Luster is an interactive outdoor light installation that is activated by users walking through, resting on, and playing in it. It becomes a twinkling beacon that invites the public - regardless of age or size - to take part in bringing it to life. The installation, which sits on a raised platform, is composed of columns of different heights arranged in a modified grid. With columns low enough to sit on and ones high enough to provide shelter, it becomes both a journey and a destination.
Being in a city that is overwrought with cold, concrete environments, Luster gives users the opportunity to pause and let go in a setting that brings them back to nature. The columns, thick and packed tightly together, are reminiscent of tree trunks and the experience one would have walking through a forest. The glow of light with every movement mimics the rippling of light through leaves and tree branches, which heightens the
Luster is essentially a forest of wooden columns arranged in an adjusted grid that emit light once an infrared sensor is tripped. The square-based columns, made of plywood, are CNC routed with a pattern that inherently diffuses light emitting from the within it in increments. The sensors concealed within the structures immediately switch the lights on or off based on the users’ motions, making the entire installation twinkle with each gesture.
From a distance, the installation seems to glimmer with every passerby and occupant, which draws people toward it. Once close enough, the feeling of wonderment one would recall experiencing as a child in a forest overcomes the user, and this exhilaration is amplified given its polar opposite context.
Luster recently appeared in the Imagine Dragons music video for Thunder . [click for link]
