eCLOUD

Norman Y. Mineta International Airport

San Jose, California, USA

eCloud is a dynamic sculpture inspired by the volume and behavior of an idealized cloud. Clouds are ephemeral and in perpetual transformation, their abstract shapes are constantly teasing the mind of the observer to ‘see’ and interpret. Clouds focus our attention to the sky and connect us to our fascination with flying.

  • POETIC, MAGICAL AND VIRTUAL

    eCloud, the sculpture for the Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport’s North Concourse consists of thousands of small square panels of electrically switchable laminated plexiglass, that perform as pixels.

  • THE MATERIAL

    The sculpture is composed of electrically switchable plexiglass or Smart Glass. This material has the ability to progressively graduate opacities with the transmission of an electrical charge: when in neutral, the panel is opaque and when sent an electronic charge the material transitions to visually transparent.

  • THE STRUCTURE

    The pixels are arranged to simulate a disperse cloud suspended from the concourse ceiling structure. The core volume of the piece is 16′ wide x 12′ tall x 108′ long and the pixels will be hung from a tensile structure.

  • THE MOTION

    The animations that move through eCloud are based on weather data changes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration runs a live feed of weather and wind conditions for all airports in the United States. Unique animations are displayed through the sculpture as guided by the weather at different airports.

  • THE EXPERIENCE

    By replaying data through time, Abstract imagerys move from one panel to the next, creating visualizations that traverse the concourse space. An additional display signage communicates the current dataset to the viewers.

  • CREDITS:

    Concept, design by Nik Hafermaas, Dan Goods, and Aaron Koblin
    Production management by Jamie Barlow, UEBERSEE
    Commissioning Agency: City of San Jose Public Art Program

    Produced by UEBERSEE, Inc.

    For more information visit:
    ecloudproject.com