Posted by KB on May 21, 2012
While all eyes are on Circular Quay for the start of Vivid this week, around the harbour in Darling Quarter, the lights have already been turned on.
Friday May 18 saw the launch of Luminous, the world’s largest permanent interactive light display, which has turned four stories of two buildings into a giant illuminated canvas. It’s the work of lighting guru Bruce Ramus, whose designs have lit up icons like the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne’s Federation Square.
Beyond the dazzling display, it’s the interactive nature of Luminous that’s so exciting. Two touchscreen consoles in front of the buildings allow visitors to influence the colours and shapes they see projected, or even use the buildings as a video screen for games like Pong or Big Snake. And visitors with a real creative streak can design a display online and have it programmed to run at a particular time.
Luminous is also turning a few heads with its innovative approach to power usage. Despite spanning massive 150 metres, the LED lighting only uses as much electricity as five vacuum cleaners, supplied by solar panels on the buildings’ rooves.
Luminous runs Tuesday – Sunday nights from 6:30pm at Darling Quarter, 1-25 Harbour Street, Sydney.
luminous, darling quarter, sydney, bruce ramus