fluss, a nightly light and water installation at Chicago's Couch Place alley on September 17-20 from 5 p.m. to midnight. Luftwerk, the Chicago-based collaborative established by Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, is best known for their signature medium of site-specific light and projected video installations.

Presented by the Chicago Loop Alliance, the Goethe-Institute Chicago, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Luftwerk's FLOW/Im Fluss celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Sister Cities Chicago and Hamburg. As a nod to each city's river locations, the installation visualizes the characteristics of the Chicago River and Hamburg's River Elbe through video compositions that will be projected on "screens" made of water.

Having lived in both cities, Luftwerk is based on the encompassing, connective nature of water in FLOW as people gather to get a closer look at the flow of data readings collected from both rivers. Adding sound ...

INsite by Luftwerk turns Mies' Farnsworth House inside-out with light and sound

2014-05-15T13:23:00-04:00

Whether you're a diehard Miesian fan or could care less about the modernist architecture canon, we've heard of ol' Farnsworth time and time again since its completion in 1951 in Plano, Illinois. But Chicago-based artists Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero of Luftwerk want the public to see the historic Farnsworth House in a whole new light — literally — with their digital installation project called INsite.

INsite highlights the house's characteristic clean lines through site-specific digital video projections and original music compositions, thus rendering it into a new structure of light, sound, and space. In addition to recent preservation efforts to protect the Farnsworth from more floodwater damage in the future, INsite could help revive public interest in an eye-catching way that is suitable for these tech-friendly times.

Illuminating modern architecture landmarks is nothing new for Gallero and Bachmaier, who have collaborated with video designer and programmer Liviu Pasare and co...