LANDMARK SERIES
two rivers come a long way to become one. a point that is not only where history is remembered with respect but also the future is dramatically envisioned.
a magical line is coiling up to the sky to illuminate the night smoothly, emulating the flow of the water with a glowing breeze sweeping a mesmerizing mist of light.
confluence pOInt
landmark of the virtual existence
for the remembrance and the legacy of the san jose light tower, that illuminated the city for two centuries up to just before the city becomes a leader of global digitalization and technology, pOInt reveals itself as the new landmark of the valley, taking the roots of the city before the industrialization on one side of the ribbon, looping us into today's situation on the other side, that ribbon pursues an artistic transition channeling between _0 and I_ shaping a flux monument expressing the milestones and the simplest component of the digital industry, quietly grounding the core and meaning of everything, bridging the duality of life. the ribbon becomes a digital expression of the legacy of san jose, an ever-changing and dynamic memorial, which involves the codes of history and represents them into digital art, connecting people under the imagery power of the “virtual existence” of silicon valley and lighting up the night as san jose tower did once.
year
size
location
theme
status
2020
600 m2
us
california
public space
landmark
competition
a landmark is not memorable just as a beautiful monument, but because it symbolizes important aspects of the people that are physically and spiritually connected with. it’s the people that give meaning and eternal life, otherwise, it’s nothing but a pile of stones, metals.. etc. and if people literally shape it by being around that is something else. “confluence pOInt” has this strong impact on its bold simplicity.
the pure form of the landmark, I-0, emerges from the very basics of coding in computer language, which believed to be the source of representing everything even the unsolved secrets of life. The contradictive silhouette changes from 0-I-0-I-0... from various angles, also bringing out dual concepts like on-off, open-closed, absent-present, yin-yang...etc; questioning the roots of existence.
in this era of the internet, a community fosters not only in actual spaces but also in virtual ones, sharing and creating together forms a strong bond. “confluence pOInt” step in at this point, as a reflection and an expression of the community.
how can we create a landmark, which spans over the history of San Jose and link to its future using light as a uniting tool, depicting the transition from analog to digital, welcoming the new age?
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there are natural trails alongside the guadalupe river that brings people in nature. “pOInt” trail offers one of the most striking experiences of the valley, which reflects and shapes the history and one possible future of silicon valley, that will bring people together for remembering the past, experiencing the moment, and foreseeing the future.
a data input could be derived from all kinds of technological interfaces as possible, tangible and intangible, spread in the city in various forms. at the ribbon, motion-sensors on the ground and touch-sensitive led panels on the sides are used as an interface to play and create. sing along and make your move with colors and shapes.
as visitors become data transformed into light, the system uses looping scenarios as the concept of programming, saved as city-art-video, zipped into 3600 seconds movie every year for future festivals. it could also be translated back into music notes, texts, or games by professional light mappers and programmers.
this new looped trail of the park offers a semi-dynamic structure, a solid, exterior shell, and a hyperbolic, motion-sound sensitive, internal surface which is also the interface of the ribbon helping users to form a collective digital art through everyday movements and sounds. the duality of the structure symbolizes the very simple logic of oppositions that balance the interactions of the daily cycle of life looping one into the other; 0-1, solid-fluid, on-off, permanent-ephemeral...
stretching out parallel to the city grid, the project offers a ribbon screen with a simple gesture -a bent “I” forming a loop into a “0”- symbolizing the binary coding system of computer language, “confluence pOInt” is a portal into a dream-like creative world, connecting people under the imagery power of the “virtual existence” of silicon valley.
a ribbon of history becomes a path luring visitors into an abstract journey in time and space, shaped by the simplest form of the digital absence, also visible in various appearances from a wide range and lights a new landmark of the valley.
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a smooth touch to the ground, the monument becomes one of the trails of the river, a connected digital data flowing to the center of the park, with its shadow on the day and light at night, pointing a public gathering for various functions at the front and different observation possibilities in the park.
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