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Beyond the shaping and syncing
of the 1,000 faces to the fountain and its nozzle, the physical
requirement of the LED (light
emitting diode) display required a lot of coordination.
Composed of long-life red, green, and blue bulbs and the requisite
circuitry, three major factors influenced the design of the
LED wall: their support, their
heat build-up, and their legibility from outside. Rather than
supporting the LED wall like the exterior, as a 50' tall wall,
the architects broke the wall down into a more manageable
scale and size, noticeable from the exterior as subtle horizontal
bands. So along the 50' height, the LED equipment is supported
every few feet, not just at the bottom. To deal with the heat
generated by the lights and computers, fans at the base of
the fountain cool the air, the tower acting like a chimney
that ventilates the air out the top. Finally, the architects
tested the LED lights with
mock-ups to determine the distance they need to be from the
glass for legibility, eventually determined at two inches.
Though relatively small and focused, the fountain is a complex
project that one appreciates more given its short 18-month
timeframe for development and construction. Although typically
credited to Plesna, it's evidently a complex project that
required many specialized parties
to achieve the intended effect. |
