To mark the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall, LED-lit balloons will line the wall’s former span, between Oberbaumbrücke and Bornholm Road, The Creators Project reports.
The balloons will be up for two days and two nights, starting November 7.
The project, named Lichtgrenze (or Border of Light), makes for a colossal art installation that will span 10 miles, dividing Berlin back to East and West. There will be 8,000 LED light-filled balloons, each 11 feet high and with 24-inch-diameter orbs, lining the path.
Researchers at the University of Hannover were asked to help design the balloons to be biodegradable. The material will decompose by natural environment factors such as sunlight, oxygen, and bacteria.
The idea for the installation was conceived by light artist and designer Christopher Bauder and his brother, filmmaker Marc Bauder.
Along key locations of the trail will be 30-foot-tall video screens that will play historical footage of the Wall, which Marc Bauder plans to use to juxtapose divided Berlin with the city today.
On the last day, November 9, at 7 pm—the anniversary of the fall of the Wall—patrons can attach personal notes to the balloons and then discconect them, allowing the helium-filled orbs to float into the Berlin night sky. LEDs integrated into the stands, powered by 60,000 batteries, will illuminate the orbs as they take off.
Stay tuned for more updates of the event at The Creators Project.
Related Stories
Architects | Jan 13, 2016
‘Socially engaged’ architect Alejandro Aravena named 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate
Known for his inventive social housing initiatives in his native Chile, Aravena epitomizes the revival of a more socially engaged architect, the Pritzker jury stated.
Architects | Jan 12, 2016
Dear Architecture: It's time to create a level field for female designers
If architecture took one moment to be introspective, it would discover appalling imbalances between the opportunities for women and men, as Perkins+Will's Vershaé Hite and Brittany Eaker-Kirkland wrote in an open letter.
Great Solutions | Jan 6, 2016
Shepley Bulfinch develops elegant design solution to address behavioral issues in emergency departments
ED scheme allows staff to isolate unruly patients and visitors in a secure area.
Market Data | Jan 5, 2016
Majority of AEC firms saw growth in 2015, remain optimistic for 2016: BD+C survey
By all indications, 2015 was another solid year for U.S. architecture, engineering, and construction firms.
Architects | Jan 5, 2016
Potential vs. credential: How men and women differ in career progress
Recent research suggests that women face yet another career impediment: the confidence gap.
Architects | Dec 17, 2015
Capturing utilization and activity data in the workplace
While utilization is an important metric to inform how frequently a space is used, it’s important to consider activity data.
Architects | Dec 17, 2015
Four winners named in NYC sidewalk shed competition
Firms in the Construction Shed Design Competition made designs that are simple to build and use readily-available materials.
Architects | Dec 16, 2015
Lohan Anderson to close, join Wight & Co.
Dirk Lohan, Floyd Anderson and eight others will be hired by the Illinois-based Wight & Co. next month.
Architects | Dec 16, 2015
Architects create commission for diversity advancement
The 20-member group will assess recent data, set a plan of action, and report on results to the AIA Board of Directors.
Architects | Dec 15, 2015
ULI names Lord Richard Rogers the 2015 J.C. Nichols Prize winner
Rogers, Founder of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, works on projects that “shine a spotlight on the challenges that people in urban areas are facing."