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Good Practices

Design Challenges

Based on Dalsgaard & Halskov (2010)14, there are eight challenges for urban media façade design such as:

  1. New interfaces: urban setting prompts new forms of interfaces or alternative assemblies and uses of existing ones
  2. Integration into physical structures and surroundings: New installations and systems must be integrated into existing physical surroundings.
  3. Increased demands for robustness and stability: Shifting light and weather conditions over which designers often have little or no influence must be taken into account.
  4. Developing content to suit the medium: The content has to fit the format of the display and the kinds of interaction intended to be supported.
  5. Aligning stakeholders and balancing interests: Exploring, negotiating, transforming, and balancing stakeholder interests can be critical to the success of a system.
  6. Diversity of situations: A very wide variety of situations occur and overlap in the city – how does the media façade fit into the assemblage of situations in a given location?
  7. Transforming social relations: The introduction of new technologies can cause disruptions and transform social relations and protocols.
  8. Emerging and unforeseen use of places and systems: Media façades will likely be used, perceived and appropriated in different ways than designers intend.

Media Facades Solutions

According to Traxon Technologies (2016)12, there are media façade solutions applicable to either simple or elaborate design requirements. Most urban architectural façade concepts are no longer limited to single layers of application and are now multi-layered, which elevates the façade with depths and textures. Traxon Technologies (2016)12 reports that it is now possible to create a sophisticated, fully integrated solution to fulfill multiple display needs that account for multiple viewing perspectives and distances while ensuring visual uniformity across all areas.

Traxon Technologies (2016)12 offers solutions to the following design specifications for media facades such as:

  • Multiple display needs – specifies the cladding of larger areas of the façade in dynamic light patterns that can be seen from afar while only displaying higher resolution media content in a particular zone for more precise communications catering to those viewing it up close.
  • Embellish with simple elegance – pertains to the need to add a media canvas to the front of a building currently in use without redesigning or rebuilding the existing façade. The solution is to configure the media layer with String RBG, which can be flexibly mounted with clips directly on the surface or mounted on a DIN rail. Alternatively, use Mesh RBG which features an acrylic grid system that allows graphics, text, and video animations to be displayed across a 70% transparent, durable structure.
  • Captivating exterior with superb resolution – relates to the need to showcase premium products or branding in ultra-sharp resolution to create intrigue right from the first glimpse. The solution is to add a High-Resolution Media System to the existing building façade. This will offer crisp imaging and ensure that even finely detailed images are vibrant and sharp. Viewing distance, brightness levels and the content you intend to project are the key parameters in determining the most suitable screen. If spectators will be standing close to the screen, and it requires the image or video details to be highly visible and vibrantly depicted, a media screen offering denser pixel alignment and true-to-life colour should be chosen to deliver the desired premium image quality. If the screen is also required to function in daytime, it should offer high brightness to ensure superior visibility.
  • An intricate Screen on a Giant Scale – concerns with the need to configure a large-scale media screen over an existing façade that features intricate architectural details and surfaces. The solution is to incorporate an array of  Media Tubes where the architectural design concept requires the media display to be expressed in ribbons of light or graphical content. Outline the desired media scenarios with individually addressable Dot XL when a high degree of flexibility in terms of pixel pitch and fixture positioning is demanded in order to fit unusual surfaces or contours.
  • Intelligent Hybrids – in regards to seeking a holistic architectural concept, that comprises multiple layers of lights and media; or considering multiple media screens positioned on different areas of a façade or across different façades of a structure. The solution is to develop a cost-efficient, hybrid solution that combines direct and indirect lighting techniques or integrates several media solutions or varied image resolutions in different parts while still achieving overall cohesion.