symbiosishood << / >> thingswhichnecrose
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Walking on the moon
I was plugged into the shadows of the day, in the death of the sunset, inter canem et lupum*. It was in this state that I arrived in a twilight zone, located to the west of Paris, before reaching the flat horizon of the Atlantic coast, in a spot called Les Andelys.
A scientist of light phenomena, living and working in Les Andelys, had called me a week before. I perceived in his voice both childlike enthusiasm and a fear of the unknown. He was unwilling to discuss his most recent experiments over the phone, insisting instead upon a physical encounter.
From a traffic jam at the exit of Paris, to a "cats and dogs" downpour on the motorway, I arrived late, at the end of the day. As an arrival protocol, the scientist had instructed me to complete the final 200m of my journey on foot. I observed this condition, noting as I walked, the saturation of the air with moisture and the fog of Normandy.
In the car park, at a distance from the site, I noted the waxing of a surreal moon, glowing green in the night sky. Using a simple principle of blur logic, I tried to describe in my mind the unreadable silhouette emerging from the fog. At this point of blurriness, the novel by Edgar Alan Poe, "The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym of Nantucket", came back to me, and specifically the unfinished end:
"March 22nd. The darkness had materially increased, relieved only by the glare of the water thrown back from the white curtain before us… …Hereupon Nu-Nu stirred in the bottom of the boat; but upon touching him we found his spirit departed. And now we rushed into the embraces of the cataract, where a chasm threw itself open to receive us. But there arose in our pathway a shrouded human figure, very far larger in its proportions than any dweller among men. And the hue of the skin of the figure was of the perfect whiteness of the snow…
In Les Andelys, this silhouette could be perceived as an afterglow sensation, as a phosphorescence of the death of daylight. In front of me I perceived a multitude of bright curves, reminiscent of long-exposure photography that transforms the stars in the night sky into staggered white threads.
As I approached, these linear fireflies became a multitude of sophisticated hybrid glass components, populating the surfaces of the building like the photosynthetic derma of a plant. Wrapped by the glowing lines of the entrance, the scientist was waiting for me with a worrying, endless black corridor – a "Lost Highway" of David Lynch – at his back. He invited me to penetrate into the layered darkness, but with a mischievous air suggested that I should go first into the darkness, into the unknown…
The phosphorescence gradually decreased and become a lost sensation on my back. I was cautiously absorbed by the interior night, my perception switched off; the blackness became a tangible substance through which slowly, by incremental steps, some fictional twisted vision of the moon, through a deformed lens, real and unreal, reappeared as a visual whispering. I was not so astonished by my new ability to distinguish details in the dark, but was surprised that the dimmable adaptability of my metabolism had become the subject of the experiment. The multiple reflections of the moon rippling on all the boundaries of the space helped me to tame the night. Just to reassure you, I was still human, without the hairiness of a werewolf…
Traversing the nadir of the darkened space, we progressed towards the "circadian onion" where the darkened light conditions graduated incrementally towards an inverse condition of artificial light. At the boundary of this stratification, I arrived at the brilliant immersion zone, bathing in pure luminescent space, where the light seemed to come directly from any surface, without bulb or point source, just light as a material - as a pure substance.
I observed, almost imperceptibly, the altering state of my own physiology, as a kind of "awakening" sensation flooding my bloodstream. In this luminous atmosphere, I understood that its inhabitants functioned as vectors of the experiment, and some of them attempted to explain to me about a physiological sleeping inhibitor, activated when light encounters a natural sensor in your eyes… Without clearly understanding the scenario, I realised that many of the light room's inhabitants had begun their light experiment one month prior and why they whispered to me the name of this space like a secret: "The No-Sleeping Room" where, in the intensity of the whiteness of the organic electroluminescence, several time per day "a figure's skin appeared, and it was as the perfect whiteness of the snow…"
* between dog and wolf = twilight
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R&Sie(n)/ Zumtobel 2009
Francois Roche
Stéphanie Lavaux
Toshikatsu Kiuchi
With
Sandra Meireis
Ulrike Marie Steen
Hamish Rhodes
Sina Momtaz
ACT, Light engineer
Benoit Lalloz
Glass craft man
Pedro Veloso
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- The building "that never dies"
Preamble
The building "that never dies" is the elements that make up the future Thorn Academy of Light at Les Andelys, a training and research center for Thorn employees and customers.
As a laboratory and Academy of Light, this elements generate "knowledge and know how" through experimentation with light, as well as enabling the perfect presentation of the Thorn portfolio in its diverse fields of application. The first Thorn Academy of Light (TAL) was opened this year in Spennymoor, near Newcastle, UK and both new academies will be dedicated to testing and visualising the evolution of innovation in artificial light.
The building "that never dies"
This laboratory is linked to human, environmental and astronomical aspects:
- to human physiological aspects by studies of the minimum perception of light and adaptation to darkness, and of how, conversely, bright light intensity affects our metabolism. One key aspect here is dynamic light management with the ability to adapt the intensity and colour of the artificial light to the ever-changing natural lighting conditions throughout the day and night;
- to environmental aspects by a strategy of hyper-localizing the building through its ability to collect and reproduce the power of the sun in an afterglow effect;
- to astronomical aspects by creating a correspondence between the location of the building and its celestial position.
The development of this observatory of n[l]ight takes account of the movement of the Earth in the celestial sphere. Its geometry is derived from several parameters:
- its local positioning on the Les Andelys site;
- the Coriolis force acting on the four cardinal points of the location leads to the vortex-shaped design of the observatory, also taking account of the angular orientation of the earth;
- the latitude and longitude of the spherical "vault of heaven".
The building "that never dies" is dedicated both to the moon – the "aster of the night" – by tracking its position through the rotation of the building itself, and to the sun by collecting energy with phosphorescent pigments and photovoltaic cells. The afterglow will be directly influenced by the seasonal and daily intensity of the sun, and by the surfaces "touched" directly by its rays. As a result, the "glowing membrane" will be in an ongoing state of flux, day after day, night after night.
This photon energy is given off again during the twilight hours and after sunset, to create an After Death Experiment (ADE) effect, in the form of an altered state of perception in the hours of darkness.
In this way, the building is affected by the two main natural sources of light: direct light from the sun, and reflected light from the moon.
Rotation
This observatory of the n[l]ight rotates to follow the moon.
Like any basic observatory system, its movement is along two axes:
1) the ground disk on the XY axis tracks the longitude;
2) the moon cone (as in a telescope) in the building adjusts the latitude in the plane XZ.
This observatory tracks the moon by day and by night, no matter if the sky is cloudy or not. When the moon is outside the cone of visibility, the building simply waits at the position where it will next reappear.
Sunset afterglow
As a laboratory, the Thorn Academy of Light "resists" the darkness of the night through the multitude of glowing lines embedded in its outer surface. The development of the green phosphorescent outdoor appearance is a direct reference to the "streaking" effect produced when the night sky is photographed with long time-exposure settings.
The duration of afterglow could be extended throughout the night from dusk to dawn by altering the chemical composition of the pigments in the components. To prevent the cold hindering performance in the winter, photovoltaic cells are plugged into the components to warm them (alternatively, this can be achieved by using infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs), or silver wire resistors printed on the glass). Obviously the power of the afterglow effect will depend on the season and the intensity of the sun's rays.
Components
The glowing components include:
- a glass mould matrix
- phosphorescent pigments
- photovoltaic cells.
The components are distributed over 160 m² of outer surfaces at around seven per m², making a total of 1,200 units. The total surface area of PV cells embedded in the components is approximately 100 m². They produce 15,000 kWh per annum.
Physiologial studies
1) Adaptation to Darkness
Inside, the laboratory of n[l]ight enables experiments to be conducted into the eye's adaptation to darkness. In a dark tunnel, a glow of the intensity of moonlight (0.5 lx) is given off, providing a space in which to test the physiological minimum perceptible intensity of light, and the amount of time required to perceive an environment under those lighting conditions.
For the purpose of tests, by day the power of the sun (120,000 - 50,000 lx) can be filtered, reduced and even "switched off". By night the power of moonlight (0.5 lx) can be artificially increased.
In this way, the level of urban light intensity can be adapted to the human physiology, and the level of luminous flux reduced to decrease night-time light pollution.
The gap of light intensity between the dark adaptation phenomena and the minimum psychological level for a sensation of safety and orientation, which depends on many factors such as light quality or age-dependent personal vision, will be the main field of research in this tunnel laboratory. Specifically, tests will be conducted on the three levels that characterise visual perception: photopic, mesopic and scotopic vision.
Photopic vision occurs at high light levels and is characterised by 1) cone photoreceptors, 2) low light sensitivity, 3) high acuity and 4) color vision. Scotopic vision occurs at very low light levels and exhibits 1) use of rod photoreceptors, 2) high light sensitivity, 3) poor acuity and 4) no color vision. Mesopic vision is an interface between the two (see the "Definitions" section for more details).
This gradation of light to test its physiological perception is achieved through specific lenses and filters positioned on the porous interface zones of the building (hole-of-light penetration). These interface zones between indoor and outdoor could be used to occlude or intensify the outdoor light (perhaps by dynamic gradation).
2) OLEDs + the circadian cycle
The indoor light strategy was developed around a layered "onion" concept, in which the dark tunnel transitions, incrementally, to full artificial lightness. From the dark core tunnel of the building to the bright periphery, the lighting gradient transitions from 0.5 lx to 5,000 lx.
This project is designed to integrate the OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) research of the Zumtobel Group at Durham University and the dimmable potential of OLEDs to control a light intensity range of 0.5 lx (moon) to 5,000 lx at 460 nm. This high intensity is bright enough to stop production of the hormone melatonin and influence the physiological circadian cycle.
Note: With the circadian rhythm in full swing, bright light will suppress melatonin production at night quite rapidly, while creating dark conditions in the daytime will not lead to production of the hormone.
This academy and laboratory of light will provide the opportunity to test the effects of light on the eye's adaptation to darkness and on melatonin cycles, as well as studying the physiological and psychological impacts of light. It will also permit studies of light intensity adaptation, using light sensors to create dynamic relationships and interdependencies between indoor and outdoor conditions. And it will allow tests to be conducted to identify the optimal levels and criteria of lighting with the lowest impact on energy and highest impact on night-time visibility.
Transition Sequences
The new building will also facilitate studies of transition sequences:
- transition sequences by day: from natural outdoor light to artificial night (tunnel), to artificial daylight produced by bright OLEDs located on the indoor periphery of the building;
- transition sequences by night: from natural outdoor darkness with afterglow appearance, to indoor night in the darkness of the tunnel, to artificial daylight produced by bright OLEDs located on the indoor periphery of the building.
Surfaces and indoor layout
The indoor ground disc area is dedicated to experimentation concerning the relationship between moonlight and eye adaptation to darkened environments,
and the relationship between dimmable OLED artificial light and melatonin-based physiological effects. It also provides the setting for presentation of the Thorn indoor lighting portfolio, in the different application areas
This space is crossed by dimmable natural light (from the entrance, the moon cone, the far end of the tunnel and the top of the restaurant). All this penetration of light can be cut, filtered or totally open (by day or by night)
The courtyard is dedicated to teaching and simulation, with natural daylight in the training room.
The bar area and upper tunnel form a meeting point and welcome area for customers and employees in a stimulating lighting environment.
UPSTAIRS
Dark tunnel / 55 m²
Upper tunnel / 20 m²
Entrance / 15 m²
Event room / 40 m² (incl. 12 m² of kitchen)
Bar / 30 m² (incl. 10 m² of service area)
Stairs / 10 m²
Closet / 7 m²
Total 1: 177 m²
DOWNSTAIRS
Academy office / 35 m²
Training room / 80 m²
Meeting room / 115 m²
Simulation room / 40 m²
Workshop room / 35 m²
Restroom + utilities / 40 m²
Mechanical room / 25 m²
Courtyard / 100 m²
Total 2: 470 m²
Total 1+2: = 647 m²
Other parameters
- glass components
à 1,200 units
à dimension 90x15 cm
à covering an area of 160 m²
à containing 100m² photovoltaic (PV) cells
Using three types of component, depending on curvature.
- melatonin layers
à 300 m² interior OLED surface
à 60 m² PV cells within glass component
Calculation of energy equilibrium
The observatory building is unplugged where the OLEDs (indoor) or the infra-red LEDs (phosphorescence) are concerned. The remaining power requirements will be met by PV cells on the roof of the existing Thorn production plant.
- PV cells: 100 m² surface area within the glass component, for production of 15,000 kWh per year.
- OLEDs: need 5 mA/cm² of energy to produce 5,000 lm/m² at 40 lm/W (the output required to affect the melatonin cycle). With silicium solar cells, we could obtain 50 mA/cm², thus 0.1m² of PV output = 1 m² of OLED lighting. For 300 m² of OLEDs (indoor light surface), we need 60 m² of PV cells (5,000 lm/m² at 460 nm are equal to 10,000 lm/m² for daylight fluorescence).
- Heating of components: We could use the other 70 percent of the 100 m² of PV cells for low-level heating of the outdoor glass components = 6,000 kWh per year. The power consumption of one LED (for 1/10 of the time per year) = 200 Wh per year. Thus we could integrate (6,000,000:200):1,200 units = 25 LEDs per component (the energy will be stored).
This minimal heating by infrared LEDs would be used to offset the effect of cold temperatures, which can neutralise the phosphorescence. It could be used in the autumn and springtime, and sometimes in winter, when temperatures are not below zero centigrade.
Materials used in the first project
- Glass (components and indoor tunnel)
- OLEDs (organic LEDs)
- Steel hyper-structure (with welded PVC waterproofing)
- Concrete infrastructure
- Bio-plastic layer supporting OLED surfaces
- Asphalt indoor floor (and asphalt stairs)