1024 Architecture, a Paris-based firm, designed VORTEX as an interactive architectural sculpture for the Darwin Ecosystem Project in Bordeaux, France to convey the philosophy of the sustainable environment. Wrapped around a footbridge between the complex’s two buildings, the dynamic structure is made of intersecting beams of raw wood, which are strewn with 12 LED strands that vary in their illuminations. One function is to visualize the site’s energy consumption, with the brightest lights representing high levels of use, and dim to represent low levels. The lights can also be manually controlled with a joystick, to be synchronized with music, since the complex is also used for outdoor music festivals.
