© Kunstmuseum Basel, Julian Salinas
A glowing three-metre-high frieze turns the extension of the Kunstmuseum Basel into a work of art in itself, as LED strips embedded into the grooves of the brickwork let lettering, patterns, and images appear on the facade. In collaboration with the Basle-based company Iart, the architects have managed to unite two completely different elements: the weight of bricks and the levity of light.
The intensity of the LED-frieze light ranges from brilliant to glimmering to barely perceptible. This effect is controlled by sensors placed on the roof to measure the amount of light radiating from the surroundings. This unusual technical feature is part of a self-supporting brick facade wall, whose coloration becomes brighter from bottom to top. The bricks themselves project and recede from the general plane of the facade, lending the strict volume of the building a more playful effect.
The intensity of the LED-frieze light ranges from brilliant to glimmering to barely perceptible. This effect is controlled by sensors placed on the roof to measure the amount of light radiating from the surroundings. This unusual technical feature is part of a self-supporting brick facade wall, whose coloration becomes brighter from bottom to top. The bricks themselves project and recede from the general plane of the facade, lending the strict volume of the building a more playful effect.