A building in Nanjing, China, has become a colorful addition to the city's skyline. The International Youth Culture Centre features an LED system from Philips that has 700,000 nodes and a palette of 16 million colors. Despite this, it reportedly costs less than €114 (US$122) per day to light.
The building was designed by Zaha Hadid, whose design for the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, won last year's London Design Museum's Design of the Year award. Like the Heydar Aliyev Center, the International Youth Culture Centre features Hadid's trademark curved forms, although they are perhaps a little more understated here than elsewhere.
The development, located on the Yangtze River, covers an area of 52,000 sq m (559,700 sq ft) and comprises two towers of 314 m (1,030 ft) and 255 m (840 ft), or 68 floors and 59 floors respectively. The towers house offices, a hotel and a conference center with a concert hall.
The 700,000 nodes used as part of the installation are Philips iColor Flex MX LED units. They are provided as strands of units and said to be flexible in how and where they can be installed. The LED nodes used are also said to be especially energy-efficient, saving up to 60 percent in electricity used compared to normal colored LED lighting.
Philips says that, in this instance, they help to accentuate the fluidity and curves of the International Youth Culture Centre.
In addition to the iColor Flex MX units, Philips Vaya Linear LED lights are installed as means of creating "striking vertical lines" that can be seen running up the buildings. Philips Vaya Flood LED lights, meanwhile, are employed to project into the night sky from the top of the towers, giving the impression of the towers being even taller.
Sources: Zaha Hadid, Philips