Cardo Brussels

The lobby artwork needed a character of its own throughout the day, including quiet periods when nobody was interacting. Refractiv developed an ambient mode in which generative AI produces surreal landscapes informed by conditions outside the hotel.

Season, time of day, wind and atmospheric conditions influence the imagery. They give the composition a changing mood while its visual direction connects to the hotel’s concept and the surrealist references of its setting.

Camera portrait capture introduces a second encounter. The system reinterprets the guest as a cartoonised or Magritte-inspired avatar, bringing a personal image into the wall’s visual world.

Camera input, prompt control, weather data and image generation are coordinated in one system. The artwork moves between ambient landscapes and the portrait experience as activity in the lobby changes.

Refractiv developed the concept, software and generative image system, specified the hardware, supplied the AV system and completed integration and commissioning. Saar Zafrir Design created the hotel concept and interior and commissioned the work. Dune SA handled physical AV installation.