72 Sync’d Screens Flow Up And Down On Video Wall At Merck’s Innovation Center

I was banging out a post, singing the praises of a recent video wall job done for a copper company at a trade show, until I noticed a pilot comment on Linkedin that noted what was done was pretty much a clone of a fixed installation in Germany.

Moving parts can present problems for any screen network operator, but far less so when the set-up is indoors – like this visually interesting moving video wall at Merck’s Innovation Center in Darmstadt.

From a post on Art+Com’s website …

Inspiration Wall is an expansive kinetic installation that gives the foyer of the Merck Innovation Center a unique identity. The installation’s processuality, dynamism and reactivity symbolize the interplay of inspiration and innovation.

Processuality is apparently a real word, by the way. Looked it up.

The dynamic interaction between the physical movement of the screens and the virtual movement of the images follows a generative choreography. The screens interact with the moving images and vice versa.

The kinetic installation expands across almost 18 meters of slightly convex wall space and consists of 72 screens arranged in 24 rows of three screens each. These screens move individually on a vertical axis.

The moving images are created procedurally and in real-time within a predefined spectrum. The numerous individual scenes develop from ten different visual worlds and are reformed anew, repeatedly, by different generative elements. The abstract imagery is inspired by four material properties – crystalline, cellular, molecular, and fluid. Four graphic ‘transitions’ create seamless sequences between individual scenes.

The installation also reacts to the movement of visitors and changes its appearance and behaviour over the course of the day. As activity in the foyer increases, the choreography becomes more dynamic. In the evening when there is less activity, the installation is less dynamic. As light levels decrease, the bright screens brighten even more, making the installation in the foyer clearly visible through the building’s glass façade.

The flow of images is also mixed with typographic content: short announcements by the Innovation Center up to a maximum of 140 characters as well as current hashtags from selected Merck Twitter accounts.

Inspiration Wall was commissioned by Henn Architektur and was produced in collaboration with schnellebuntebilder, MKT AG and medienprojekt p2.

Very nice. Much to like about this, and while the motion introduces complications, it is a simple up and down thing that should minimizes issues.

Here’s the separated at birth trade show job that is smaller but very similar. It won an award, which must have set some sets of teeth grinding.