White Dwarf 2013


Public sculpture in collaboration with Lars Skjelbreia.



'White Dwarf' Is a permanent installation for the energy company "TrønderEnergi" in Trondheim, Norway. It is a 180 cm sphere that travels up and down 6 floors throughout the day, during an 8 hour cycle. This creates an internal rhythm within the building that represents the work-day and gives light that is independent of season and weather. This can be especially useful during the shortest days of the year, when Trondheim receives only a few hours of daylight.


'White Dwarf' mimics daylight, with subtle changes throughout the day. It starts off with a cold white light, turning brighter and slightly warmer by noon when it reaches the top. During its decent it decreases slightly in brightness and ends up at the bottom bathing the surroundings in a golden light. The LED's are able to achieve a color spectrum close to daylight and  stimulates the employees with the correct spectrum of light at the right time of day.

 

'White Dwarf' is based on a geodesic structure made of aluminium with a curved acrylic outer shell. It consists of 3000 LED's, 80 Dali drivers and is controlled by a Philipps Dynalite system. It has Wi-Fi and can be remotely controlled through an app for special occasions. A custom made motor lifts the 200 kg sphere up and down every weekday, in such a slow speed that it is barely detected by the naked eye.