This article was first published in the December 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
In São Paulo, a Brazilian metropolis of 8.5 million vehicles, rush-hour traffic jams can stretch over 160 kilometres. Guto Requena is on a mission to make visible the pollution they create. The Brazilian architect and designer's latest project, Light Creature, is an outer skin for the refurbished Hotel WZ that responds to environmental stimuli.
"The chance to hack an old building and transform it into an interactive, informative urban art piece, was too good to turn down," says Requena, 35.
Located in the Jardins district on the Avenida Rebouças, one of the city's busiest streets, the new 30-storey façade jumps out amid a skyline of grey-white tower blocks. By day it appears serene: wrapped in an urban camouflage of blue, green and gold metal panels. The pattern is derived from a 24-hour recording of the surrounding noise and generated using parametric software.
But by night it comes alive: the skin is fitted with multiple sensors that constantly measure vehicle emissions and noise. This data is translated into an animation, played out using 200 strips of LEDs.
The movement of the lights responds to noise levels, while the changing colours indicate air quality. Passers-by can also download a phone app and interact with the lights through touch and voice, to make a temporary mark on their city.
Next, Requena is working on street furniture that will control another animated building façade, reflecting the emotions of passing pedestrians. This is not just art, he says, but something that should play a crucial role in our cities. "Our opportunity is in experimenting with new technologies in more organic, human ways," he says. "I believe that we are now participating in our final chance to use all the technologies at our disposal to build a better society."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
