An experiment in urban space

Concert Hall Aarhus is the setting for an interactive piece that invites the citizens of the city to be part of a shared experience.

In contrast to billboards, Aarhus by Light is not driven by commercial interests. Rather it is an alternative staging of the encounter between the citizens of Aarhus and a cultural landmark. It is a blend of architecture, ornament, and interactive entertainment.

People experience the facade in a multitude of situations. They may be headed for the Concert Hall or passing by on their way to shopping. Some may cast a quick glance and hurry on, while others will be lured to explore the interactive potentials of the facade.

It has been a challenge to come up with a design that functions with all of these situations in mind. However, we carry out the Aarhus by Light experiment precisely to gain insights into the workings of media facades.

The purpose and partners of the project

The main purpose of Aarhus by Light is to develop interactive media facades as part of inner and outer architectural surfaces. A specific aim is to develop new concepts for interactive media facades in the domains of communications, branding, company and product presentation, entertainment, and digital arts. The project contributes to the development of the large-scale graphics, video and animations. The concepts will take the shape of built prototypes or visualizations.

The blend of partners in the project consortium creates synergies for competencies and actors within the following domains:
- Interaction (CAVI)
- Architecture (BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group)
- Sound and Display Technology (Martin Professional)
- Animation and Content (The Animation Workshop & Wall of Pixels)

Aarhus by Light is part of the research project Mediafacades, which is funded by The Regional ICT Corridor Program. It is also part of the research centre Digital Urban Living, which is funded by The KINO Program within The Danish National Strategic Research Foundation, and by the municipality of Aarhus.