Interactive architecture is already here but it’s about to get a whole lot bigger and a lot more exciting!
Whilst LED inspired building facades are not new, for instance the Allianz Arena, home to Bayern Munich football club, was probably the first of Interactive Stadium Facades to jump out at us and show us the power of Interactive Membrane Architecture; however, it just showed us the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the possibilities in which tensile membrane facades can be used to enhance the building and its users experience. With more a creative and technical use of tensile membrane facades in the offing, architects, together with Stadium and Arena owners, are now looking to embrace the interactive nature which this form of architecture can provide.
Stadium Media Membrane Facades
With stadiums and arenas needing to maximise their return on investment ‘lets face it running a stadium or arena isn’t exactly a cheap thing to do these days’, Stadium Media Membrane Facades are being focused on as a potential additional income for the club or venue. The two main approaches being focused on and embraced are as follows:
- Branding
With a majority of stadiums now being used as multi-use facilities and venues, such as music concert venues, multi-sports complexes and even exhibition venues, the ability to alter the stadiums branding and appearance at the flick of a switch is an extremely powerful tool and reason why you would want to host your event at that place. With the latest technological developments in LED Membrane Display, Stadium Media Membrane Facades can easily be branded to a specific event; significantly increasing the stadiums appeal for the increasingly brand conscious marketing executives. It can also be used to sell additional advertising and banding during events or football games which are known to attract TV rights and large audience figures. Such financial incentives, coupled with the visual attractiveness which membrane facades also provides, make the use of Media based Membrane Facades an almost ‘no brainer’ for most stadium and arena owners.
- Increased Ticket Sales
The second area which Media Based Interactive Stadium Facades are being looked at for is as a digital screen; allowing the game to be aired and displayed to views watching from the outside.
For instance, the newly proposed $1.7billion NFL Stadium in Los Angles, designed by Manica Architecture, uses an enhanced multi-media membrane area to display a live feed of the game to viewers parked outside. Rather like an American Drive In.
When we spoke with David Manica, President of Manica Architecture at the TheStadiumBusiness Design & Development Summit last month, he told us that the external interactive feature was vital to the design as it embraced the American Football fans culture of Tailgating – a term used for picnicking from the back of a parked vehicle before and after the game. We fully endorse that such an approach would certainly increase the stadiums appeal to sports fans and tailgaters alike and could easily be used as a chargeable experience which sports fans would welcome. As a result the stadium could dramatically increase its visitor appeal whilst also greatly increasing its revenue income. Pretty cool idea we think.
Increased Benefits of Interactive Tensile Membranes
Additionally to the two main avenues of use for the interactive stadium membrane façade mentioned above, other approaches which are in the pipeline include the addition of a new façade on the Amsterdam Arena, home of the AFC Ajax club. This new façade is planned to not only add an enhanced interactive feature, but also to increase the stadiums operation space and improve its facilities as a multipurpose venue. Such an approach is also set to be used on several other European Stadiums which are currently being planned for upgrades and overhauls.
The management of Shade Sculpture have been involved with many interactive façade projects and were amongst the first to embrace the challenge of unifying the interactive technology of multimedia with the increased frame system design features needed for Interactive Architecture. Our management have also worked with most of the top Interactive LED light companies on a worldwide basis. As such Shade Sculpture is probably the best placed tensile membrane company to assist with the design, development and installation of Interactive Stadium & Arena Facades.
To find out more about the use of Interactive Multimedia Membrane Facades, their use and benefits, please don’t hesistate to contact us on +44(0)1249 848649 of email us at info@airsculpt.co.uk where we will happily assist you in your enquiries
