While traditional chandeliers are static objects, the Light Symphony is designed to engage with the public and become an active and animated element within the space. It is comprised of 240 light tubes suspended in space to create a falling volume of red, gold and white light. The overall height is 15 metres, and the scale of the piece feels both natural and appropriate to the cavernous atrium where it is located.

The real magic comes from when members of the public become the ‘conductors’ of the Light Symphony. Standing at a special plinth that is reminiscent of an artist’s easel, the user can orchestrate complex colour movements throughout the Light Symphony by using his hands and arms across a highly innovative LED touch panel. The response is immediate, and the effect clear, fluid and rewarding.

Light Symphony was produced in the UK and installed with the assistance of a local production company. All elements were designed and fabricated bespoke for the project, and a 4-strong Cinimod team were on site for 10 days.

Cinimod Studio’s approach to the project serves as another example of the design teams ambition to deliver projects of beauty and innovative design where the focus on in which the highly complex and technical electronics and control systems are presented in a highly intuitive and natural manner.

We are still preparing our own video edits, but in the meantime some clips can be found on our:  Interview Film,  Making Of Film.

Project Details:

Client:  Sobranie London, Moscow.

Overall Design, including lighting, mechanical and interaction design: Cinimod Studio

Electrical Design: White Wing Logic (London)

On-Site Production team and coordination:  Zeppelin Productions (Moscow)

In the main basement area ripples of light swirl around the club, pulsing hypnotically to the music, and revealing shards of colour within the timber slatted walls.

The Cinimod lighting scheme extends to all areas of the club, including the upstairs bar where warm white light edge lights dramatic panoramic landscape prints. Copper mirror ball pendants were deployed over the main bar counter, providing further warmth to the interior.

Key to the overall design is the integrated sound-to-light control system that provides a gently shifting lighting palette throughout the day and changing to a more dynamic content by night.

The project serves as another example of Cinimod Studio’s versatile approach to lighting design, and the results that can be achieved by making key innovative decisions in the design process.

Located at 5 Garrick Street, the site was once the location of an apple store dating back to the 1860’s. This provided the inspiration for the contemporary design, in which a modern day orchard of trees reach up toward a sky canopy of perpetually animated light, gently pulsing and swaying in the imagined breeze of an idyllic day.

Below this canopy lies the grass lawn, with a white fallen tree branch providing the main seating. Around this branch can be found Shitake Mushroom stools by Marcel Wanders, and the marble topped tables familiar from the previous Snog stores.

The feature ceiling is comprised of thousands of individually controllable LED globes, descending from the glowing ceiling on stainless steel rods set to specific lengths. Similar to other Cinimod Studio projects, these lights and their control systems are bespoke products developed by Cinimod Studio for the application.

Psychedelic visuals graces the white glass wall, adding further to the surrealist atmosphere of a unique store that is already being described as “Alice in Wonderland”.

Project Credits:

Architecture and Lighting Design: Cinimod Studio

Main Contractor: Vivid Interiors

Branding: ICO Design

Digital Lighting Design and Programming: Cinimod Studio

Architectural Lighting: Deltalight

Related:

This forms part of our on-going architectural and lighting design work for Snog, as seen in the Snog Pure Frozen Yogurt Stores at Soho,  South Kensington and Westfield Shopping Centre.

Cinimod developed a concept inspired by Itsu’s butterfly motif which was brought to life as an animated visible sculpture.    The dynamic form is based upon the cinematic motion of a butterfly’s wings as it takes flight.

This was modelled as a continuous sequence in 3D software and then sliced at time intervals to determine the evolving angled shapes which comprise the final artwork.

The illusion of the butterfly’s flight is completed by the bespoke software controlling the colour of each wing, allowing for the illuminated and highly visible ‘fluttering’ of butterflies through the piece.

The final result is a surreal and ephemeral lighting sculpture that provides an adventurous and effective addition to the Itsu store design.

Related Projects:

The Itsu “Butterfly in Flight” is an example of Cinimod Studio’s fascination with the fusion of lighting and architectural materials.  Other examples of such integrated artworks include the Interactive Tableaux and the UFO projects.

Each globe pendant is made of a smooth glass finish similar to the frosted opal glass from Murano, Italy.   The internal light sources are high-performance energy efficient LEDs from CREE.  All electronics are designed by Cinimod Studio, and manufactured bespoke for the application.

All enquiries for chandelier commissions should be addressed to Cinimod Studio at enquiries@cinimodstudio.com

The kiosk layout is comprised of several main elements: the kidney-shaped service island, the long banquette seating, and the tables and stools. The main island is a striking organic form with a continuously undulating surface that is studded with LED ‘dimples’.

The seating area provides a welcome oasis of calm and luxury for visitors to stop and enjoy their Snogs, with a ten metre long banquette giving shelter from the hustle and bustle of other shoppers. The tables are topped with bright Snog flower graphics created by Ico Design, while Marcel Wonder’s shiitake mushroom stools have again been used, contributing to the air of surrealism and serenity already present in the other stores.

The main kiosk structure is fabricated from composite materials selected for their combination of flexibility and durability. A fusion between computer controlled cutting processes and skilled hand carving and finishing allowed Cinimod Studio to achieve a continuously curving organic form.

The dimples are hemispherical depressions carved within the surface, in which LED nodes are located. Each of these lights is individually controllable, creating perpetually changing light patterns that gently swirl around the kiosk.

Cinimod Studio was responsible for the overall design of the kiosk, working with specialist fabricators and suppliers from England, Austria and the Far East. As per many of the studio’s projects, certain components were developed specifically for the project.

The Snog kiosk serves as a strong example of the benefit of the integrated lighting and architectural design that Cinimod Studio strive to bring to each project, and the studio’s ability to deliver the correct mix of technologies to achieve the final physical result.

Project Credits:

Architecture & Lighting: Cinimod Studio

Branding & Graphics: Ico Design

Main Contractor: Alan Nuttall Ltd.

Client: Snog Pure Frozen Yogurt

Related:

The Snog kiosk at Westfield builds upon our on-going architectural and lighting design work for Snog, as seen in the Snog Pure Frozen Yogurt Stores at South Kensington and Soho.

This drawing is actually a “light painting” (a long-exposure photograph) of a full scale mock-up of our bar design that we have created entirely in real 3D space with light. This physical process has allowed us to be both expressive and experimental with the form, and to focus on the fluid and surreal shapes and colours of our design.

In the Surreal Thing we combine sensual architectural curves with extraordinary lighting to really bring the place to life. The bar is laid out as a series of large curved bays, with casual seating areas between. The plan layout is echoed through lighting bays and feature elements that visually link all the key elements. The lighting mood within the space will shift throughout the day, with colour and movements choreographed to the transition from daytime restaurant to the evening bar. This immersive and engaging environment will feel both exciting and relaxing to the guests. Cinimod Studio feel very at ease operating in this realm of integrating physical form and bespoke lighting design.

It is a fundamental belief of the studio that we should design the experience first and then use our best technologies and techniques for making it a reality. While our design may be illustrated through a non-conventional drawing material, light, we also believe it is fully realisable using currently available technologies.

Cinimod Studio have successfully completed their commission by New York artist Peter Coffin for the technical design, build and delivery of a UFO to be used in Coffin’s unique high-altitude public art performance.

This is the second time the UFO has made a public appearance. It first appeared over the city of Gdansk, Poland, in July 2008. Since then it has been significantly upgraded, and for Rio it featured an additional 150kg of bespoke lighting equipment to create an even greater visual impact.

The night time flight over Rio De Janeiro had been extensively publicised in advance, and an estimated 500,000 spectators assembled on the five beaches of Rio to witness the UFO. As the UFO approached, the gathered masses rushed towards the water, screaming and shouting with excitement, amidst a wave of sparkling flash photography.

The overall UFO structure is 7 metres in diameter and manufactured of aluminium for lightness. A massive array of bright and individually controllable Color Kinetics LED nodes have been placed across the structure and are controlled via a Pharos LPX solid state computer. A network of bespoke ‘beacon’ lights, developed for this project by Cinimod Studio and White Wing Logic, encompass the perimeter of the UFO and are responsible for the orbiting sparkle of light around the main UFO structure.

An on board 6 kw generator provides the system power, and the overall UFO can be remotely controlled via SMS messaging. The UFO is flown through the sky, suspended under a helicopter 20 metres above — however, the helicopter itself is never visible during the flight, further adding to the mystique of the UFO.

Ten days of preparation on-site in Rio were undertaken by a Cinimod Studio team of three, comprised of director Dominic Harris, Nick Cheung, and Mike Harrison (of White Wing Logic). Operating from a top secret airport hangar they directed a local team of 15 people on the assembly, pre-flight preparation, and coordination required for the successful UFO flight.

Cinimod Studio already has a reputation for creating innovative lighting and structural designs, but with the UFO project design director Dominic Harris has taken lighting design to new heights. Harris says “we have pushed the envelope on the UFO, and it has required a remarkable fusion of technologies and design disciplines in order to make this happen.”

On the collaborative process Harris says “working with Peter Coffin has been a rewarding experience — his artistic vision for the project has remained clear and ambitious from the start, and he has pushed us to achieve it. The result is a fantastic collaboration between art and technology.”

Additional Video Links On-line:

BBC News,  ITN,  Video Globo (First preview feature), Video Globo (Includes aerial footage from chase copters), RJTV (preview feature before flight), RJTV (Later preview), MSN Video, NECN, EBRU

Project Credits, Sponsors and Organisers

Commissioned and produced by Open Art Projects: A non-profit foundation devoted to contemporary art which produces projects, materialises artistic concepts, organises exhibitions, and pursues publishing activities. www.openartprojects.org

Curator: Kasia Redzisz

Electrical Engineering by White Wing Logic.  www.whitewing.co.uk

Local production by Vianapole. www.vianapole.com.br

Support from the Secretary of Culture of the State Of Rio de Janeiro.

Project Sponsor: Oi (Brazilian phone network). www.novaoi.com.br

Official website (in Portuguese) for the project: www.discovoador.art.br

Cinimod’s design builds upon the brand identity created by ico Design and evolves the strong architectural vision created in the first store SNOG South Kensington, while introducing a different ‘quirk’ in the design: the bubbling ceiling. This lighting feature is comprised of 700 glass globes containing LED lights and presents a new level of visual excitement and public engagement.

Under this effervescent ceiling, a gleaming white counter reaches almost the full length of the store, presenting the assorted fresh and baked Snog toppings within an elegant glass cabinet. Marcel Wander’s Shitake stools have once again been used for the seating, arranged around bespoke tables.  Towards the rear of the store the curved super-pink walls meets the icy-cold glass wall which provides the canvas for seasonal works by guest artists.

Project Credits:

Architecture and Lighting Design: Cinimod Studio

Branding and Graphics: ICO Design

Main Contractor: Vivid Interiors

Digital Lighting Installation: E-Luminate

Architectural Lighting: Deltalight

Feature Lighting: Cinimod Studio (bespoke product)

Related:

This forms part of our on-going architectural and lighting design work for Snog, as seen in the Snog Pure Frozen Yogurt Stores at South Kensington and Westfield Shopping Centre.

‘Beacon’ is a kinetic light installation with a mind of its own. An array of emergency beacon lights interacts with visitors, tracking their movement through the space, creating an immersive and playful experience.

The installation exploits a transfer of technologies from existing industrial products. The beacon lights have had their internal parts replaced with custom hardware, enabling the rotation of the reflector and lamp brightness to be individually controlled. Thermal imaging cameras have been adapted to track the participants’ movement through the space.

‘Beacon’ is orchestrated in real-time by a bespoke control system, which uses tracking information from the cameras to coordinate an interactive and highly responsive behavior.

Credits:

Concept, Design and Production:  Cinimod Studio and Chris O’Shea

Electrical Engineering:  White Wing Logic.  Thermal Imaging: Thermitrack.