An incredible media lighting system installation named “Aurora” by Electroland was realized using advanced parametric design, digital fabrication, and 47,000 RGB LED pixels from Philips Color Kinetics.  And wonderfully, Electroland presents numerous process photographs and an amazing video recorded from the design, construction and installation phases (here and here).  The installation is for the DirectTV headquarters in El Segundo, California.

Electroland describes the fabrication process:

Schedule and budget required Electroland to take a radically innovative approach to the design, fabrication and installation of Aurora. A parametric workflow allowed the designers to take complete control of the design, fabrication and installation process, and seamlessly exchange information with structural engineers Buro Happold. The expensive and time-consuming process of sub-contractor consultations and bidding was eliminated. The project was designed as a kit of parts, with several thousand items milled and or laser cut from a multitude of materials, including steel, aluminum and polycarbonate.

The actual installed work never varied more than an astoundingly precise 3 millimeters from the digital model. This accuracy allowed for an amazingly fast lego-like assembly installation process where very little onsite measuring, drilling or cutting was required. A large number of relatively unskilled and affordable workers were unleashed to accelerate the installation process. This degree of factory pre-fabrication is unprecedented for such a large and complex installation, propelling the Maker paradigm into large construction technologies.