LED Mesh Wall For Public Art Lights Up In Metro Vancouver

August 26, 2020 by Dave Haynes

Via AV Interactive

This is a semi-transparent LED mesh wall wrapping around the corner of a mixed-use tower in in Burnaby, BC, a city in the immediate orbit of Vancouver.

The screen, with a shape very reminiscent of that big Samsung display in Seoul, is very different in that it is there solely to run public artwork, as opposed to brand advertising.

Part of the deal when the development went up a few years ago was a commitment to the developer for public art in the Metrotown area of Burnaby. The development mixes retail, office space and residential.

The project was put in by local integrator ShowTech AVL, and uses Leyard’s Eco-4 LED mesh. One of the attractions, and requirements, was that the mesh had to have sufficient transparency to let in light and allow views from office spaces that are inside this corner of the building.

As you will know if you have been reading 16:9 for a while, the thing with transparent LED mesh is that it can look really great from the outside, and really terrible from the rear end (as in inside the building). Whoever is in those affected offices went from potentially great views of the mountains that surround greater Vancouver, to so-so views obscured by a screen.

I would not be happy if I had an office there and the building managers  said, “Hey, great news! We’re adding this public art screen right outside your desk!”

That said, it looks great from the street!

Here’s a video that shows the project going in, and arguably spends waaaaay too much time showing the install and not enough showing the results.

https://youtu.be/FOPVu_P7DAY

The UK publication AV Interactive has a full report on the project here …