The SeaGlass Carousel demonstrates an innovative collaboration of art and design to create a distinctly contemporary ecologically themed environment for this public space. The project transforms the traditional ride structure into an instrument of the future with the potential of digital projection and electrified glass technology, or “Smart Glass”. An audio component mixes old and new technology, combining actual environmental noise made by moving parts with amplified original musical scores recorded live by New York musicians.The Carousel’s startling underwater theme echoes its location on the site of the first home of the New York Aquarium, on the edge of New York Harbor near the old Battery. The spiraling structure will be constructed of stainless steel and glass, forming a shell whose interior provides a white screen for the underwater projections. Using the paradigm of the magic lantern, the Smart Glass changes from clear to opaque as the ride begins, dimming the space in a rising sequence to capture the experience of diving under water. As the carousel spins the interior digital projections cast moving images on the building’s shell, animating the voyage.
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