Content and CMS

Media facades need special content
Content that is displayed on media facades needs to fulfil special requirements. It is often overlooked that the passer-by on the street perceives images and animations differently to people in front of the TV or Computer monitor. Traffic and other events in public space prevent the typical viewer from concentrating on content for long periods of time. In addition to this, the impact of images on buildings in daylight is completely different to that on a monitor in an interior. It also needs to be considered, that higher pitches can be used for media facades, which change the reading of detailed high resolution images, with the result that they can no longer be recognised.

Another reason for difficulties in attempting to derive media facade content from existing imagery originally designed for television or billboard sites, is that facade displays are rarely constructed to have a 4:3 aspect ratio and, depending on the architecture they can also be curved. On the contrary: media facades introduce new media formats, which need specific content. The range of possible content on the other hand remains very broad. Depending on the architecture and application, filmic narratives or a more architectural performance-based content approach can be used. It is also possible to combine different resolutions and content, producing moving imagery with new degrees of freedom.

Reliable and flexible content management
In order to tune content for a particular facade both components should, if possible, be developed at the same time. In the design process exact guidelines should be developed and prototypes of the content produced. The impact of content prototypes can be evaluated using computer simulations before full-scale implementation - Reality Lab can bring considerable resources to production of simulations of facade operation in the final building locaton. Similarly BLIP has more than ten years experience producing creative imagery for facades and designing and operating content management computer systems for flagship displays. High reliability and network security for remote operation - both of content management and equipment diagnostics - are as essential as achieving a low-maintenance lifespan comparable to the expected life of the architecture itself. It is important that the content management infrastructure integrate with advanced building management systems, but also that third party media agencies and maintenance companies be able to access facade computer systems using secure internet connections.