Is the Media Wall the future of both media and architecture?
A sleek 180,000 sq. foot facade of blue panels rising from the Haidian skyline, the Zero Energy Media Wall is not meant to blend in with today’s architecture. It is instead a preview of what’s to come. Designed by architect-artist-engineer Simone Giostra with a team of German designers and Chinese manufacturers, the wall is composed of thousands of embedded solar-powered LEDs, which together create the world’s largest display of media art.

"Solar power is the most sophisticated energy system available today-the most refined, the most beautiful, the most striking,” enthuses Giostra. “The panel we developed is not a panel you buy and stick to a building, it is integrated into the building."

It isn't just the technology that's new, either. Artists have lined up to debut new LED animation works for the inaugural days of the wall, and Giostra hopes the wall will ride the wave of user-generated content.

"Through sensors, cameras, infrared and other interface systems, people could talk with and react to the facade. This is not a television screen. People don't sit in front of it for hours; They will be walking by it or passing it in a car. They have a very brief moment of perception. In addition, the wall can be seen from a kilometer away. That's what we call ‘urban scale.’"

This melding of art and technology is central to Giostra’s work. "On one end you get great advancement in the solar energy industry in China,” says Giostra. "On the other, you get the first venue for digital media art in Beijing." Giostra is sure the wall's green sustainability will be an integral part of the future. "You hear a lot about sustainability now, but very soon, sustainability will be as conventional as structure or ventilation."

Despite the uncertainties of a world affected by climate change and food crises, Giostra remains optimistic that some things will stay the same. "There's one scene in Star Wars where the heroes go into a bar, with all kind of incredible beings inside, and they've just stepped out of their space ship. But this bar is just as messy and chaotic as your neighborhood bar back home. In twenty years, there will still be that sort of bar in Beijing—the future will be just as chaotic as the present."

Sandra Chen

Details

Zero Energy Media Wall When: Nightly from 7-9pm
Where: 26 Fuxin Road, Haidian
Web: http://www.greenpix.org