VISUAL . technologies
FEAST FOR THE EYES King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture in Saudi Arabia Stages Grand Opening with d3-Powered Video Projection Mapping
When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was inaugurated most recently, the Grand opening was marked with magnificent visual displays projected by 3D video mappings. Belgium-based Visual Solutions took about a week to skillfully craft the night time display using projectors and media servers from d3 Technologies. The stunning videos projected on the modernist façade at King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture was powered by 52 projectors and six 4x4pro media servers with VFC cards. Located in Dhahran, Saudi Aramco’s hometown, King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture is an initiative of Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s major oil company. With a goal to foster cultural development throughout the Kingdom, Norwegian architectural firm, Snohetta was commissioned to design the building
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and incorporate a 200,000-book library, including cinema, auditorium, exhibition halls, museum and more. Filmmaster MEA Events collaborated with Technical Director, Julien Poncelet to produce for the grand opening, with Poncelet heading the team. VER supplied all the video equipment and serviced the event on site. Visual Solutions worked their magic into creating the video projection mapping covering the entire building, which evolved from an initial 180º design to a 270º mapping to a final 360º, while UV mapping of the structure was done by d3 Rental Partner By-Lex, based in Cologne, Germany. “The extensive projector set up was pre-visualised in d3,” says Jo Pauly, Managing Director and Head of Production at Visual Solutions. “d3