Visiwall facade system, shown applied as a retrofit to a historic building.
Visiwall is an OLED cladding system that transforms the communicative potential of the architectural facade.
One of the most significant advances in lighting and display applications is the development of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, which consists of emissive electroluminescent film on a planar substrate. OLEDs are used for both solid state lighting as well as monitors and mobile electronic device screens, and have been developed more recently as illuminating window films in vehicles and buildings.
Precedent: Osram’s Orbeos shows OLED panels in architectural facade applications. Image courtesy of Siemens.
Precedent: LG’s flexible OLED display for mobile electronics indicates a promising future for low-energy display panels. Photo courtesy of LG.
The Visiwall system incorporates OLED films within a seamless panel system for architectural facade applications. Visiwall has near-borderless joints, making it suitable for tiling images over expansive areas. Moreover, panel sizes may easily be customized for application on existing buildings.
Visiwall combines the lighting and display potential of OLEDs with the functionality of environmental signage, thus blurring the boundaries between architectural cladding, electric lighting, video screens, billboards, and way-finding. Discrete cameras and sensors may be included within the system, enabling interactivity with a building’s surroundings—such as mirroring, time-lapse functionality, or environmental monitoring. In this way, Visiwall brings both augmented reality and hyperreality to the scale of buildings—thus redefining the nature of architectural cladding.
Visiwall can be used to set a building apart from its context.
Alternatively, Visiwall can help a building blend with its context. Shown above, embedded cameras enable the simulation of a mirror effect.
Visiwall shown used as a visual time capsule to display delayed imagery.
Challenges:
- must be carefully curated to avoid visual chaos
- requires an elaborate electrical distribution system
Benefits:
- broadens possibilities for architectural expression
- integrates multiple forms of media: architecture, lighting, environmental graphic design, and engineering
- enables augmented reality at the scale of buildings