Thermography and Infrared Measuring Create a Vibrant Data Visualization to Light Up the Night
Public installations add a welcoming and interactive presence within spaces. Interactive design studio LeuWebb Projects created a vibrant light installation that enables visitors to dictate the structure’s exterior appearance using thermal readings. Built along Toronto’s Fort York Visitor Centre, the 3-D experiential installation reads off body heat and transfers those infrared measurements into light.
As one walks through and around the center’s ramp, the installation creates a visual “dialogue” between the visitor and the site. The studio’s founders Christine Leu and Alan Webb, share in their project description, “our bodies are vessels of energy, containers of both fire and water. We’re constantly undergoing renewal and death at the cellular level as the fire of life consumes and is tempered by liquid flowing through us. Thermally Speaking” is a translation of the radiant energy…” With this in mind, the installation is a literal translation of responsive data visualizations.
LeuWebb Projects collaborated with Mulvey Banana Lighting to produce a project in conjunction with the CITYLights Toronto initiative. The long, rectangular like structure emits its light from a semi-translucent facade that uses thermal imaging cameras to collect and display heat energy from visitors passing through. Responsive site-specific installations, like Thermally Speaking, provide the public with a chance to interact with the built environment in a whole new way. Energy is all around us, and data-driven design offers architects and designers with new ways for data to be translated across multiple mediums, even biological ones.
