Project Blinkenlights

Glass is not just a means of enclosing a building or home; as the following examples illustrate, it can also be a conduit for personal expression.
German firm Project Blinkenlights is transforming building façades into digital art installations using computer-controlled lamps placed behind darkened windows to create large-scale animated images on glass façades. As part of its most recent Stereoscope installation in Canada, people also were able to play video games on the side of Toronto City Hall using their mobile phones.

Similarly, fellow Germans UrbanScreen Gmbh & Co. create “custom-made virtual skins“ for urban surfaces by projecting digital, large-scale images and messages on building exteriors. The firm points out on its Web site that “every installation’s central starting point is the architecture.”

Too often, the general public sees glass as a simple daylighting solution. That attitude is changing, however, as people encounter glass in unexpected, innovative applications. I encourage you to read our 2009 Crystal Achievement Awards coverage to see how the minds of the glass and architectural design communities continue to produce innovative architecture that inspires not just our industry, but others who look to glass as a vehicle for creative expression.

—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine