FLARE is a pneumatic building facade system that consists of a number of tiltable metal shingle bodies.
An infinite array of shingles can be mounted on any building or wall surface in a modular system in multiples of 4×4 FLARE units. Each metal shingle reflects the bright sky or sunlight when in vertical standby position. When the shingle is tilted downwards by a computer controlled pneumatic piston, its face is shaded from the sky light and this way appears as a dark pixel. By reflecting ambient or direct sunlight the individual shingles of the FLARE system act like pixels formed by natural light.
The system is controlled by a computer to form any kind of surface animation. Sensor systems inside and outside the building communicate the buildings activity directly to the FLARE system, which acts as the buildings lateral line. FLARE turns the building facade into a penetrable membrane, breaking with all conventions of the building surface as a static skin.
Exhibitions
2010 MaterialXperience / Rotterdam, NL
2008 Smart spaces / Aarhus, DK
2008 Media Facades Festival / Berlin, DE