national library of belarus

the new national library of belarus was built in 2006 in minsk and revealed itself to be housed in a 23-storey diamond shaped building, each of the 24 panels covered in glass. during the day the surrounding light causes the building to ’sparkle’, at night the library turns into an enormous video screen due to 4646 colour-changing LEDs planted behind the glass. for more technical info go here and watch the clip below for a sample of the night’s lightshow.

2. Electrical Power Station

eletrical power station

in december 2005 the electrabel power station in drogenbos, belgium was given an exterior makeover by magic monkey. 8,032 individually controllable rgb LED pixels’ were added to the cooling tower, each with the ability to change colour up to 30 times per second. the effect is incredible and surely a first on such a structure. if i had to live next to a horrible, belching cooling tower it’d be this one. for more photos and some video of the tower in action, go here.

3. Aurillac multi-purpose Hall

Aurillac multi-purpose Hall

this stunning multi-purpose hall was designed by brisac gonzalez architects and built in 2007 in aurillac, france. throughout the night the upper portion of the building, clad with glass bricks containing fluorescent lights, slowly changes colour. it’s nice to see illumination of this scale done tastefully, although i’m yet to see any video of the lights in action. i could be horribly wrong.

4. Agbar Tower

Agbar Tower

he agbar tower in barcelona, a.k.a. “el supositori” (the suppository), is a phenomenal skyscraper in barcelona that looks like something that’s either just landed or is about to leave. the building’s 4500 LED lights cover the building and each night the lightshow takes place. its architect jean nouvel said of the building, “this is not a tower, a skyscraper, in the american sense. It is a more an emergence, rising singularly in the center of a generally calm city. unlike slender spires and bell towers that typically pierce the horizons of horizontal cities, this tower is a fluid mass that bursts through the ground like a geyser under permanent, calculated pressure”.

5. Uniqa Tower

uniqa tower

vienna’s uniqa tower was transformed. over a period of 5 weeks a whopping 180′000 LEDs were fitted to the building’s exterior by LED specialists barco, the company also responsible for comcast’s ridiculously expensive video wall earlier this year. for a taste of the animations the building has to offer, watch the clip below.

6. Dexia Tower

dexia tower

dexia tower in brussels boasts 150′000 LEDs on its exterior and that in itself is impressive, however it’s the building’s annual light-related events that really wow the crowds. late december 2006 the facade transformed into an interactive display, allowing th public to control the animated lighting via a touchscreen opposite the skyscraper (see video below). earlier this year the building changed colour every evening depnding on the weather forecast for the following day.

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