Audio-visual installation Echelon is an urban forest of 27,000 luminous LED points that flash in sync with an accompanying soundscape in St. Giles Square at Centre Point until April 14 2020. Futurecity was commissioned by Almacantar, the development company behind the rejuvenation of Centre Point’s iconic brutalist building, to curate the artwork.
Audiences are encouraged to move through the artwork in order to maximise their experience. The installation awakens from its dormant state whenever movement is detected. It brightens and activates in response to the flow of people with the help of three radars symmetrically placed around the installation.
Echelon is the first in a series of cultural works that will be installed in 2020 as part of Centre Point’s activation programme. It follows the siting of Whippet Good by Delve Architects and City Blocks by Astrain Studio, two award-winning designs originally commissioned for the London Festival of Architecture, which were curated by Futurecity for the square in 2019. St Giles Square also plays host to the all-day dining destination Arcade Food Theatre, which houses Marco Brambilla’s Nude Descending a Staircase No.3.
Sherry Dobbin, Partner at Futurecity, says: “Echelon complements Centre Point’s existing iconic architecture and playful artworks by Cerith Wyn Evans and Marco Brambilla, and is perfectly aligned with the asymmetry of the square. We chose Vertigo for their sophisticated ability to create a surprising forest at the centre of London’s major exchange of visitors, residents and commuters.”
Kathrin Hersel, Property Director – Almacantar, says: “We wanted to collaborate with world-class artists on our activations at Centre Point which is why we commissioned Echelon by Vertigo. St Giles Square is a rare oasis of space for central London which needs to reflect the way Londoners live. Aside from looking beautiful in the winter light, Echelon allows visitors to create their own experience using light and sound and invites us to take time out of our busy lives to change direction and look up.”
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5 Futurecity Digital Art Commissions sited in London locations:
Transitions by Michal Rovner (Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf)
Illuminated River by Leo Villareal (15 bridges on the River Thames)
Message from the Unseen World by UVA (Paddington Central)
Self & Other (for the Albert Embankment) by Random International (Albert Embankment)
Razzle Dazzle Boogie Woogie by Phil Coy (Lewisham, London)