Chanel Ginza

• Category
  Media Facade
• Completion
  2004
• Architect
  Peter Marino Architect | NY
• Lighting Designer
  Tanteri + Associates | NY
• Credits
  SGF Associate Inc | NY
• Awards
  IALD special citation for technical integration of facade and aestheric sensitivity to brand image

Transforming the building façade into a giant video wall required more than 700,000 white LEDs from Nichia in 1 ,870 LED tubes embedded within its skin. These tubes create more than 1 8,000 pixels (96 x 1 88) of animation running at 30 frames per second. Custom software developed for the project enabled individual addressing and control of each 20cm. x 20cm. pixel.

The design team, led by Peter Marino + Associates Architects, envisaged a 10-story-high media wall, flashing messages and patterns by means of an LED system. Working with Matthew Tanteri, principal of New York City's Tanteri + Associates, Marino had created boutiques for Chanel around the world, incorporating innovative lighting schemes such as pixilated LED walls. For the Ginza location, Marino hoped to wrap the building in a high-tech version of the fashion house's signature tweed.

The control system is then integrated into the Internet, enabling remote technical support from CreativeLumen, user remote control of system functions, remote software updates and offsite system status updates, fault detection and diagnosis.

The LED system is based on large arrays of low powered LEDs driven by constant current and individually controlled by on board microprocessors. This approached implemented soon after 2000, is the precursor to today's smart LED drivers. The driver technology provides feedback to the control system regarding LED brightness and power consumption. The first implementation of variable and randomized pulse width brightness control in addition to extensive flexibility to support gamma correction and increased contrast.

KiboWorks Stream serial protocol and software technology far exceeds the capacity of DMX and provides the customer with an infrastructure easily maintaned with off the shelf and significally cheaper hardware than DMX.