Designed by lighting designers Licht Kunst Licht, the installation is a fantastic example of how LED can be used creatively to transform buildings and identify them as distinctive landmarks. Licht Kunst Licht understand lighting design as an integral part of architecture by emphasizing its effect on spatial quality as opposed to stressing the formal lighting fixture design. At night the tailor made content for Uniqa brings the building to life and ensures Uniqa is noticed by everyone in Vienna.
The LED solution comprises of Barco's MiPIX and has been fixed in a special housing which is IP65 certified. There are 2800 sections of MiPIX each of 1.3m long, placed end to end in pairs - making 1400 separate sections each totaling 2.6m long.
Barco was chosen for this project not only for its product design and quality, but also for its ability to complete the installation in just five weeks. The installation posed a range of unique challenges for the Barco team to overcome. No cables were allowed to run into the building from the outside except via the roof. Coupled with the extremely short time scales for the installation, this made for an unusual scenario for the team but one that was overcome to the customer's satisfaction. Barco prides itself on meeting and exceeding customer needs as it did at Uniqa.
The content for the LED is a specially designed video file written for Uniqa by Licht Kunst Licht.
"The UNIQA tower is a new landmark for the city of Vienna. Its distinctive silhouette is an architectural landmark located at the start of the famous Ringstrasse, and it creates a link from Vienna's city centre to the historically important Praterstraße. The unique LED installation supports the expressive architecture of UNIQA headquarters. The conceptive world of pictures with abstract and specific motives brings additional life to glass cladding of UNIQA tower," says Ernst Morgenbesser, project manager UNIQA Tower.
Stephan Paridaen, president of Barco's media and entertainment division says: "This is truly a fantastic and unique installation. The Uniqa building marks the beginning of the latest evolution in LED technology, from video walls to creative architectural visual design."
(Chris Henry)
