Copenhagen city-center with 17 new stations. This means that equally many big-scale construction sites

will be a long term part of the contemporary cityscape. Each of these sites will for public safety be closed

off by up to 4m high plywood fences.

In 2011 a project titled ‘Byens Hegn - Cool Construction’ was launched by the Copenhagen Metro with

the aim of making use of these big fences in a creative and positive way for the environment in the city

and around these construction sites. The Metro invited creative minds to contribute with their ideas.

In late 2011, the project Piles was selected by the Copenhagen Metro to be included in their project;

‘Byens Hegn - Cool Construction’.

 

Piles are three designs made of 45.546 shiny pixels that represent the vast quantities of soil, water and
rubble that is excavated from the Copenhagen underground. Those who move outside the fence can
only guess what’s really going on behind the green wall, deep in the ground and under the houses.
The three figures feed our imagination with images and contrasts with their glittering sequins it’s
portrayed material and thus creating a counterpoint to the raw construction site.

The project was funded by the Danish Arts Foundation and the Copenhagen Metro.

Each design measures about 350 cm at the highest point and 660 cm were it’s widest.
The material used in the designs, is called Air Display and is used in commercial signs, made by BWSGermany, based in Kassel, Germany.
This system consists of tiling together square plastic 30 by 30cm baseplates that each carries 100 pieces
of round pixels. The pixels are very reflective and will move briskly in windy conditions, collectively they
can create a very vivid scene.

 

45.546 pixels total.
9 different colors.
41 m2 total area.