Projection as spatial condition
Immersive projection treats the surface as the medium. Facades, translucent structures, interiors, and temporary architecture become the material the image is shaped around. Content is mapped to the geometry and the viewing conditions of the site, so the projection reads as part of the architecture.
When projection is stronger than LED
Projection suits surfaces that are large, irregular, translucent, or temporary, where an LED structure would be too heavy or too rigid for the architecture. It also suits briefs where the building itself should carry the image. Light conditions, viewing distance, and the life of the surface decide whether projection or LED serves the space. Projection lets a facade or a structure stay itself while becoming a media layer.
Selected cases
For Lexus at Milan Design Week 2025, developed with Aircord, biometric sensors captured heartbeat and motion and fed a real time projection mapping layer across a butterfly form woven from 35 km of translucent thread. The visual state moved through the seasons, from sakura pink in spring to silent white in winter, with spatial audio reinforcing a room that responded to its audience. Refractiv developed the real time visual behaviour of the butterfly animation in TouchDesigner.
For the Rolls-Royce boutique on Jinbao Street in Beijing, projection concealed the interior until the opening ceremony. Procedural 3D content produced a restrained visual veil across the frontage that held attention and preserved anticipation, then resolved into a timed reveal, matched to the brand language and the moment of opening.
