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Martin lighting elements project skyward at interactive install

Studio Lux Nova and Marjut Kauppinen has designed an interactive ‘light well’ that has been installed in Lahti’s market square in Finland.

The light well is an array of skyward-facing lights, illuminating as pedestrians step on different sections of the protective glass panel. The installation features technology from a number of manufacturers including Martin Professional lighting elements. Studiotec supplied the Martin VC-Dots for the media surface and the reActor media server.

After developing the initial design, Marjut Kauppinen and Studio Lux Nova brought in Studiotec’s Tapio Järvinen to determine if the idea was possible from a technical standpoint. Following their meeting and a demo session with the VC-Dot 1 fixtures, Järvinen and Kauppinen built a prototype with an 80 x 80cm acrylic frosted surface. This prototype was then successfully presented to the city of Lahti and Lahti Energia, a local company that manages the city’s technical projects, and it was decided that the project should become a reality.

The design of the well is inspired by traditional draw wells found in excavations of the town square. It resembles a water well immersed in a granite platform just above pavement level. When pedestrians walk onto the platform, the well responds by creating white ripples on the surface around the area stepped on.

A downward-angled camera is mounted above the well. The video is then processed by the reActor media server, which generates interactive video content in real-time and passes it on to the VC-Dots via a Martin P3 System Controller. A total of 29 VC-Dot 9s are installed inside the well to display content simulating blue water.

In addition to the light well, four Martin Exterior 400 Image Projectors were placed at the Lahti market square projecting footsteps onto the pavement that direct visitors to the installation. The installation took approximately 24 hours to complete.

“We went for the VC-Dots from Martin Professional because the P3 system setup is so simple to install and control,” said Järvinen. “We’ve used it for several other installations and it’s highly reliable. Furthermore, the VC-Dots and the VC-Feeder met our IP rating demands.“

Picture courtesy of Mitja Prelovsek

Martin lighting and video systems