Urban Nature Skatepark in Alingsås, Sweden by Giovanni Traverso

Article source: Giovanni Traverso

What happens when the artificial mixes with forces of nature; what if urban punks found themselves surfing in open sea or riding waves of magma?

The project for the Alingsås skate arena is a 12 minutes light show were we integrated the floor washing light of a sequence of about 20  Philips LED colour blast with the special projected effects of 4 Martin Moving Heads. Visual effects were highlight by two big Traxon mesh screen fixed on two opposite towers. The rhythm of the show, based on natural sounds, move the light from quiet, to shocking effects, moving light levels from daylight to darkness.

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

• Architects: Giovanni Traverso
• Project: Urban Nature Skatepark
• Location: Alingsås, Sweden
• Photography: Robert Persson
• Team: E. Thunstrom, O. De Vries, A. Malmberg, O. Carlsson-Freden, A. Camilla, M. Jacob Ostlund, D.Kristoffer

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

To allow skaters moving on the dark we provide a grid of UV paint lighted up with a sequence or UV fluorescent tubes.

We looked at the skate park like a kind of “connector” between the town and the landscape, meeting point of the Alingsås young people.

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

We started discussing with local skaters and bikers about the emotions they have skating in the arena: the continuous and circular movements and touch with the surrounding nature give them concentration and relaxation. From this consideration we start to develop the concept for the lightshow, trying to expand their experience in the skate park.

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

The show starts with a moon (projected) dancing on the concrete floor and then moving up on a LED screen, after that simulated morning daylight arrives, moving on green-forest effects and then to a big volcanoes eruption. Big moving sea waves wash out the lava from the skate surface and move the scene to a submarine dark atmosphere. The last scene want to simulate the contrast between town and landscape: a big (projected) Mr PACMAN moves quickly and flashing on the UV paint grid and on the LED screens.

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Involved companies:
We used lighting equipment by Traxon (control system and LED mesh), Philips Color Kinetics (projectors) and Martin (moving heads).

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Image Courtesy © Robert Persson

Tags: Alingsås, Sweden

Categories: Park, Skate Park

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